Bassetlaw Tri Club duo take on French mountains

Jo Lee and Graeme Robinson firstly entered the Olympic-distance triathlon based in and around Chateau de Chantilly, some 50 miles north of Paris.

Chantilly provides a challenging race, with the 2.5km Grand Canal overlooked by the Château and its gardens hosting the open-water swim. Triathletes transition within the Terrasse des Connétables and set off into a fast 45km cycle circuit around the Forêt de Chantilly.

After entering T2, competitors run 10km in the surrounding woodlands, the world-famous race course “LHippodrome” and Chateau gardens, finishing within sight of the Chateau.

The event proved to be just the beginning of an intrepid visit to France. Having completed the event in very respectable times of 3 hours and 52 minutes for Jo and 3 hours 34 minutes for Graeme, the couple were in no mood to simply come home.

Having travelled on to the French Alps they then took on some of the iconic cycling climbs made world famous by the Tour De France, including the Alp d’Huez and the Col de la Croix de Fer.

Jo explained “We were due to do the Castle Howard triathlon in 2020 however it was cancelled due to Covid.

"We were given the option to do it the following year at any of the locations so we decided to move it to Chantilly, little more picturesque and a bit of an adventure.

"We decided to test ourselves and it was a great adventure and personal challenge, especially for me as I have a dislike for cycling up any hills, let alone a mountain!!!”