As Ethan Woodhead won the Rocquaine Sprint Triathlon qualifying event from James Travers and surprise challenger Phil Touzeau, veteran Amy Critchlow held off the emerging threat of Katie Birch for women’s honours.
That means Woodhead has got first dibs on men’s selection for the Faroe Islands 2027, while Critchlow is in a comparable position even if she currently claims to be looking beyond the Games.
The race took place in windy, overcast conditions and, given its rough sea swim and non-drafting bike, presented a quite different challenge to what will be seen in the Faroes.
It is the first time that Woodhead in anywhere near his current form has taken on ‘Trav’.
Woodhead had completed the first lap of the bumpy ‘Aussie exit’ 750m swim alongside the experienced Games triathlete, who had seemingly stepped away to focus on Hyrox-type events, but that became a 3sec. deficit by the time they left the water definitively.
The younger triathlete addressed that emphatically over the first lap of the 25km bike, reaching the second Imperial ascent with a significant lead.
Woodhead then entered the west-bound 4.5km run practically assured of victory.
Intriguingly, Games cyclist Phil Touzeau had become his closest semblance of a challenger by that point, having not been in the picture on the swim. He used his biking brilliance to hit transition within 2min. 30sec. of the leader and moments before Travers.
As Woodhead put in his final steps towards winning in 1-09-39, Travers pushed clear on the second half of the run and claimed distant runner-up in 1-13-21, just 13sec. clear of fellow veteran Touzeau.
‘I’m very happy,’ the winner said after overcoming two rivals quite unfamiliar to him.
‘I knew the winner gets automatic Island Games qualification, so that was my aim today. Thankfully I got it.
‘After the result in Jersey, it’s nice to get the win on home soil.’
He had received a boost from his top-three finish at the Jersey Triathlon, beaten only by professional Ollie Turner and Laurie Corbel, which he called ‘the best result I knew I could come away with’.
It now means that he can focus on his two big September races – Guernsey’s Granite 100 and Ironman 70.3 Weymouth – without having to juggle sprint-distance training.
‘I’m so excited [for the Faroes]. It’s a nice weight off the shoulders, as I’ve got some big races in September, so it’s nice to know I’ve got the qualification and I can worry about other races and then focus on Island Games next year.’
Touzeau, who split 38-46 on the bike to relegate Woodhead’s 40-19 to second best, had not expressed interest in next year’s Games.
But Louis Le Cheminant is another bright prospect and took fourth on the day, clocking 1-15-53 after a quite isolated race.
Up-and-coming triathlete Jack Domaille rounded out the top five in 1-17-19, with Rob King sixth another 1-37 behind.
Critchlow’s race played as a straight duel against Birch.
The five-time Games triathlete came out the water 49sec. clear of her rival.
She put her training for the cancelled Nice 70.3 to good use and consolidated that by making nearly a minute on the bike, giving Birch a mountain to climb on the run.
Critchlow took the win in 1-21-30 and though strong runner Birch did make ground on her experienced rival, as could be expected, she ultimately followed 1-49 later.
Third spot went to another veteran Games triathlete, Emily Squire, who clocked 1-28-34.
Emerging triathlete Enya Rabey finished fourth in 1-31-02.
Critchlow had lost out to Birch in their early-season meeting at the Multi Brick Duathlon, but here she regained her status as the one to beat domestically.
‘I felt strong after a big training block and had a race in me,’ she said afterwards.
‘I needed to get out, have a strong bike and hold on.
‘Katie had a fast run, but I had enough of a gap from the swim and the bike to hold her off.’
She called her rival a ‘strong contender for the Island Games team’ but ultimately was the one celebrating victory on the morning.
‘A win is a win, and a win feels good.
‘I was just pleased with how I felt in the race.’
Junior triathlete Alex Hutchinson won the super sprint race in 47-12, finishing 1-28 clear of former Games hurdler Toby Glass as his girlfriend Indi Gallagher – one of the island’s all-time fastest female sprinters – took third in 51-44.
