Will Draper claimed triathlon’s European Long Course Championship title in the Netherlands over the weekend.

Less than a week after winning the Isle of Man title, the St John’s man won the Challenge Almere-Amsterdam event with a dramatic sprint finish, surging past rival Tristan Olij with only 200 metres of the 42.2km run leg to go.

Representing Great Britain at the event, Draper initially trailed behind early pacesetters Ognjen Stojanovic and Robert Kallin after the 3.8km swim before the Manxman began his charge up the field in his favoured cycling leg.

Kalin and Olij were the initial leaders on the run, but Draper refused to give in eventually reeling in the home favourite with only a few hundred metres to go.

Draper’s winning time was 7 hours 41 minutes 40 seconds, with an emotional Olij only eight seconds later in second place. Mark Grace took bronze in 7:49:26.

After the race Draper dedicated the win to Gibraltar cyclist, triathlete and recent Island Games competitor Sam O’Shea who died in a road accident recently.

He said: ‘An emotional day, dedicated to my amazing late friend Sam O’Shea.

‘Earlier in the year Jack Schofield shared #bemoreVic [about his late wife] - it really shared positivity and inspiration from such an unimaginably difficult situation.

‘To me, #Sam should be a moment to appreciate your supporters, a moment for those that are there for you no questions asked, a moment to know how lucky you are to have these people in your life.

‘Thank you to everyone who followed along and reached out to say well done. I didn’t make that easy for myself, neither did Tristan, but with a few KM left I said f*ck it, all in, there’s pain worse than this that doesn’t have a finish line.’