Jenkins buoyed by third-place finish in Hyde Park

By George Scott, Sportsbeat, in Hyde Park

 REIGNING world champion Helen Jenkins put in a spirited performance to win bronze in the London leg of the ITU World Championship Series.

BRIGHT AND EARLY: Helen Jenkins looks pensive before taking the plunge in Hyde Park where she eventually finished third (onEdition)

The 25-year-old captured her first podium finish of the year after taking an extended break following the Beijing Olympics and her world championship success in 2008.

Jenkins left the water of Hyde Park's Serpentine in second place behind Australia's Annabel Luxford and was initially in a pack of 12 athletes on the bike.

That grew to over 30 by the time Jenkins reached the second transition, where she was joined by fellow Brits Hollie Avil, Liz Blatchford and Jodie Stimpson.

Jenkins broke away with Switzerland's Nicola Spirig and Lisa Norden on the run but could not match their sprint finish, with Spirig grabbing gold in 1:54.24 hours and Norden taking silver.

"I tried to match her surge but Nicola is a great runner and I knew she would have a good finish," said Jenkins.

"I knew they would pick it up at the end and I just didn't have the legs to go.

"There was a few of us on the bike looking to breakaway and it just didn't happen.

"But that's something we've got to work on before 2012 - we know the course is flat and have had the experience on it today."

The course, while not identical to the one to be used London 2012 is similar, with only minor changes to the cycle route set to be made.

And Jenkins revealed her third-place finish will stand her in good stead when she returns to Hyde Park in three years' time.

"It's important to get used to going hard and making sure those breaks happen - we've got three years to work on that.

"I'm going to miss the next race now and go straight out to Australia to prepare for the Grand Final.

"I'd love to be on the podium again there."

Stimpson was the second British finisher and put in a superb performance to cross the line in 11th - her best career finish to date.

And the 19-year-old revealed her determination to impress on home soil spurred her on.

"My plan was to just go out hard and see how far I could go," said Stimpson. "Coming through the transition area the crowd was awesome."

Meanwhile, Hollie Avil finished 16th, Liz Blatchford and Jodie Swallow crossed the line in 22nd and 23rd respectively, while Kerry Lang was the final British finisher in 25th. 

Keep up to date with the men's race this afternoon and take closer look at how the women's race unfolded here