ALAN ROWE continued to bounce back from his disappointing individual performance at the Island Games by producing another excellent showing in placing third at the Feins Triathlon near Combourg, in Brittany, to add to his local win the previous weekend. With the village of Feins having its annual fete over the weekend, the triathletes were afforded great support with the whole of the community getting behind the event.

Even the weather was kind to them on the day.

A sprint distance race was held in the morning and in the afternoon the Olympic distance feature race took place incorporating the Ille- et-Vilaine Department championships, which guaranteed a strong field.

More than 165 triathletes toed the line on the sandy shore of the Etang de Boulet for a two-lap 1,500m swim that enabled the sizeable crowd to see the athletes exit the water at the halfway point and race back into it to start the second lap.

Rowe enjoyed a strong swim and finished in the top dozen, around two minutes down on the leaders.

He then made a swift transition onto the four-lap, 40km long closed roads bike course in the company of three other athletes.

Stopping the clock at just over 60 minutes for the bike leg, Rowe swiftly racked the machine, shed his helmet and slipped on his running shoes. He started the four-lap, mostly off-road, 10km run in seventh place, having gained five places on the bike course.

The run is Rowe’s strongest discipline and he started making up ground rapidly on the athletes ahead, picking off four in the first two-and-a-half laps which elevated him to third place.

Although the two leading athletes were beyond reach, but Rowe’s place on the podium was secure.

He stopped the clock at 1hr 59min. 12 sec., his second sub two-hour Olympic distance performance this year.

‘It was a great race,’ said Rowe. ‘I felt really strong on the swim and enjoyed coming out of the water after one lap and being able to see that I was not that far off the pace – that gave me a lot of encouragement.

‘I was strong on the bike and the group that I was racing against made the bike section really competitive as none of us was too much stronger than any other. I could neither make an attack to escape stick, but they could not drop me either.

‘It was a different matter on the run as I felt great and blew the group away and chased more athletes down.

‘I did not know exactly which place I was in until the third lap when I heard the commentator say my name and troisieme – third – and that made me smile.’

Fellow Island Games competitor Ian Scholes accompanied Rowe on the trip and underlined the progress he has made in the last year by producing another solid performance.

He finished in 21st position in 2hr 8min. 16sec., just failing to catch the 20th-placed athlete on the finish line.

Though not entirely satisfied with his performance, he enjoyed the experience and the atmosphere of racing in France.

‘It is so good to compete in an event where the village has stopped for the day, everyone has turned out and they are sitting outside their houses and lining the paths on the course. The support is great. Riding the bike section on closed roads adds to the occasion as well as giving you a greater feeling of safety. I’d love to go back next year.’

Rowe and Scholes will miss the next De Putron Triathlon at Petit Bot on 12 August in favour of competing in another Olympic distance race in Jersey where they will face competition from members of the victorious Jersey men’s Island Games team and competitors from the UK.