PEEBLES triathlete Iain Veitch has now won the ROC England Triathlon event held in the Lake District.

Starting on the west shore of Lake Windermere with a 1.5km swim, the race headed on bike 46km via Coniston to Great Langdale via Rossett Gill.

It was then onto the summit of Scafell Pike before returning for the second bike leg – 46km back to Lake Windermere.

It finished with a 1km trail run to the finish.

Iain explained: “It was almost perfect conditions. Water was very calm and not too cold by Scottish standards. I came out of the water in about 17th place and was looking forward to trying to make up time on the bike.

“The route was constantly up and down and quite technical.

“Normally that would suit me and I would enjoy that, but light drizzle made the road surface slimy and tense going. I came off the bike in fourth place but had taken it too easy as I was almost nine minutes down on the leader who had put time into me on the bike.”

An 18km run up to the top of Scaffel Pike followed.

Iain added: “A brutal run made tougher by claggy wet conditions almost as soon as we started to gain elevation. Visibility was poor throughout and while marshals on the course were giving rough time gaps, it was hard to know where other athletes were ahead and behind. I took the lead right at the summit.”

It was then onto a 45km bike ride back to Lake Windermere.

Iain said: “I made a mistake in transition and took time to eat and drink on the first 2k of the bike which allowed second place to catch me again. I was looking forward to having a head-to-head on the bike back with second place. Unfortunately, second place had a bad crash which I only found out after the race was over.”

The race concluded with a 1km trail run through the Lakeside forest to finish line. “I was able to enjoy this after being told by race officials that I had a 20-minute lead at this point.”

The victory caps a hugely successful few months for Iain who won the Starman Bight Triathlon in the Cairngorms in a record time; then followed that up with a victory in the ROC Wales Triathlon, also in a record time.