PEEBLES athlete Iain Veitch has moved one step closer to securing overall victory in the UK's toughest triathlon series.
The 41-year-old won The Roc England race for the third time at the weekend.
The event is brutal takes place in some of the most gorgeous and rugged scenery the UK has to offer.
A 1,500m lake swim at the south end of Windermere was followed by a hilly 45km ride before running the famously tough corridor route to the summit of Scafell Pike.
After coming back down athletes then rode the 45km back to Lake Windermere where the race concluded with a 1km run along the shoreline.
Veitch told us: “The race is fantastic – a lake swim in the calm waters of Windermere; a tough, technical road bike and a run up the infamous corridor path of England's highest mountain. The course has a bit of everything and the organiser does a fantastic job of running the event.
“Despite not swimming particularly well I lost only about one minute to the five or so athletes ahead of me. Conditions were perfect and transition one went smoothly.
“The first bike was great. Although hot there were no serious winds and the roads were dry. It's not until the end of the bike that you can see the mountain so you can even forget about the impending run for most of it. Early on another racer Chris Pocock and I had taken the lead and worked well together until arriving at the mountain.
“The 17.5k mountain run was tough in the heat on the day but was also stunning. The corridor route is often described as the toughest tourist path up the mountain but is the most scenic, taking in several smaller peaks on the way. After building a reasonable lead by the top there was just enough time to take some of it in.
“After feeling strong and comfortable on the mountain I had assumed the 45k ride back would be a case of doing enough to hold the lead and not having to bury myself. That went out the window when cramps started and continued to rumble throughout the rest of the race.
“Thankfully, though, I was able to hold on to the lead until Windermere and have enough of a cushion to avoid a sprint finish on the last kilometre run.”
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