TSP16: The 220 Triathlon Series - Year 1
On the 23rd July 2022 myself and my brother Luke took on the original Windsor Triathlon course. I took my Zoom H1 along and recorded some stuff. I thought I’d lost the audio from that day. But I found it on an old SD card. And decided to write a podcast episode around it.
An episode not only about that first Windsor race on 23rd June 1991. But also about the first year of the 220 Triathlon Series. Which brought a new narrative and professionalism to the British triathlon calendar.
The Windsor Triathlon was a big deal for us as teenage tri-nerds. Because it brought a big race and top athletes to within 5 km of our house. If you’ve done the Windsor triathlon recently. The course is now quite different to the one used in 1991. More about that later.
The last Le Coq Sportif that became the Carlsberg Grand Prix Series took place in 1989. I covered it in TSP4. And the shorter 1990 series. Proposed by the BTA. And published in British Triathlon Scene. Never happened.
So in 1991 the team at 220 launched their own 5 race triathlon series. It would last 5 years. Add a new narrative to the British triathlon season. And provide plenty of content to fill the pages of the magazine.
The series would make sure that we continued to get a live triathlon on TV once a year. After the demise of Triathlete magazine’s Southport then Portsmouth. Heineken then Donnay race in 1991. The Bath Triathlon in September 1992 became the BBCs televised triathlon until 1995.
Plenty of solid international athletes would also visit the UK to race the 220 triathlon series. These included Carol Montgomery, Rob Barel, Suzanne Neilsen, Greg Welch, Ute Shaefer, Ben Bright, Bianca Van Woesik, Hamish Carter, Alison Hamilton, Chippy Slater and Eimert van den Bosch.
The series also made sure that the top British triathletes of the day raced in the UK at least a couple of times a year. This gave young, up and coming athletes a performance standard to aim for. One of them was me.
In an interview published in the January 1991 issue of 220, the magazine’s founder and editor, John Lillie, spoke of the aims of the race series:
The aim is to promote the growth of triathlon in this country. To have good races that are up on a pedestal where athletes are well looked after, which are safe, well organised and with good prizes. In every respect they will be first class and other race promoters can use them as a yardstick for them to follow. We want to be the leaders of putting on good races with standards which others will both have to and want to follow.
John Lunt. Race director of the Windsor Triathlon added: We feel there is a need in this country for a proper professionally run race series. We have had a Grand Prix in the past but there wasn’t one in 1990. And we feel there is a need for it. Five top class races where top athletes can race in the UK and not have to go abroad. All the other budding athletes will see this and want to race on a regular basis against our best.
Similar thoughts from Trevor Gunning. Who was the Swindon Triathlon race director and owner of the triathlon shop Total Fitness:
The group has been formed really to put the profile of our sport on the highest level. To give it a professional attitude and to give five good events that we know athletes will get full value for money. It’s hopefully going to attract bigger sponsors into the sport and get the media coverage it needs. These factors should mean that we will then see a positive growth to the sport in this country.
In 1989 and 1990 there had been some badly slash dangerously organised races. As explained by Gordon Reilly in 220 in January 1991: 1991 will be the year when Police Forces throughout the country will be making their closest scrutiny of our sport to date. We must ALL cooperate in an effort to ensure that all of our races are sanctioned, safe and run strictly to the book. If we don’t we may not have a 1992 season to look forward to.
To keep order on the road, the organisers were also recruiting and training a team of motorcycle-based officials. Who would move from event to event creating consistent rule enforcement and safety standards. Here’s the ad that was also published in the January 1991 issue of 220.
Wanted: Motor Cyclists. 220 would like to organise a team of Draftbusters. In order to assist the BTA to uphold the rules of racing we need six to eight motorcyclists and six to eight officials to ride on the back.
If you are a motorcyclist and could come to between one and seven races in 1991 please give us a call. If you are able to volunteer to ride on the back of a motorcycle and become a draft-buster please give us a call. We would prefer permanent teams of motorcycle / draftbuster.
A suitable day will be arranged as a training day to receive instruction by way of video, still photography and discussion. A uniform system will be evolved for the control of the cycling section of a triathlon. Expenses will be met. Please drop us a line to 220. PO BOX 613 Swindon SN14TA.
Although various calendars were proposed, races took place in Swindon, Windsor, Ironbridge, Bath and Ardres, in France. 3 out of these 5. Windsor, Ironbridge and Bath. Were brand new events on the calendar. Scoring races for the overall series were all Olympic Distance. You had to be a BTA member to enter those and do at least 3 to get an end of season ranking.
But four out of five venues also had a Sprint Distance event to attract newcomers. 220 used the term ProMo. Which they borrowed from the French triathlon term for beginners races. Promotion.
The 3rd race in the series at Ironbridge didn’t have a Promo. As they hosted the second 220 Marathon Triathlon on the same day as the Olympic Distance race. Here’s a blog post I wrote about that.
Images: 220 (UK) February 1991. 220 (UK) January 1991.
The entry fee for each race was £25 for the Olympic Distance and £12.50 for the Promo. And you could enter all 5 races using just one entry form.
£25 was apparently considered pretty expensive for an Olympic Distance race at the time. And 220 received plenty of letters of complaint.
The first race in the series took place in Swindon on 26th May 1991. The venue was the Cotswold Water Park. About 25 km from Swindon. The following year the race venue would move to Coate Water Park closer to town.
The Swindon Triathlon was in its 4th year and by now had become the UK’s traditional season opener. As the report in the July 1991 issue of 220 stated: Swindon is where the first plunge into open water reminds us that there is more to swimming than lane ropes and chlorine. The first open water event of the year and for many the first important race of the season. A race to establish your standing, a race that reveals how effective the winter’s training has been and equally important how the opposition has fared during the off-season.
In 1990 Swindon was my first Olympic Distance race ever. Here’s a blog post about that. I’m not sure why I didn’t enter in 1991. But I did take my Skoda down the M4 to spectate. And what a brilliant race I saw!
Images: 220 (UK) July 1991
220 had promised £3000 prize money at every race in the series. The race report said this amount was, moderate by international standards but marking an initiative by the organisers to try to keep our talent at home, was just enough to be attractive.
This was maybe shown by the participation of Glenn Cook and Sarah Coope. Who traditionally would open their seasons in Europe.
Despite the £25 entry fee. The race was oversubscribed. And wave starts were used again. Something the Swindon organisers pioneered in 1989.
The races were won by Sarah Coope and Spencer Smith. This was Smith’s first big senior win. Later in the 1991 season he also won the European Youth Championships in Losheim and the British Olympic Distance Championships in Wakefield. I was there too. But beating Glenn Cook and Robin Brew at Swindon. Showing how good he was at all three sports. Was a big deal.
In Swindon Smith wore the Evans-Cannondale kit. Link in the show-notes to a blog post that includes press releases about the formation of the team. The cover of the July issue of 220 featured Spencer wearing the team’s InSport kit with Nike, GripShift and Gatorade sew-on patches.
Like riding from your rack and helmet covers, cloth patches are something I miss in triathlon. I’m going to sew a few on my kit for next season.
Windsor was race two in the series. Four weeks after Swindon. The event was organised by John Lunt, who was already putting on the Tuffman out of Kingfisher Leisure Centre in Kingston. where he worked. John went on to found Human Race Events and be the race director for the 2002 Commonwealth Games and 2012 Olympic Games triathlons.
Windsor, as you now know, was my local race and my favourite for many years. In 1991 the race was based at the Windsor Leisure Centre. With the transition area and finish line in their garden.
Images: 220 (UK) August 1991
The swim started about 100m downstream from transition. You’d then swim 800m upstream, turn around near the racecourse and swim 700m downstream back to the Leisure Centre. An honest effort for sure. I used to love it.
The bike course was rolling on a single lap taking in Fifield, Hawthorn Hill, Winkfield, The Drift Road and The Windsor Great Park.
I guess the biggest difference compared with the modern course is the run.
Between 1991 and 1994 we crossed the river and turned left to run to the Brocas in Eton. After this first turnaround point you’d stay riverside but run all the way to a 2nd turnaround on Dorney Common. Before retracing your route back to the Leisure Centre. A T-Shape of tarmac, gravel and grass. With two opportunities to stare down your competitors.
In Windsor, Sarah Coope and Spencer Smith won again. Smith was fastest in all 3 sports. And Alison Hamilton proved that she’s a new name to keep an eye on with two second places in two races. Glenn Cook was there again. In 2nd place this time. He was 3rd in Swindon. And Ken Maclaren, in 3rd, had maybe his best race since winning the Swindon Grand Prix in 1989.
Matthew Belfield. Like Smith, still a junior. Had Actually crossed the line in 3rd place. But later owned-up to being one of a group of athletes who missed the start and dived into the Thames about 100m into the course.
As well as a scenic race course, the competitors got a free post-race BBQ and a neat long-sleeved t-shirt. I’m pretty sure Luke still has his.
When the entry forms for the 220 Triathlon Series first appeared in the February issue of 220. A venue for round 3 on July 20th was left blank.
But a third race eventually happened in Ironbridge on 6th July 1991. The Olympic Distance series race took place while the competitors in the ironman distance marathon triathlon were out on the bike course.
I wasn’t at Ironbridge in 1991. But the middle distance event that started in 1992 became a big goal for a few years. I even made the podium once.
Sarah Coope and Alison Hamilton finished 1st and 2nd again. And Spencer Smith punctured. Allowing Richard Hobson to win.
Robin Brew, who I spoke about a lot in TSP9. Got another 2nd place. Like in Swindon. Robin was into his second year of being sponsored by Fresh Brew tea. Luke and I chatted a bit about this in TSP14.
Images: 220 (UK) August 1991
On to round 4 in Bath on the 18th August 1991. Bath had an established early-season triathlon before 1991. With a 400m pool swim in the 33.33m pool, a 40km bike out of town and a 10km run mainly along the canal. With the finish next to the swimming pool on the Recreation Ground.
But the 220 race was full Olympic Distance. With the swim in the Avon, a pretty hilly bike course and the run entirely up at the university. From 1992. When live TV arrived. The run was down in the town.
Melissa Watson, 3rd at Swindon and Windsor, won the women’s race. Just one week after winning the National Short Course Championships in Wakefield.
Watson was clearly in hot form. But the report also points out that Sarah Coope was not racing because she was in full Hawaii Ironman training mode. Spoiler alert. She did pretty well on The Big Island in 1991.
In the men’s race, Smith, Cook and Brew podiumed again. Third win for Smudger. But look at the gaps. Super close racing. Just like in Swindon. Where Smith was 15 seconds ahead of Brew. And 37 ahead of Cook. Here in Bath. Spencer crossed the line just 28 seconds ahead of Cook.
The race report also praised the cooperation received from the local police force. Remember one of the stated goals of the series was getting triathlon in the UK back on good terms with the officers in blue.
Images: 220 (UK) October 1991
Round 4 was supposed to take place in Bournemouth. But a mysterious poster appeared in the September issue of 220. See it in the show-notes. Accompanied by a jokey but important article in the news section of the magazine announced a change of plans.
5 race series. The last in the series has now moved to France. Following a deal with sealink we can take our competitors, at no extra cost, to Ardres near Calais for the final. As Spencer smith has won three out of the first four we are considering offering quadruple points to the winner, just to make the last race a little more interesting.
And here’s an excerpt from John Lillie’s blog written in 2013
Well, not exactly Bournemouth; we had so much antipathy from the local police force that rather than give up we talked to a French triathlon club in Ardres in northern France. They got us some sponsorship from the SeaLink ferry company and entry into their triathlon.
Our Bournemouth competitors were told to turn up at Dover on Saturday with their toothbrushes and passports and we would take them to France and include some spartan accommodation for the price of their original £25 entry fee. We took our 220 transition racking and some English draftbusters to make them feel at home. We all joined together with the Ardes Tri Club event and had a très joli time.
I wanted to get over to Ardres for the race on 22nd September 1991. And I’d just started university. And was busy with freshers week and stuff.
But it seems the event made a big impression with the athletes and the 220 staff. Here’s John Lillie again. This time writing in his editorial in 220 in November. There’s a hint of stereotyping here. But don’t cancel me. Or John. But it draws a graphic contrast between the challenges faced by UK race organisers that are maybe not so much of a problem in France.
Salut! Ardres - you can even say it with a French accent. Ardres. Just for the crack we took 140 or so series competitors for the last of our races. There is something about a French race. Maybe the smell. Garlic. Gauloise cigarettes. Stale vin rouge. A touch of drains. And the sweet treacle smell of sugar beet pulp coming in from the surrounding fields.
Maybe it’s the laid back lack of authoritarianism - So you want to close the roads all day? For a triathlon? OK. Or mais oui. And would you like the local sports hall and the brass band and the mayor and the chief executive of the region to come along? And how about a sit down pasta party with free wine? And a six page preview in the local paper.
It’s all quite normal, no problem. We won’t quite start on time and maybe we’ll have 2 waves or peut-etre one. But we’ll get there eventually. The local industry will support us because it's good for the community.
Aucun problème, pas du tout.
Ardres was a Sprint Distance race and Alison Hamilton and Glenn Cook were the winners. 220 said that Cook has near-hero-status in France after his 2nd place at Avignon in 1989. He’d also done a 5 hour ride the day before. As part of his own Hawaii Ironman training. Spoiler alert. He didn’t do that great in Kona. Here’s the results.
Vincent Bavay was the first French male athlete in 5th place. Vincent was one of France’s future triathlon hopes in the late-80s and early-90s.
Images: 220 (UK) September 1991. 220 (UK) November / December 1991.
The overall series Rankings were also published in the November issue of 220. Your score was worked out as a percentage of the race winner's time. So it paid to place well but also to go gun to tape as fast as possible.
Sarah Coope and Spencer Smith both won three events in the series and therefore secured the overall wins. In the women’s rankings Alison Hamilton was 2nd and Meilissa Watson was 3rd. Glenn Cook in 2nd and Robin Brew in 3rd. Podiumed alongside Smith. As I only did 2 events I didn’t get an end of series ranking. But I will in 1992!
Previously. In the October issue. An article was published looking forward to 1992 and some possible changes to the series. There’d be a Saturday symposium covering training, bike mechanics, nutrition and other subjects. With UK and foreign athletes and experts invited to speak.
With an expo organised. And a pasta party. Offering quality food in convivial surroundings. Perhaps also a junior series and corporate and club team scoring. Then improved prize giving ceremonies. Finally negotiations were already underway for some TV coverage.
Images: 220 (UK) November / December 1991
The 220 Triathlon Series continued in a similar form until 1995. And was my main racing objective and the events that I used to gauge improvement. Initially against age-group rivals. But then against the very best.
I’ll look at the following years in blog posts or podcast episodes soon. Some of the races continued beyond the life of the series. Bath until 1996. Ironbridge until maybe 1999. With windsor still going today.
220 offered their 1991 series of races to the British Triathlon Association as the official BTA Grand Prix Series. But they didn’t accept. In 1992 the BTA brought a GP back. But by then most of the nation’s top triathletes were already focused on the 220 Series.
I’m not sure you can see the legacy of the series in the British triathlon scene today. So much has changed. I don’t there’s a series that links UK elite and amateur triathletes in the same way anymore. Let me know if I’m wrong. Racing the same course. With the same rules. And importantly the same goal. To see your ranking printed in the magazine every month.
Lets finish with another reading from John Lillie’s 2013 blog posts.
What were we doing in 1991? Too much is the answer! We organised a five race triathlon series and put up the entry fees to an astounding twenty five pounds. For that, competitors had food and drink, a good quality T-shirt, transition area security, motorbike bike draftbusting, speedy registration, accurate and fast tab timing system and anything else we could think of, plus the chance to win £3,000 in prize money at each race.
I not sure if people just read these posts. Without listening to the audio. But if you don’t listen, you definitely need to learn about tabs on table.
This was a timekeeping method developed by 220. At race registration you were given a black wristband made from the female-side of velcro. Stuck to the band were 3 white pieces of male-vecro with your race number on.
You tear-off one tab at the end of the swim, exiting T2 and at the finish line. To be slammed onto a table covered in a towel. Volunteers would then re-organise the tabs on the towel in the order the athletes passed that point. Which would eventually tally with timekeeper data. It was epic.
Links:
TSP4: The Le Coq Sportif Grand Prix
1991 Ironbridge Marathon Triathlon
USTS Entry Forms in 1984 and 1985
Swindon 1990
Evans - Cannondale
TSP9: The First British Triathlon Shown On TV
TSP14: The 1992 Nice Triathlon
John Lillie’s Blog. Early 220.
1991 Hawaii Ironman Results
Sources:
