DESPITE suffering a nightmare crash at a crucial stage of the race, triathlete Steve Guffick of Redruth finished in a very creditable 18th position racing for the Great Britain team in the long distance triathlon world championships in France.

Given the circumstances it was a position he felt was beyond him, but after a delay whilst arguing with an official following the crash he was eventually allowed to continue and finished in the top 20.

The race began at 7.20 with a 4000m swim in the sea in Nice, just as the sun was coming up. A total of around 2,100 people were taking part from around the world with around 400 being set off at two minute intervals dependent on the age catagory.

Stephen was competing in the 24 and under males, known as senior 1 by the French. He exited the water in 66 minutes, the same time he had swam in the British championships which had a slightly shorter swim.

It was quickly on to the bike for 124km of riding which included 55km of mountain climbs. He was on target for his predicted four-hour split until 100km when disaster struck. Descending the final mountain a Swiss competitor misjudged a turn and ploughed in to the side of his bike whilst they were both travelling at 40 mph. W

They hit the floor hard and slid across the road into a wall. A race official on a motor bike stopped to help and Stephen was lucky he could get up, but the official told him his race was over.

The Swiss rider was unable to stand and was removed by ambulance to hospital, but Stephen spent five mins telling the official he was ok and had to continue. Eventually the official relented and allowed Stephen to carry on.

He finished the bike section in 4 hours 5 mins, only five minutes off schedule and thenbegan the 30km run.

By this time the temperature had risen to around 27 degrees, far hotter then he is used to. As he got further into the run the adrenalin wore off and the pain down his left side began to kick in from the fall.

Courageously, Stephen held on and finished the race in 8 hours 23 mins, 23 mins slower than his 8 hr goal, and was taken straight to the medical tent. Despite his injuries he was told he had finished 18th in the senior 1 category. Top 20 was a good performance on any day but with the day's events he was even more pleased.

Having returned home he will rest for a week before starting to prepare for next year's world championships to be held in Ibiza. His performance at this year's race should be good enough for him to retain a spot on the team as he was the second British finisher in the category.

This really caps off a great season for Stephen as only two weeks previously he secured victory in the South West regional series for short course triathlon with a great race at Perranporth.

He now needs to find some sponsorship for next season as the costs are high and the returns low.

Anyone who might be interested in sponsoring Stephen for next season please contact him by e-mail steveguffick@hotmail.com or by phone on 07812 81176