Ironman World Championship build-up going well for Cricklade triathlete
Cricklade triathlete Emma-Kate Lidbury maintained her fine record this season with another podium finish on the Ironman 70.3 circuit, this time in Antwerp.
Her third place in the women’s elite event in Belgium mirrors her bronze medal at the UK event at Wimbleball, Exmoor, in June and underlines that she is capable of competing with the world’s best.
A strong swimmer, Lidbury led the professional women out of the water in a time of 24.11 for the 1,900m course with fellow Briton Rachel Joyce hot on her heels.
In the early stages of the 56-mile bike course, defending champion and Belgian favourite Sofie Goos (CORR) showed she meant business and began to open up a lead which neither Lidbury nor Joyce were able to reduce.
Lidbury came into T2 (bike to run transition) in second place having ridden strongly to post a 2:23.58 bike split. This gave her about a two-minute head start on Joyce going out on to the run course, which sees competitors complete three 7km loops around Antwerp’s city centre.
Although Lidbury was able to hold her fellow Brit off on the first lap, Joyce – who finished sixth at the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii last year – pushed on into second place, with Lidbury running a 1:28.04 half-marathon to finish third in a total time of 4:19.55.
Lidbury, the journalist-turned-pro athlete, is now working towards the Ironman 70.3 World Championships, which take place on November 13 in Clearwater, Florida.
She said: "Antwerp was another great race for me and it was brilliant to be on the podium as a pro athlete once again.
"There is still a lot of room for improvement, though, so I will be getting my head down between now and November to ensure I give myself the very best chance of success at the Worlds.
"Huge thanks to my sponsors Wiggle.co.uk, Morris Owen and Virtua for their continued support as well as West Swindon massage therapist Rob King, who is doing a brilliant job of keeping me injury free."
"I’m looking forward to taking part in a few local races between now and November, particularly the Cricklade Half Marathon on October 3."
This article originally appeared in the Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard on the 12 August 2010
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