Good bike ride helps Robin finish second
Triathlete Robin Atkinson travelled to Wick last weekend to take part in a standard distance triathlon. It was the first time Atkinson had taken on the longer distance of a 1,100 metre sea swim (shortened slightly due to a heavy swell), a 25-mile cycle and a six-mile run.
The swim started inside Wick harbour where hundreds of spectators watched as the competitors treaded water waiting for the off.
As the sound of the horn was blasted there was a mad dash to the first buoy with a few kicks to the face but Atkinson had soon settled into a steady rhythym.
The heavy swell didn’t seem to faze him too much as he exited the water in ninth place for a quick changeover out of the wetsuit and onto the bike.
The 25-mile ride was a fairly flat out and back route with a strong headwind on the way back. Atkinson pushed hard on this leg, managing to catch and pass all but one cyclist to put him firmly into second place.
With the leader, Angus Peden of Ayrshire, well ahead it was a matter of putting in a strong run to keep his rivals behind him which he managed to do in the scorching sun to finish in a time of just under two hours 15 minutes.
