PORTLAND triathlete Chris Perham has his sights set on making an impression at world and European level later this year after a stunning victory at Blenheim Palace.

The Loughborough University student, now competing in the elite men’s category, won the first British Triathlon Super Series event of 2015 – it was also his series debut at senior level.

And that success in Oxfordshire could be the precursor to a few months to remember for the Dorset star.

He has trips to France, the Netherlands, Spain and Hungary to look forward to in the next six weeks, while Perham is aiming to qualify for September’s Under-23 World Championships in Chicago as well.

“This is my first senior year with the Olympic distance racing,” he said. “So it’s a year for gaining experience and getting stronger, while racing with the big guys and being selected for championship races is a bonus.

“That will give me even more experience for when I get older and targeting medals at these events.

“It is a big step up from junior to senior level as suddenly you’re up against people a lot older than you with a lot more experience.

“The the sprint distance racing at junior level doubles to Olympic distance for most international senior races, making the jump even harder to start with.

“Within the British Super Series it’s not such a big jump as seniors and juniors race together, so as a junior I was racing with the seniors at Blenheim and in the national championships in Liverpool.”

On his aims for the rest of the year, he added: “Preparations are going really well for the Under-23 European Championships on July 26 in Banyoles, Spain and my first senior World Cup in Hungary the week after.

“Some good results can lead to automatic selection for the Under-23 World Championships in Chicago.

“I know from Blenheim that I’m in great shape and I’m putting in a good training block with the guys up in Loughborough in preparation for a European Senior Cup in Holten, Netherlands on July 5.

“Then there is another training block going into the Europeans with a sprint triathlon to sharpen up the week before in France with my French team Metz.”

Perham admitted his win at Blenheim Palace was “unexpected”, and it was certainly a close-run thing.

He finished the sprint race – a 750m swim, 20km bike ride and 5km run – in one hour 36 seconds, just four seconds ahead of Matthew Wright.

“It felt a bit strange to have won as I was just hoping to get on the podium in my first senior British series race,” added Perham.

“And with the likes of Mark Buckingham recently getting fourth in a world triathlon series event lining up with me along with a packed strong field, I really wasn’t expecting it.

“But once I won I was so happy that all my hard work had paid off and the fact I felt in control and strong throughout the race made me realise I can be even more competitive when it comes to international events.

“This was certainly an unexpected win. I put the power down in the swim and stayed in the pack for the bike.

“I came out of transition well so that meant there was a small group of us for the run and that paid off.”

The highlights of the Blenheim Palace Triathlon races will be shown on Channel 4 this Saturday.