TWO Worcester Triathlon Club members were successful again at the European Age Group Duathlon Championships.

Michelle Parsons and Les Bailey, medal winners in 2003, took home a gold and silver respectively from Swansea.

The competition attracted the cream of Great Britain's duathletes but unfortunately few of their European counterparts.

However, on a course set in and around the docks, they tackled a four-lap 10 kilometre run, a five-lap 40km cycle and a two-lap 5jm run.

The fine weather forecast proved wrong for the later starters as rain and wind set in for the majority of the late morning.

But the temperatures held, meaning the bicycle course was slippery but not too chilly.

Five Worcester members had been chosen as part of the Great Britain age group team.

And all of them performed well considering it was near the end of a busy racing year.

Parsons, a world gold medal winner too, enjoyed a tremendous race to win her age category of 35 to 39 years by more than four minutes from the second-placed lady.

Her overall time of two hours nine minutes 25 seconds included the fastest female bike split of 1-04-45.

Parsons' reward for such a successful season has been to gain an elite team place for the duathlon race in Italy later this month.

Bailey was more than pleased with his silver medal in a time of 2-25-49 in the 65 to 69 year category which included the fastest 10km run in his section.

Ros Townsend-Hope, in the 50 to 54 years, just missed out on a medal, finishing fourth in 2-39.

Her training partner, Gail Flanaghan, was fifth in her first international duathlon race in 2-43-16. She was in the same age category.

Phil Parsons did well to finish fifth in the highly competitive 35 to 39 years section in a time of 2-03-47.

His effort included a superb fast bike section of 1-02-54 on a technical slippery course.