Top-ten national finish on road to Rhodes

SAM HERRIDGE continued her run of top-10 finishes at the National Elite Olympic Distance Triathlon Championships at Bach Bryn Park in Wales. The Guernsey Commonwealth Games star came ninth overall and eighth nationally in a field of international competitors in the event, which was the second race of the Corus Elite Race Series.

She crossed the line in 2hr 7min. 44sec. thanks to splits of 19-42 for the 1,500m swim, 1-05-15 over the 40km bike course and 41-58 for the 10km run.

'It wasn't the greatest race I've ever had,' Herridge said in a wry tone.

'Getting into a bit of a fight on the swim and then missing the lead pack on the bike meant that not everything went to plan.

'However, it was a fairly good result overall and all my efforts are now concentrated on getting ready for the Island Games.'

The swim consisted of a two-lap course and at the exit of the first lap Herridge held the lead, being overtaken only within the last 400m of the second by Abbie Thorrington, against whom the Sarnian had raced the previous weekend.

A difficult and hilly 10-lap bike course then took its toll on all the athletes.

'Unfortunately, I didn't get going properly on the first lap with the bike and therefore missed the lead pack on the first ascent of the hill,' said Herridge.

'There was a group of four of us working the chase pack but we weren't working well together and it was only when another two athletes caught us that we started to work well and put some time in on the group ahead of us.'

Meanwhile, an impressive solo time trial performance by GB international Julie Dibbons meant that going into the run, she had a four-minute lead on all the others.

'Julie's biking was amazing and is definitely something to aspire to in the next couple of years.' said Herridge.

With the midday heat now starting to bear down on the athletes, the run was a challenging end to a technical and hard race.

Many legs were tired owing to the hills on the bike course and Herridge exited the run transition in 10th place overall.

However, with Jodie Stimpson in her sights, she gradually reeled her in and on the second lap of the four, made her way into ninth.

Traditionally her weakest discipline, Herridge was still disappointed with her run.

'Although I still need to work hard on my running, the hills on the bike course had taken it out of my legs more than I had initially thought.

'The first and last laps were really hard work and I was glad I had Jodie in my sights to keep me on schedule.'

Meanwhile, eventual winner Dibbons had put in enough time in the group with her biking, reaching the finish line to be crowned national champion before dashing off to Bath for a friend's wedding.

'Julie is she's not scared of going it alone on the bike and that is definitely something I have to work on,' said Herridge.