I’m local to the venue so am familiar with it and this was my first triathlon. Registration was easy as was setting up transition and the procedure through both T1 and T2. The condition of the lake is good, clear with no weed. I’ve swum there before so no fears there. Safety in the water was well managed and I liked the phased rather than mass start due to COVID requirements. The local Parkrun used to be here so the run course was as expected. I didn’t mind it being off road and being laps…you can get a bit of banter going each time round with spectators 😂 My main negative as with other reviewers is to do with the bike course which was predominantly on very busy A Roads. Despite it being specifically mentioned in the briefing about observance of the Highway Code, I witnessed a surprising amount of really hazardous riding (and driving) in what was heavy traffic on the A49 and Whitchurch bypass and some near accidents caused both by competitors and frustrated motorists, which generated an awful lot of negative feedback (and bad PR) about the event on local community Facebook groups. Yes I’m I triathlon newbie…maybe it’s always like this but as someone from a Risk Management and Accident investigation background I had serious reservations about safety on the cycle course. As a local, I know there are less traffic heavy routes available where I ride myself, which would improve the overall experience of this event(. I know they had to revert to the 2019 course at the last minute because of road works but the original course was pretty much as bad.) The bike course was a bit like having teeth pulled…a nerve wracking experience at the time but a relief when it’s over.