STEVE YATES' delight at finishing second overall in the Cotswold 226 Ironman distance triathlon at Ashton Keynes last weekend – when he broke the 10-hour barrier – was tempered by his subsequent disqualification for accepting a drink away from an official 'feed zone'.

Yates, from Daglingworth, had covered the 2.4 mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2 mile run in 9hr 39min, more than 28 minutes ahead of the third-placed finisher.

The winner Nathan Blake posted a time of 9hr 25min and will be heading to the World Ironman Championships in Hawaii this October.

Explaining his disqualification Yates said: "I was approached by the race referee and asked if I had accepted a drinks bottle from a spectator on the 112-mile bike course – outside an official 'feed zone'.

"I admitted that I had taken a bottle from a race supporter at roadside because I had missed the previous 'feed zone' and was desperate to take on more water as the weather had improved during the morning and was getting considerably warmer.

"The race referee informed me that the incident had been reported by another competitor and confirmed by a motorcycle outrider on duty on the bike course.

"Unfortunately, under British Triathlon Federation (BTF) rules, an incident of this nature is punishable by automatic disqualification. So my second place finish did not stand.

"Clearly, this was disappointing at the time, but on reflection, I am chuffed to pieces with my race performance and sub 10-hour finish time – having not competed at an Ironman distance triathlon for several years.

"I would like to thank Ride 24/7 in Cirencester for their ongoing support and also Cotswold Leisure for whom I am an athlete ambassador."