Isle of Wight triathletes represent Great Britain in France

Liz Dunlop and Jan Fletcher both qualified to compete for Team GB in the European Age Group Triathlon Championships held in Vichy, France.

Jan and Liz both competed in the sprint distance triathlon on Saturday, September 21, with Liz also taking on the standard distance triathlon on Sunday, September 22.

Jan appeared for the seventh time for GB and Liz registered her 30th and 31st representation.

Jan Fletcher (Image: Liz Dunlop)

The sprint triathlon got off to a rocky start Jan on the 750m swim leg, posting a first transition time of 14 minutes and 1 second.

Despite spending most of the 20km bike leg on her own, Jan posted a split of 33 minutes and 47 seconds.

Seeing the race home with a 5km run time of 20 minutes and 39 seconds, Jan finished in 1 hour, 12 minutes, and 2 seconds, placing 9th in the 45-49 age group.

After the event, Jan said: "It was a tough race and as always I gave it everything  I had.

"My bike and run times were good, and 9th place is respectable with all things considered, so I’ll take the positives.”

Liz Dunlop (Image: Liz Dunlop)

Liz posted a solid swim time of 15 minutes and 58 seconds and cycled a time of 38 minutes and 55 seconds on the bike leg of the race.

Pushing hard to catch up with those ahead of her in her age category, Liz finished her race with a 25 minute and 33 second run split and an overall time of 1 hour, 24 minutes, and 28 seconds.

Liz finished fifth overall in the 65-69 age category.

Liz Dunlop at the end of the standard event (Image: Liz Dunlop)

She was back on the start line the next afternoon for the standard distance race, beginning with a time of 33 minutes and 16 seconds on the 1500m swim.

Poor weather conditions and cars impeded Liz on her 42km bike split, which she posted in 1 hour, 33 minutes, and 36 seconds.

Attempting to make up time, Liz completed the race with a 10km run time of 57 minutes and 50 seconds.

She finished in an overall time of 3 hours, 9 minutes, and 18 seconds and placed 4th in the 65-69 age category.

Both triathletes have now finished their race season and will rest before starting winter training.