CHRIS Roxburgh has proven that he is a real powerhouse in the world of Duathlon after claiming bronze at the ETU Powerman Long Distance European Championships.

Roxburgh, who has twice competed in the World Duathlon Championships, is gearing up for the Powerman World Championships in Switzerland in September and had the perfect build up last weekend.

The GB athlete stepped up in distance at the event in Horst, Netherlands, with a 15km run, 60km cycle and 7.5km, and was leading for a large section of the race.

After a strong run Roxburgh was out in front but at the end of the second 20km lap of the cycling, the Westbury Leigh athlete slipped to third place where he finished.

Roxburgh, who works as a paramedic, is also busy planning for a wedding to girlfriend Emma in August but said he was pleased the hard work in training has paid off.

“I came third and I was over the moon with that,” he said.

“I was leading the race after the first 10k run, which I did in 32.19, and then I was ahead on the bike until the second lap, when a Frenchman and a Belgian caught me.

“They were very strong on the bike and I thought about keeping up with them but if I had done that I would have burnt myself out.

“I was catching them during the second run but had to settle for third place and I was about three minutes ahead of the person in fourth.

“I felt really good because I had put a lot more training in.

“I put in the hours and balancing that with being a paramedic and planning a wedding has been difficult, but my fiancé has been very understanding.

“Everything will now be building up to the World Championships in September, and I am getting married in August, so it will be a busy couple of months.”