Triathlon Mixed Relay Cup: Leeds team win inaugural event in Nottingham

Tom Bishop surged clear during the bike leg to complete a comfortable win for Leeds 1

A team from Leeds beat 16 other domestic and international quartets to win the inaugural British Triathlon Mixed Relay Cup in Nottingham.

Tom Bishop anchored the Leeds 1 team, as they completed the four-person relay over super-sprint distance in one hour 18 minutes 58 seconds, with Loughborough 1 second and Canada third.

Leeds 1 also featured Georgia Taylor-Brown, Jess Learmonth and Aaron Royle.

The mixed relay format is set for its Olympic debut at the 2020 Games.

A total of 17 teams entered, comprising two men and two women, who each completed a super-sprint triathlon - a 300m swim, 7.5km bike ride and 1.5km run - before 'tagging' their team-mate to take over.

Commentating for the BBC, double Olympic triathlon champion Alastair Brownlee, who is not competing again in 2017 following hip surgery, said: "The initial analogy in the idea for the Mixed Relay Cup was of the FA Cup - your local team could go through the rounds to have the chance to compete against the best.

"Hopefully it will go up to three or four events a year."

Bishop, a member of the GB squad who competes on the ITU World Series circuit, told BBC Sport that the bike leg proved crucial after he finished his swim with only a slim advantage over Loughborough's Ben Dijkstra.

"I thought I can't leave it down to a sprint finish," he said. "I'm not known for that. It was still not 100% sure after the bike but I made sure.

"From the start of my leg I was nervous but by the end I was just so proud to compete for Leeds."