New member Rachel pushed leader Rob all the way in PACTRAC Club Championship event

​A dry, but windy day met the athletes for the Duathlon held over a 3.1 mile run, 9-mile bike and another 3.1 mile run.

Baker enjoyed a 29-second lead over Hammond after the first run.

But Hammond gained the time back into a head wind on the bike section and then powered ahead on the final tail wind section to come into the second transition 1:42 minutes ahead.

The gap barely changed on the final run as both athletes ran equally well.

Sophie Robotham gave current ladies club champion, Susie Freeman, a run for her money in the battle for third place by turning a 7-second deficit from the first run into a 28-second lead after the bike section.

But Freeman got back into into her rhythm on the second run to win the battle for the minor placing by 35 seconds, over 4 minutes behind second.

Hammond now leads the Club Championship, with Freeman heading the ladies after her win in the Aquathlon event in March.

The next event is the sprint triathlon on Sunday, May 4.