The biennial Guernsey Triathlon Club spectacle is to go ahead almost as planned from the Peninsula Hotel this weekend, but after successfully rearranging travel for a nearly 30-strong Jersey contingent left high and dry by the Islands Unlimited engine failure, the organisational team heard from Ronez on Monday that there will be the need to fulfil urgent work at Les Vardes on Sunday.
This has forced them into altering the run course for both the headline Granite 100 and the accompanying sprint event.
Amy Critchlow confirmed that they will be making the most of the surrounding paths – with competitors heading out along the nature walk and returning on the closed mountain bike track – to fill the gap.
‘It’s not the week leading up to the event that we’ve wanted,’ she admitted.
Critchlow described the quarry as the event’s ‘unique selling point’ and highlighted the importance of maintaining the ‘adventure triathlon’ element, which the alternative course still achieves.
‘Some people might even be delighted that we don’t go in there and back out again,’ she said.
‘But it’s still going to be challenging, for sure.’
Organisers have also been looking at new arrangements for the ‘strike a pose’ photo competition that has added light-hearted fun to the brutal quarry section in past years.
Although the event in its current form debuted in 2024, it is an evolution of the longer-running Granite Man triathlon.
It remains on track to deliver another season highlight, having attracted 67 entries for Sunday’s Granite 100 – consisting of a 2km swim, 80km bike and 18km run.
This will be complemented by that morning’s Granite Sprint and the previous day’s junior Splash and Dash event.
There will be not only individual but also inter-insular honours contested in the 100km race, which features a significant Jersey entry.
The Triathlon Club had earlier been left appealing via social media to find a new way to get the Jersey competitors over and save the second leg of this year’s inter-insular, following engine problems with Islands Unlimited’s San Pawl.
They have since secured water taxi travel from Bailiwick Boat Charters.
‘It was a big percentage of the 100k race field,’ Critchlow said.
‘We’re really glad they’re coming.’
Entries from the UK and even the Netherlands complete the visiting field.
Both the men’s and the women’s race are set to feature new winners, with Jersey’s Wayne Quenault not coming over and Lindsay Sword having returned to Scotland.
Ethan Woodhead is set to lead the Guernsey men’s charge, being joined by fellow Orkney 2025 competitors Dave Mosley and Ove Svejstrup.
They will go up against several top-10 finishers from the opening inter-insular leg at the Jersey Triathlon.
Two Katies – Jersey’s Tanguy and Guernsey’s Birch – represent strong women’s contenders for their islands, with inter-insular road cycling champion Jade Packham providing another intriguing prospect for the home corner.
Critchlow is again hopeful of providing a festival atmosphere for this sophomore Granite Weekender.
‘We want to create an event for spectators as well as the athletes, so it’s a fun event to hang about at.’
Sunday’s race starts at 7am.
