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BILLY Dyer warmed up for the gruelling Switzerland Ironman by leading home his MadTri clubmates in the Marlborough Triathlon on Saturday.

The 38-year-old from Devizes set a personal best on the course with a time of 1:41:47 to finish fourth in his age group.

Conditions were tough with the overnight rain having brought grit and stones onto the road amongst the puddles.

Peter Younghusband of TriUK Gatorade won the race overall in 1:25:37, with Matt Newman of BAD Tri second in 1:26:03 and Chris Chamberlain of Total Fitness Bath third in 1:29:13.

By the time the cyclists returned to Marlborough Leisure Centre Dyer had an unassailable lead over his clubmates.

He said: "I was in the first wave onto the course so there was no one to chase which made it a bit harder.

"The cycling was tough because of the windy conditions. I've been able to improve my swim a lot, that is usually my weakest discipline. The run was one of the fastest I've ever done."

Marlborough and District Triathlon club (MadTri) had 20 competitors in the race. Mark Blockland followed Dyer home in second with a time of 1:44:22 and Jason Aspinall came third for the club with 1:46:28.

Sarah Hobbs was the first lady home with a time of 1:48:49.

Dyer is in training for the Switzerland Ironman on July 13.

The step up in distance from the Marlborough triathlon will be considerable.

Instead of swimming 400m it will be 2.5 miles, the cycle is 112 miles instead of 20 and the run is a whopping 26 miles rather than five.

Dyer though is looking forward to it.

He said: "I've been training for the ironman since January which has made me really strong, that is why I did so well in the Marlborough triathlon.

"I hope to complete it under 13 hours. It will be tough but that's my goal.

"It can be pretty expensive, the entry fee is £250 plus travel and accommodation. My nutrition is costing £100 a month.

"I work at DS Smith Packaging in Devizes and thankfully there are sponsoring me."