DORSET Pentathletes enjoyed a busy but fruitful weekend of racing.

The Tri stars competed at the Bath Duathlon which doubled as the South West Championships for the run-bike-run event as well as a SW series race.

The following day it was the turn of the juniors to make their debuts in the SWS this year with the super sprint Cotswold Triathlon.

First up though was the Bath Duathlon at Odd Down race circuit which can be a tad windy, but it was thankfully warm and dry for this year’s event.

The racing got underway with the TS1 boys and George Mahon got the team off to a flying start with the second successive year he has won this title. However, he didn’t have it all his own way and had to come from behind on the second run to clinch victory.

Leo Riggs had a fine club debut with a creditable 14th. None of the club’s girls were able to take part in this race.

The Tri Star 2 race saw a combined start of 28 boys and girls racing.

Alexandra Palotai-Avella was the club’s highest-placed athlete finishing second in the girls and third in boys and girls combined.

Finn Pardy, who is improving his ability on the bike race by race, finished fifth with Darcy Dryden a very determined sixth.

James Carr and Max Dangerfield battled through the field to finish strongly in 12th and 15th respectively.

The final race of the morning saw 11 of Dorset’s boys and girls powering round the circuit demonstrating their strength in depth as a club.

Harry O’Donoghue sealed another victory by leading the race from start to finish looking comfortable.

Next in for the boys was the ever-improving Charlie Cook who finished in seventh, William Carr a solid 12th with Shem Martin, Archie Tyler and Aiden Carter, relatively new to this type of racing, finishing 17th, 18th and 20th respectively.

In the TS3 girls’ race, Daisy Davies managed to hold off Abbie White on the first run but then powered away on the bike to maintain a comfortable lead to the finish recording another win.

White finished third to put two of the club’s girls on the podium.

The reliable Jess Hudson finished in fifth place with Rosie Holland, who is gaining in confidence on the bike, moving up to eighth, while Gemma Wyatt put in a very determined effort to finish in 15th.

The following day saw some of the club’s juniors head up to the Cotswolds for a Super Sprint Triathlon (400m swim, 20k bike and 5k run).

The Cotswold race is held in a great setting, with a lovely lake and safe roads. India Cooper enjoyed the lake very much with a great swim bringing her out into the lead with a 40-second gap on her nearest competitor.

However, the chasing athletes closed the gap with Flora Johnson recording the fastest junior woman bike time.

The 5k run cemented the race positions with Johnson coming out on top with an overall first place.

Cooper finished fourth in the race but third in the series with Leanne Symington finishing overall sixth but fourth in the series race.

In the junior boys’ race, the club had Harry Buttle as their solo club representative.

He had a great swim recording the fastest time of the day in all age groups out of 366 competitors and finished third in the junior race and first in the SWS race.