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Guernsey cyclist Andrea Nightingale is heading to the Age Group World Championships in France after a gruelling UK qualification event involving 8,000 riders.
The triathlete battled through gale force winds and poor road conditions during the 126km (78.3m) road race at the Tour of Cambridgeshire in Peterborough. However, she beat her target time to qualify for the 97km (60.2m) road race at the Age Group World Championships in Albi, France, between 24th and 27th August.
‘It was such a long race and so hard. I’ve never done one before and I didn’t have any experience of competing in a peloton. There were 23 in our pack that all set off together, with other groups of cyclists setting off every 20 seconds,’ said Mrs Nightingale, 55, who is Guernsey’s drug and alcohol strategy co-ordinator.
‘At any one time, there were 8,000 riders on the course. It was phenomenal to see how many riders there were. You’re touching shoulders with people, and there were lots of crashes and cyclists who had fallen. As well as the gale force winds, road surfaces, at times, were atrocious.’
However, she beat her four-hour target – coming in seventh in a time of three hours, 49 minutes and seven seconds. It means she will be representing Team GB at the Albi championships this summer.
‘I was competitive because of my road bike, which I was able to purchase thanks to support from Ravenscroft. It was amazing and went so well. Without the bike, I wouldn’t be able to compete at that level.’
She also set a personal best of 47.07 minutes in the 26.55km time trial during the Tour of Cambridgeshire - loping a minute off her previous best. However, it wasn’t quite enough to qualify for the event at the Albi championships amid a larger group of competitors than in previous years.
Mrs Nightingale is now preparing to try and qualify for the Standard (Olympic) Distance Age Group Triathlon in Rotterdam between 14th and 17th September. She’s also taken part in the 30/30 cycle challenge for Les Bourgs Hospice, cycling 600 miles in six days from the village of Les Bourgs, which is between France’s mountainous Massif Central region and the Alps, to St Malo.
Her exploits come after a top four finish in last year’s 20km cycling time trial race at the Age Group World Championships in Perth, Australia. Andrea was the fifth Briton home in the Olympic distance triathlon event in Mexico in the 55 to 59 age group – coming 22nd overall in the race – a few weeks later.
‘Andrea’s dedication to her sport is exemplary, and her qualification for the Age World Championships in France is richly deserved. Ravenscroft is delighted to be able to support her and the entire team wishes her the very best of luck in her ongoing endeavours,’ said Katy Sandrey, group head of marketing & PR at Ravenscroft.
