ONE of the region's most gruelling triathlon events has been won by in form North West triathlete Beau Smith.

The 2017 world age group triathlon champion added the 2019 Triathlon England National Sprint Distance Championships title to his list of honours last month and was one of the favourites for the Helvellyn Triathlon.

And he lived up to that billing by winning the event by an incredible margin of more than 14 minutes over second placed Ben Goodfellow.

The race began with a one mile early morning swim in the chilly waters of Ullswater, and Smith exited the lake after 17 minutes and 37 seconds with a lead of well over two minutes.

Next came a tough 38 mile bike section which included more than 3,200 feet of climbing, culminating in the infamous 'Struggle up Kirkstone Pass from Ambleside.

And as if this route wasn’t challenging enough, this year’s race had distance added due to the road closure through St John’s in the Vale in addition to heavy rain showers which meant there was a further hazard of wet roads.

But completing the bike course in one hour, 53 minutes and 50 seconds, Smith extended his lead going into the run, a nine mile ascent and descent of Helvellyn.

And still looking fresh, he completed that testing run in a time of of one hour, 22 minutes and 41 seconds to finish a well executed race in a total time of three hours, 35 minutes and 20 seconds.