Press Release: Ironman New Zealand.
31 January 2008.
Triathlon star Joanna Lawn will need to be in the form of her life to establish a best for any female in the 24th Bonita Ironman New Zealand on 1 March.
Lawn is shaping up for her sixth straight victory in the race, something not achieved by any other female in Ironman racing. Currently the legendary Paula Newby-Fraser won Ironman Hawaii eight times and Switzerland's Natasha Badmann won it six times. But neither could claim six in a row – a feat that is within reach of the Aucklander.
Lawn faces a talented field that includes a bone fide New Zealand challenge from Christchurch's Gina Ferguson, the ITU world long distance champion Bella Comerford (Scotland), former duathlon world champion Fiona Docherty (Taupo) as well as super-talented Australian Kate Bevilaqua.
Lawn was upset by Bevilaqua in the recent Port of Tauranga Half Ironman that was meant to be a battle between the kiwi and Australian Ironman champion Rebekah Keat. No-one told Bevilaqua, who clung on during the bike and ran down Lawn in a superb finish, winning by 10 seconds.
The Western Australian finished fourth in Ironman Australia and 24th at the Ironman world championships last year – but made a significant jump in Mt Maunganui and will figure as a genuine threat.
Lawn enjoyed an outstanding 2007 with wins at the Port of Tauranga Half Ironman (despite suffering from a cracked rib) and Bonita Ironman New Zealand champion before she became the fastest New Zealand woman ever over the Ironman distance with her 8hr 58min at Roth in Germany. She completed her season with an equal career best fourth place at the World Ironman Championships in Kona.
The former Commonwealth Games cyclist is now one of the most consistently well placed finishers at the World Ironman Championships with five top 10 finishers in the last six years.
Comerford returns to Ironman New Zealand as the ITU world long distance champion and a four time winner of Ironman Florida.
The Scottish athlete was formerly nationally ranked in equestrian and UK version of modern pentathlon until she found triathlon. Despite a superb resume Comerford will be keen to find better fortunes in Taupo after failing to finish in 2005 and placing seventh in 2006. In an exhausting schedule, Comerford had four podiums and a fourth in Ironman races last year including victory in Ironman UK.
Docherty is back after an injured plagued last two years for the super talented New Zealander who gained prominence when she won the famous Zofingen race in 2003 which doubled as the world long distance duathlon championships. Docherty continued the next year with a second in Ironman Western Australia and third in Nice. However injuries stunted her progress since but she has shown resilience to return after surgery for Piriformus Syndrome.
Ferguson comes to Taupo as a genuine threat after her outstanding 2007 that included a breakthrough win in one of her five Ironman starts.
Ironman NZ was Ferguson's first Ironman for the year, where she placed a very creditable fifth place. Three months later she went one better with a fourth place at Ironman Switzerland.
However it was not all plain sailing for the 27-year-old, when a puncture forced her out of Ironman UK. With frustration, Ferguson headed for USA the following month where she achieved her breakthrough win at Ironman Wisconsin, setting a new course record in the process.
A second place at Ironman Western Australia completed a great first professional season for Ferguson, who also finished third at the Port of Tauranga Half Ironman last year and won the Trinz national championship series. She was third again at the Port of Tauranga Half Ironman last month and also took out the Wanaka Ironman distance event earlier this month as she starts another gruelling campaign.
There are also a number of talented Australians, with world championship placings in age-group racing stepping up to the pro elite level for the first time who will be looking to show they can thrive in the paid ranks.
The seedings for both men and women will be announced next week.
The female entrants include: Jo Lawn (Auckland, NZL), Amanda Balding (AUS), Jaonne Bennett (AUS), Kae Bevilaqua (AUS), Fiona Docherty (Taupo, NZL), Elly Franks (AUS), Emma Weitnauer (AUS), Bella Comerford (SCO), Kerryn Bell (Auckland, NZL), Fleur Bromley (Auckland, NZL), Gina Ferguson (Christchurch, NZL), Celia Kuch (Germany), Amanda Westwood (Rotorua, NZL).
Thursday, 31 January 2008
Wednesday, 30 January 2008
Olympic stars on show at Kinloch
Press Release: Triathlon New Zealand.
30th January 2008.
The Contact Energy My Sport Series heads to Kinloch (Taupo) this weekend for round five in the seven event series and has the added edge of New Zealand Sprint titles being on the line in all categories.
That and the timing of the event has enticed a number of New Zealand's leading triathletes to line up, with a world class field set to include Beijing bound Bevan Docherty and Kris Gemmell, Beijing hopefuls Shane Reed, James Elvery and Clark Ellice and Contact Energy Cup leader Stephen Sheldrake.
In the women's race world number Debbie Tanner will begin her preparation for Beijing with a hit out around the tough Kinloch course. It is not known at this stage whether Beijing contender Andrea Hewitt will race but leading Contact Energy Cup athletes Katherine Anton, Kelly Bruce and Janine Sax are all confirmed starters.
Athens silver medalist Docherty is looking forward to racing at the venue where he started his triathlon career.
"This is where I raced my first ever triathlon back in the mid nineties. I was the runner in our school team (Tauhara College) and I wasn't very happy with the effort of the team so next year I entered on my own.
"I think I was last out of the water – and that was only because dad got pulled out behind me but within three years I was first out of the water and won by over two minutes so yes, I have some history here."
Docherty will not lack for good company on Sunday with great friend and rival Kris Gemmell amongst a stellar men's line up. Both have already qualified for the Beijing Games with Kinloch marking the start to their racing season for 2008.
Docherty says not to expect too much though.
"It is a hit out really and nothing more. While any national title is great to have the winner might well come from who is less tired on the day. I am in the middle of some heavy miles with 35 to 40 hours a week training and I know the others will be doing something similar.
"I will race with the power tap (computer) on to give my coach Mark (Elliott) some information to help us plan the next few months but other than that, it is a case of blowing the cobwebs off and doing a race I really enjoy."
Gemmell echoes similar sentiments to Docherty.
"This will be my first run off the bike in eight weeks of training. I literally haven't done any specific run work at all, it has primarily been biking and swimming. But Sunday will be about gauging performance relative to training and comparing to where I was at this time last year."
The day features a full schedule of races in the Contact Energy My Sport Series with age group events (non drafting) through the early part of the morning plus the Erin Baker Award standard distance race also being run by the local Taupo Tri Sport club, this race is not however part of the My Sport Series.
The elite, U19 and U23 races are all draft legal and will see many of the country's very best athletes in these age groups lining up for a shot at the national sprint title and also selection for the World Championships in Vancouver later in the year.
30th January 2008.
The Contact Energy My Sport Series heads to Kinloch (Taupo) this weekend for round five in the seven event series and has the added edge of New Zealand Sprint titles being on the line in all categories.
That and the timing of the event has enticed a number of New Zealand's leading triathletes to line up, with a world class field set to include Beijing bound Bevan Docherty and Kris Gemmell, Beijing hopefuls Shane Reed, James Elvery and Clark Ellice and Contact Energy Cup leader Stephen Sheldrake.
In the women's race world number Debbie Tanner will begin her preparation for Beijing with a hit out around the tough Kinloch course. It is not known at this stage whether Beijing contender Andrea Hewitt will race but leading Contact Energy Cup athletes Katherine Anton, Kelly Bruce and Janine Sax are all confirmed starters.
Athens silver medalist Docherty is looking forward to racing at the venue where he started his triathlon career.
"This is where I raced my first ever triathlon back in the mid nineties. I was the runner in our school team (Tauhara College) and I wasn't very happy with the effort of the team so next year I entered on my own.
"I think I was last out of the water – and that was only because dad got pulled out behind me but within three years I was first out of the water and won by over two minutes so yes, I have some history here."
Docherty will not lack for good company on Sunday with great friend and rival Kris Gemmell amongst a stellar men's line up. Both have already qualified for the Beijing Games with Kinloch marking the start to their racing season for 2008.
Docherty says not to expect too much though.
"It is a hit out really and nothing more. While any national title is great to have the winner might well come from who is less tired on the day. I am in the middle of some heavy miles with 35 to 40 hours a week training and I know the others will be doing something similar.
"I will race with the power tap (computer) on to give my coach Mark (Elliott) some information to help us plan the next few months but other than that, it is a case of blowing the cobwebs off and doing a race I really enjoy."
Gemmell echoes similar sentiments to Docherty.
"This will be my first run off the bike in eight weeks of training. I literally haven't done any specific run work at all, it has primarily been biking and swimming. But Sunday will be about gauging performance relative to training and comparing to where I was at this time last year."
The day features a full schedule of races in the Contact Energy My Sport Series with age group events (non drafting) through the early part of the morning plus the Erin Baker Award standard distance race also being run by the local Taupo Tri Sport club, this race is not however part of the My Sport Series.
The elite, U19 and U23 races are all draft legal and will see many of the country's very best athletes in these age groups lining up for a shot at the national sprint title and also selection for the World Championships in Vancouver later in the year.
Judkins picks his top ten
Press Release: Speight's Coast to Coast.
29 January 2008.
With the Speight's Coast to Coast just around the corner, Race Director Robin Judkins has picked his top ten competitors in the Men's and Women's open sections of this year's World Multisport Championship – the one day event.
"It was easy to pick this year because so many of the top competitors are returning," says Judkins. "Having said that of course I could be completely off the mark – so I've included a couple of dark horses!"
Judkins believes that the open men's section, for competitors under 40-years, will be dominated by last year's winner Gordon Walker from Auckland. Richard Ussher, 2005 and 2006 champion from Nelson will also take away a top ten place.
Two more picks include perennial top ten placers Gordon Blythen from Wanaka and Dick Brunton from Christchurch. Blythen, who at 43 years old should be a veteran, has opted to do the open section; as has Brunton. Both are chasing the $10,000 first prize and both have finished in the top three in previous events. The best internationals are likely to be Guy Andrews and Luke Haines, both from Australia. Guy has placed in the top ten twice before and Luke is the current Mars Challenge Multisport Champion in Australia.
Jacob Roberts, a 34-year-old fitter and turner from Christchurch is the first of the dark horses. Roberts has competed twice before, in 1997 and 2007, and is considered by Canterbury multisporter's to be top ten material.
Endurance Sports Coach Cameron Carter of Christchurch is back again after competing in 2004, 2005 and 2006. He will step up to the challenge alongside Sam Goodall, a 23-year-old kayak instructor from Whangaporoa competing for the third consecutive time.
The last of Judkin's top ten Men's picks is 39-year-old Glenn McLeay, a jeweller from Invercargill. McLeay describes himself as ‘a former Olympic cyclist gone mad' and could be well matched by Frederik Jacques, a 30-year-old fund administrator from Belgium. Jacques holds the world record for swimming the English Channel breaststroke. Giving these two competitors a run for their money is Andrew Nicholson, a 37-year-old teacher from Mt Maunganui who represented New Zealand as an Olympic speed-skater and is competing in his third Speight's Coast to Coast.
The Women's section will be a three-way race between last year's champion Fleur Pawsey, a 28-year-old policy advisor in Wellington competing for her eighth time, 2006 champion Emily Miazga from Canada who had to pull out of the mountain running section last year, and Elina Ussher from Finland. Elina is married to Richard Ussher and placed fifth last year.
Sarah Fairmaid placed second last year and is back again to give first place a go, according to Judkins. She'll find a rival in 36-year-old Rachel Cashin from Taumarunui who declared that "last year was the last" while Sarah calls for "just one last time." Emily Miazga considers both of these women to provide some serious competition.
Suzette Nicholson, who came ninth in 2007, is back this year stating that "there are no shortcuts to any place worth going." This 33-year-old primatologist from Lower Hutt will be fighting for a top ten place against Anna Berthelsen, a marine biologist from Northland; Jeannie Bomford a professional athlete from South Africa; Mitch Murdoch a massage therapist from Queenstown; and Sia Svendsen from Denmark. Mitch is competing for her third time while Sia is back on her second attempt.
"It is very hard to restrict the top women to just ten, because athletes such as Sophie Hart of Ohope and Katrina Lawton, a fire-fighter from Rotorua, are just superb," Judkins comments.
The 2008 Speight's Coast to Coast competitors will journey from Kumara Beach to Sumner Beach on February 8th and 9th, with the one day race taking place on Saturday 9th.
29 January 2008.
With the Speight's Coast to Coast just around the corner, Race Director Robin Judkins has picked his top ten competitors in the Men's and Women's open sections of this year's World Multisport Championship – the one day event.
"It was easy to pick this year because so many of the top competitors are returning," says Judkins. "Having said that of course I could be completely off the mark – so I've included a couple of dark horses!"
Judkins believes that the open men's section, for competitors under 40-years, will be dominated by last year's winner Gordon Walker from Auckland. Richard Ussher, 2005 and 2006 champion from Nelson will also take away a top ten place.
Two more picks include perennial top ten placers Gordon Blythen from Wanaka and Dick Brunton from Christchurch. Blythen, who at 43 years old should be a veteran, has opted to do the open section; as has Brunton. Both are chasing the $10,000 first prize and both have finished in the top three in previous events. The best internationals are likely to be Guy Andrews and Luke Haines, both from Australia. Guy has placed in the top ten twice before and Luke is the current Mars Challenge Multisport Champion in Australia.
Jacob Roberts, a 34-year-old fitter and turner from Christchurch is the first of the dark horses. Roberts has competed twice before, in 1997 and 2007, and is considered by Canterbury multisporter's to be top ten material.
Endurance Sports Coach Cameron Carter of Christchurch is back again after competing in 2004, 2005 and 2006. He will step up to the challenge alongside Sam Goodall, a 23-year-old kayak instructor from Whangaporoa competing for the third consecutive time.
The last of Judkin's top ten Men's picks is 39-year-old Glenn McLeay, a jeweller from Invercargill. McLeay describes himself as ‘a former Olympic cyclist gone mad' and could be well matched by Frederik Jacques, a 30-year-old fund administrator from Belgium. Jacques holds the world record for swimming the English Channel breaststroke. Giving these two competitors a run for their money is Andrew Nicholson, a 37-year-old teacher from Mt Maunganui who represented New Zealand as an Olympic speed-skater and is competing in his third Speight's Coast to Coast.
The Women's section will be a three-way race between last year's champion Fleur Pawsey, a 28-year-old policy advisor in Wellington competing for her eighth time, 2006 champion Emily Miazga from Canada who had to pull out of the mountain running section last year, and Elina Ussher from Finland. Elina is married to Richard Ussher and placed fifth last year.
Sarah Fairmaid placed second last year and is back again to give first place a go, according to Judkins. She'll find a rival in 36-year-old Rachel Cashin from Taumarunui who declared that "last year was the last" while Sarah calls for "just one last time." Emily Miazga considers both of these women to provide some serious competition.
Suzette Nicholson, who came ninth in 2007, is back this year stating that "there are no shortcuts to any place worth going." This 33-year-old primatologist from Lower Hutt will be fighting for a top ten place against Anna Berthelsen, a marine biologist from Northland; Jeannie Bomford a professional athlete from South Africa; Mitch Murdoch a massage therapist from Queenstown; and Sia Svendsen from Denmark. Mitch is competing for her third time while Sia is back on her second attempt.
"It is very hard to restrict the top women to just ten, because athletes such as Sophie Hart of Ohope and Katrina Lawton, a fire-fighter from Rotorua, are just superb," Judkins comments.
The 2008 Speight's Coast to Coast competitors will journey from Kumara Beach to Sumner Beach on February 8th and 9th, with the one day race taking place on Saturday 9th.
Kinloch ready for New Zealand short course triathlon championships
Press Release: Triathlon New Zealand.
29th January 2008.
This weekend sees the latest round of the Contact Energy My Sport Series held in Taupo with Kinloch set to host some of the best athletes in the country on Sunday February 3 as round four of the series doubles as the New Zealand Sprint Triathlon Championships.
Alongside them though will be everyday Kiwis also taking part in the resurgence of Triathlon with age group races over the same sprint distance offering novice and first time athletes a chance to enjoy the thrill and challenge that triathlon offers.
Also on the programme is the Erin Baker Award race over the standard distance and while not a part of the Contact Energy My Sport Series it will form an important part of a busy days racing.
The elite and age group races are all qualifying events for the 2008 World Sprint Distance Triathlon Championships.
Races:
Taupo Standard Triathlon - Erin Baker Award
Contact Energy Cup - Age Group (Non Drafting)
Contact Energy Cup - U19 (Drafting)
Contact Energy Cup - Elite/U23 (Drafting)
Start Times (all Sunday February 3):
7.00am - Men, Taupo Standard Triathlon - Erin Baker Award
7.05 am - Women, Taupo Standard Triathlon - Erin Baker Award
7.15 am - Teams, Taupo Standard Triathlon - Erin Baker Award
10.00am - Contact Energy My Sport Series, Age Group Men
10.05am - Contact Energy My Sport Series, Age Group Women.
11.30am - NZ Sprint Championships, U19 Men
11.35am - NZ Sprint Championships, U19 Women
12.30pm - NZ Sprint Championships, Elite/U23 Men
12.35pm - NZ Sprint Championships, Elite/U23 Women
2pm - Prize Giving
Course Description (course maps can be found at www.triathlon.org.nz):
Taupo Standard Triathlon - Erin Baker Award
Swim: 1500m swim (2 x 750m Lap)
Bike: 40km bike loops around the Kinloch community
Run: 10km loop run
Contact Energy Cup - All races from age group to elite
Swim: 750m swim. (1 x 750m Lap)
Bike: An Undulating 20km bike around the Kinloch community.
Run: A 5km run around the town centre.
29th January 2008.
This weekend sees the latest round of the Contact Energy My Sport Series held in Taupo with Kinloch set to host some of the best athletes in the country on Sunday February 3 as round four of the series doubles as the New Zealand Sprint Triathlon Championships.
Alongside them though will be everyday Kiwis also taking part in the resurgence of Triathlon with age group races over the same sprint distance offering novice and first time athletes a chance to enjoy the thrill and challenge that triathlon offers.
Also on the programme is the Erin Baker Award race over the standard distance and while not a part of the Contact Energy My Sport Series it will form an important part of a busy days racing.
The elite and age group races are all qualifying events for the 2008 World Sprint Distance Triathlon Championships.
Races:
Taupo Standard Triathlon - Erin Baker Award
Contact Energy Cup - Age Group (Non Drafting)
Contact Energy Cup - U19 (Drafting)
Contact Energy Cup - Elite/U23 (Drafting)
Start Times (all Sunday February 3):
7.00am - Men, Taupo Standard Triathlon - Erin Baker Award
7.05 am - Women, Taupo Standard Triathlon - Erin Baker Award
7.15 am - Teams, Taupo Standard Triathlon - Erin Baker Award
10.00am - Contact Energy My Sport Series, Age Group Men
10.05am - Contact Energy My Sport Series, Age Group Women.
11.30am - NZ Sprint Championships, U19 Men
11.35am - NZ Sprint Championships, U19 Women
12.30pm - NZ Sprint Championships, Elite/U23 Men
12.35pm - NZ Sprint Championships, Elite/U23 Women
2pm - Prize Giving
Course Description (course maps can be found at www.triathlon.org.nz):
Taupo Standard Triathlon - Erin Baker Award
Swim: 1500m swim (2 x 750m Lap)
Bike: 40km bike loops around the Kinloch community
Run: 10km loop run
Contact Energy Cup - All races from age group to elite
Swim: 750m swim. (1 x 750m Lap)
Bike: An Undulating 20km bike around the Kinloch community.
Run: A 5km run around the town centre.
Tuesday, 29 January 2008
Nicky Samuels and Stephen Sheldrake extend their Contact Energy Cup Series leads
Press Release: Triathlon New Zealand
27 January 2008
Nicky Samuels has continued her great early season form and again suggested she is a definite contender for the third and final place on the New Zealand team for the Beijing Olympics with a victory at the Contact Energy My Sport Series in Timaru today, in doing so defeating training partner and Beijing rival Andrea Hewitt.
Conditions were superb and the location received a big 'thumbs up' from all athletes with a calm swim, a testing bike and run all under cloudless skies and in warm temperatures.
While both athletes are playing down the significance of the result in what was a non draft legal early season race (Mooloolaba qualifying race and the Olympics are draft legal), Samuels once again enjoyed her day at work.
"The swim was beautiful in calm clear conditions and I managed to stay in touch with Andrea – this was my goal. My transition was great and I came out onto the bike leg in front and stayed there, eventually enjoying a two minute lead into the run."
"Mooloolaba and Olympic qualifying will be so much different to this though. The swim can pan out differently and with a draft legal bike a few metres can mean a different group on the bike leg."
Samuels is in a good place at the moment and appears to be reveling in the hard training and racing regime.
"I am happy with my training in Wanaka and loving the sport and enjoying myself. I have to keep up the work into Mooloolaba and continue to improve. Today though I was most pleased with my run, haven't put a good run together for a little while. My swimming has been good and I am cycling well but will keep working on the run, today was great though."
Samuels will race again in Napier but in the meantime will head to the Tri NZ altitude training camp at Snowfarm (Wanaka). The Whangarei athlete is enjoying the Contact Energy My Sport series, using race days as hard training days to complement the rest of her programme.
Hewitt meanwhile never really got going after a good swim.
"The swim was good, I felt comfortable. The bike though was just okay and riding by yourself is a different thing altogether than draft legal racing. I had to stop a couple of times on the run towards the end, I'm not sure why to be honest but I feel fine now."
Hewitt will remain at her home in Christchurch to continue her training while racing a couple of times at the Canterbury Championships and the Wellington round of the Contact Energy My Sport Series (doubling as the national championships), all with an eye on Mooloolaba in late March.
Sheldrake wins again but might pay a price
Stephen Sheldrake has continued his dominance of the Contact Energy My Sport Series with a commanding victory in the latest round at Timaru today, leading home Invercargill's Bobby Douglas by over three minutes with Dylan McNeice (Christchurch) third.
The 34 year old says the body is showing signs of wear and tear but for now he is managing to cope with a busy schedule.
I struggled today to be honest and took a long time to get going in the swim. By the time I did find some rhythm Dylan (McNeice) had a minute lead. So I rode hard and managed to catch him at seven kilometres and then jammed rest of the ride to get as much of a lead as I could before the run. From there it was a matter of controlling the run to the finish and looking after my knee."
Sheldrake has struggled with the knee for a few weeks now and is likely to need keyhole surgery to tidy up a possible meniscus tear. The Gisborne athlete will wait to see how the knee reacts over the next few days before making any decisions about the National Short Course Championships at Kinloch next weekend, a race that doubles as round five of the Contact Energy My Sport Series.
Timaru turned it on with a scorching day with temperatures in the high 20's before midday. Bobby Douglas felt the effects of the heat but was otherwise pleased with a podium finish.
"I had a good race once I got over a stumble at the start of the swim when I dived a little earlier than I intended and lost my goggles. I sorted that out and emerged from the swim third. The bike course was really hard but I caught Dylan before we went to and fro on the run, finally emerging in second place across the line."
For Douglas he is still finding out his limits in the sport in just his second season at the top level.
"I am still finding out how good I can be in this sport. I'm aiming at nationals in March, going to the Tri NZ training camp at Snowfarm (Wanaka) that will tell me whether I am good enough to be at that level. I will also look at moving my base to be closer to other elite athletes so I can train alongside them to further improve."
A total of 200 athletes turned out in racing at Timaru. The Contact Energy My Sport Series now moves to Kinloch (Taupo) next weekend, a race that will double as the national sprint distance championships and world championship qualifying race for the distance.
Contact Energy Cup Race 27 January 2008, Timaru
1500m Swim / 40km Cycle / 10km Run
Men:
Swim Bike Run Total
Stephen Sheldrake Gis 22.16 59.29 35.23 1.57.08
Bobby Douglas Inv 22.18 1.04.02 34.25 2.00.45
Dylan McNeice Chch 21.36 1.04.51 35.02 2.01.19
Women:
Nicky Samuels Whg 23.25 1.04.02 36.55 2.04.22
Andrea Hewitt Chch 23.31 1.06.23 38.09 2.08.03
Janine Sax BOP 27.18 1.09.01 39.09 2.15.28
27 January 2008
Nicky Samuels has continued her great early season form and again suggested she is a definite contender for the third and final place on the New Zealand team for the Beijing Olympics with a victory at the Contact Energy My Sport Series in Timaru today, in doing so defeating training partner and Beijing rival Andrea Hewitt.
Conditions were superb and the location received a big 'thumbs up' from all athletes with a calm swim, a testing bike and run all under cloudless skies and in warm temperatures.
While both athletes are playing down the significance of the result in what was a non draft legal early season race (Mooloolaba qualifying race and the Olympics are draft legal), Samuels once again enjoyed her day at work.
"The swim was beautiful in calm clear conditions and I managed to stay in touch with Andrea – this was my goal. My transition was great and I came out onto the bike leg in front and stayed there, eventually enjoying a two minute lead into the run."
"Mooloolaba and Olympic qualifying will be so much different to this though. The swim can pan out differently and with a draft legal bike a few metres can mean a different group on the bike leg."
Samuels is in a good place at the moment and appears to be reveling in the hard training and racing regime.
"I am happy with my training in Wanaka and loving the sport and enjoying myself. I have to keep up the work into Mooloolaba and continue to improve. Today though I was most pleased with my run, haven't put a good run together for a little while. My swimming has been good and I am cycling well but will keep working on the run, today was great though."
Samuels will race again in Napier but in the meantime will head to the Tri NZ altitude training camp at Snowfarm (Wanaka). The Whangarei athlete is enjoying the Contact Energy My Sport series, using race days as hard training days to complement the rest of her programme.
Hewitt meanwhile never really got going after a good swim.
"The swim was good, I felt comfortable. The bike though was just okay and riding by yourself is a different thing altogether than draft legal racing. I had to stop a couple of times on the run towards the end, I'm not sure why to be honest but I feel fine now."
Hewitt will remain at her home in Christchurch to continue her training while racing a couple of times at the Canterbury Championships and the Wellington round of the Contact Energy My Sport Series (doubling as the national championships), all with an eye on Mooloolaba in late March.
Sheldrake wins again but might pay a price
Stephen Sheldrake has continued his dominance of the Contact Energy My Sport Series with a commanding victory in the latest round at Timaru today, leading home Invercargill's Bobby Douglas by over three minutes with Dylan McNeice (Christchurch) third.
The 34 year old says the body is showing signs of wear and tear but for now he is managing to cope with a busy schedule.
I struggled today to be honest and took a long time to get going in the swim. By the time I did find some rhythm Dylan (McNeice) had a minute lead. So I rode hard and managed to catch him at seven kilometres and then jammed rest of the ride to get as much of a lead as I could before the run. From there it was a matter of controlling the run to the finish and looking after my knee."
Sheldrake has struggled with the knee for a few weeks now and is likely to need keyhole surgery to tidy up a possible meniscus tear. The Gisborne athlete will wait to see how the knee reacts over the next few days before making any decisions about the National Short Course Championships at Kinloch next weekend, a race that doubles as round five of the Contact Energy My Sport Series.
Timaru turned it on with a scorching day with temperatures in the high 20's before midday. Bobby Douglas felt the effects of the heat but was otherwise pleased with a podium finish.
"I had a good race once I got over a stumble at the start of the swim when I dived a little earlier than I intended and lost my goggles. I sorted that out and emerged from the swim third. The bike course was really hard but I caught Dylan before we went to and fro on the run, finally emerging in second place across the line."
For Douglas he is still finding out his limits in the sport in just his second season at the top level.
"I am still finding out how good I can be in this sport. I'm aiming at nationals in March, going to the Tri NZ training camp at Snowfarm (Wanaka) that will tell me whether I am good enough to be at that level. I will also look at moving my base to be closer to other elite athletes so I can train alongside them to further improve."
A total of 200 athletes turned out in racing at Timaru. The Contact Energy My Sport Series now moves to Kinloch (Taupo) next weekend, a race that will double as the national sprint distance championships and world championship qualifying race for the distance.
Contact Energy Cup Race 27 January 2008, Timaru
1500m Swim / 40km Cycle / 10km Run
Men:
Swim Bike Run Total
Stephen Sheldrake Gis 22.16 59.29 35.23 1.57.08
Bobby Douglas Inv 22.18 1.04.02 34.25 2.00.45
Dylan McNeice Chch 21.36 1.04.51 35.02 2.01.19
Women:
Nicky Samuels Whg 23.25 1.04.02 36.55 2.04.22
Andrea Hewitt Chch 23.31 1.06.23 38.09 2.08.03
Janine Sax BOP 27.18 1.09.01 39.09 2.15.28
Saturday, 26 January 2008
Gina Ferguson Challenge Wanaka race report
From Gina Ferguson on www.ginaferguson.com:
I have just got home after spending a week in Wanaka where I raced Challenge Wanaka and I can say that it was the best event I've ever taken part in. Wanaka is the perfect place for an iron distance event in my opinion. The scenery is spectacular, the course challenging and honest, and it has probably the best weather in the country at this time of year. People were able to take part either as an individual or as a team which is a fantastic way of getting more people involved in ironman distance racing.
My major race of the season is Ironman New Zealand, however there was no way I wanted to miss this race as living in the South Island of New Zealand, this is the closest to racing at home I'm ever going to get. This meant I had to race without a taper and I wasn't sure what the outcome would be, but I was ready to find out.
We arrived in Wanaka 4 days before the race. I travelled with my fiancée Brett and my two dogs, and we camped at a camping ground on the run course. It was a beautiful setting and I enjoyed my 4 days training on the course, especially swimming in the crystal clear Lake Wanaka. It's not often you get to swim along, turn you head and see mountains in the background! I knew I wouldn't be seeing much in the race so I tried to soak up as much as I could while training.
Race day was absolutely perfect, best conditions I have ever raced in. I had a great swim keeping up with the top guys from the beginning. After about 1km I took over the lead for about 1200m, I actually tried to make a break and thought it had worked, but before long I felt the hands tapping on my feet again so I decided to let some of the guys do the work and in the end we came out a group of 4 or 5 of us in 50 mins. I was very pleased as I didn't have a good swim in my last ironman race and so have been doing a bit of work to get it back up to scratch.
I already had a handy lead by the end of the swim and I would stay in the lead for the rest of the day. It is not my favourite way of racing. I quite enjoy the thrill of the chase on the run, and as the bike course was a single lap with one spot at 160km where you could see the competition I had to race with no knowledge of what was happening behind. I was very pleased with the way I was able to remain focused for nearly the entire ride. In the past I have struggled with remaining focused and my mind often drifts off, but I have improved in this area a lot. The bike was an undulating course and I really enjoyed it. It was also my first ironman race on my new Ceepo bike and it really made a difference. There was none of the suffering from poor bike position as I had experienced at ironman Western Australia and I believe I came off the bike much fresher than usual. At the 160km mark I estimated I had about a 10 min gap on second but after looking at the splits it turns out I had a fifteen minute gap after the bike section.
So coming onto the run I knew I didn't have to run too hard to win, however I was feeling pretty good and wanted to break the race record. So I ran the first lap pretty strongly in a 1.32 and then saw I only needed to run the second lap in a 1.42 to break the record, and as I had such a big lead I decided to go pretty easy the second loop so I would have a faster recovery for my Ironman NZ build-up. The run was my favourite marathon run I have done. It was 50% off road around the lake and the river and then the other 50% was on undulating roads, some of the hills were pretty unrelenting but I really enjoyed the challenge. It was a 2 lap course so it meant I got to run through the crowd at 21k and get a bit of an energy boost from them. It was apparently 34 degrees during the run but I never felt hot just thirstier than usual. I have been looking for a hot race to see how I handle the heat and I was pleased that I coped so well with it. I was very happy to run a 3.09 marathon on a tough course, without having to push myself in the second half of the run.
So in the end I finished the race in 1st place, breaking Belinda Granger's course record from the previous year by 5 minutes and winning by 38 minutes. It was a wise decision to back off on the 2nd lap of the run as I am actually not sore at all. I am having a pretty easy week though and then it will be back into the hard work to prepare myself for Ironman NZ. I am also looking forward to returning to Wanaka in only 3 weeks to participate in a Tri NZ high altitude training camp. I am very lucky to have this opportunity and would like to thank Tri NZ and SPARC for this.
So, I will be looking forward to returning next year to race this race again and am looking forward to seeing this event grow and grow over the next few years. I would like to thank the team at evenz for putting on such a great race, and for Felix for bringing the Challenge series to Wanaka and NZ. I will be taking part in the Challenge Roth later this year and am much looking forward to it.
I have just got home after spending a week in Wanaka where I raced Challenge Wanaka and I can say that it was the best event I've ever taken part in. Wanaka is the perfect place for an iron distance event in my opinion. The scenery is spectacular, the course challenging and honest, and it has probably the best weather in the country at this time of year. People were able to take part either as an individual or as a team which is a fantastic way of getting more people involved in ironman distance racing.
My major race of the season is Ironman New Zealand, however there was no way I wanted to miss this race as living in the South Island of New Zealand, this is the closest to racing at home I'm ever going to get. This meant I had to race without a taper and I wasn't sure what the outcome would be, but I was ready to find out.
We arrived in Wanaka 4 days before the race. I travelled with my fiancée Brett and my two dogs, and we camped at a camping ground on the run course. It was a beautiful setting and I enjoyed my 4 days training on the course, especially swimming in the crystal clear Lake Wanaka. It's not often you get to swim along, turn you head and see mountains in the background! I knew I wouldn't be seeing much in the race so I tried to soak up as much as I could while training.
Race day was absolutely perfect, best conditions I have ever raced in. I had a great swim keeping up with the top guys from the beginning. After about 1km I took over the lead for about 1200m, I actually tried to make a break and thought it had worked, but before long I felt the hands tapping on my feet again so I decided to let some of the guys do the work and in the end we came out a group of 4 or 5 of us in 50 mins. I was very pleased as I didn't have a good swim in my last ironman race and so have been doing a bit of work to get it back up to scratch.
I already had a handy lead by the end of the swim and I would stay in the lead for the rest of the day. It is not my favourite way of racing. I quite enjoy the thrill of the chase on the run, and as the bike course was a single lap with one spot at 160km where you could see the competition I had to race with no knowledge of what was happening behind. I was very pleased with the way I was able to remain focused for nearly the entire ride. In the past I have struggled with remaining focused and my mind often drifts off, but I have improved in this area a lot. The bike was an undulating course and I really enjoyed it. It was also my first ironman race on my new Ceepo bike and it really made a difference. There was none of the suffering from poor bike position as I had experienced at ironman Western Australia and I believe I came off the bike much fresher than usual. At the 160km mark I estimated I had about a 10 min gap on second but after looking at the splits it turns out I had a fifteen minute gap after the bike section.
So coming onto the run I knew I didn't have to run too hard to win, however I was feeling pretty good and wanted to break the race record. So I ran the first lap pretty strongly in a 1.32 and then saw I only needed to run the second lap in a 1.42 to break the record, and as I had such a big lead I decided to go pretty easy the second loop so I would have a faster recovery for my Ironman NZ build-up. The run was my favourite marathon run I have done. It was 50% off road around the lake and the river and then the other 50% was on undulating roads, some of the hills were pretty unrelenting but I really enjoyed the challenge. It was a 2 lap course so it meant I got to run through the crowd at 21k and get a bit of an energy boost from them. It was apparently 34 degrees during the run but I never felt hot just thirstier than usual. I have been looking for a hot race to see how I handle the heat and I was pleased that I coped so well with it. I was very happy to run a 3.09 marathon on a tough course, without having to push myself in the second half of the run.
So in the end I finished the race in 1st place, breaking Belinda Granger's course record from the previous year by 5 minutes and winning by 38 minutes. It was a wise decision to back off on the 2nd lap of the run as I am actually not sore at all. I am having a pretty easy week though and then it will be back into the hard work to prepare myself for Ironman NZ. I am also looking forward to returning to Wanaka in only 3 weeks to participate in a Tri NZ high altitude training camp. I am very lucky to have this opportunity and would like to thank Tri NZ and SPARC for this.
So, I will be looking forward to returning next year to race this race again and am looking forward to seeing this event grow and grow over the next few years. I would like to thank the team at evenz for putting on such a great race, and for Felix for bringing the Challenge series to Wanaka and NZ. I will be taking part in the Challenge Roth later this year and am much looking forward to it.
Olympic Contenders Samuels and Hewitt in Timaru
Press Release: Triathlon New Zealand.
23rd January 2008.
Two athletes chasing a place in the Triathlon at the Beijing Olympic Games will get an early season guide to form and fitness when they race each other in the next round of the Contact Energy My Sport Series in Timaru on Sunday.
Nicky Samuels and Andrea Hewitt are the two highest ranked New Zealand athletes chasing the third and final spot on the New Zealand team for Beijing and are both gearing their seasons towards peaking at Mooloolaba in late March, the final Olympic selection race. But the friends and training partners will line up against each other in Timaru this Sunday in the fourth round of the Contact Energy My Sport Series and while neither is overly concerned about the result, both admit to feeling the extra edge in Olympic year.
"The focus is very much on Mooloolaba for me but Sunday will be a good guide as to where I am in my training programme," said world number twelve Hewitt.
"This is the first race of the season for me after spending the past 6 weeks building up my base with some big miles, including spending considerable time on the bike winning the Tour de Femme in Nelson. It is also nice to be able to race in our own series at home in front of family, friends and supporters. Nicky has been racing well and is in good form so might have the edge on Sunday but we will see. The result is almost irrelevant anyway, for me it is more about how I race and how I feel at this early stage of my schedule."
Samuels has already picked up two impressive wins in the Contact Energy My Sport Series, including a commanding victory in Whangamata two weeks ago. But like Hewitt, the world's 35th ranked athlete is not giving too much away ahead of Sunday.
"Sunday is another race and another opportunity to continue the hard work of recent weeks that has me building nicely for Mooloolaba. It will be important not to get carried away this early in the season knowing that the bigger prize is still 9 weeks away but I'm looking forward to racing and having some fun in what is developing into an excellent series. Andrea and I know each other pretty well so its not as if we can hide anything ahead of Mooloolaba so racing on Sunday is not such a big deal."
Samantha Warriner and Debbie Tanner have already secured two of the possible three spots in the New Zealand team for Beijing with Hewitt and Samuels expected to be the leading contenders to secure the third spot at the final New Zealand selection race in Mooloolaba on March 30th.
The men's race looks at this stage to be in the hands of series points leader Stephen Sheldrake, a winner of two of the three events so far. The defending Contact Cup Series champion has been in imperious form and will start a hot favourite again on Sunday.
Once again the day will feature a Tri My Sport race for novice, beginner or less confident athletes with distances designed to allow everyday New Zealanders an opportunity to give the sport a go.
Tri NZ CEO Dave Beeche says the response so far to the Tri My Sport concept has been superb.
"This series is about the elite with top quality races in great venues with good prize money. But the Contact Energy My Sport Series is even more focused on the average Kiwi looking to get out and give the sport a go for general health and fitness reasons."
"Timaru is a particularly good race for the first timers over a short distance and a flat course. If anyone is looking for an entry point into the sport or a return after time out, this is the ideal race."
Contact Energy My Sport Series, Timaru
Date: Sunday 27th January 2008
Location: Caroline Bay Timaru
Parking by marshals off Marine Parade
Registration Middle of Loop Road Caroline Bay Timaru
Races:
Tri My Sport - 200 m Swim / 11.5 km Cycle / 3.3 km Run
Contact Energy Cup Triathlon (Individual & Teams) - 1500m Swim / 40km Cycle / 10km Run
Also Kayak & Duathlon option
Its still not too late enter, as online entries close Friday at 6pm. Enter at www.triathlon.org.nz
However Late Entries will also be taken at the times and locations below
Saturday 26th January 2008, 1 – 5pm Caroline Bay Hall, Caroline Bay Timaru
Sunday 27th January 2008, 7 – 8.30am at Venue
23rd January 2008.
Two athletes chasing a place in the Triathlon at the Beijing Olympic Games will get an early season guide to form and fitness when they race each other in the next round of the Contact Energy My Sport Series in Timaru on Sunday.
Nicky Samuels and Andrea Hewitt are the two highest ranked New Zealand athletes chasing the third and final spot on the New Zealand team for Beijing and are both gearing their seasons towards peaking at Mooloolaba in late March, the final Olympic selection race. But the friends and training partners will line up against each other in Timaru this Sunday in the fourth round of the Contact Energy My Sport Series and while neither is overly concerned about the result, both admit to feeling the extra edge in Olympic year.
"The focus is very much on Mooloolaba for me but Sunday will be a good guide as to where I am in my training programme," said world number twelve Hewitt.
"This is the first race of the season for me after spending the past 6 weeks building up my base with some big miles, including spending considerable time on the bike winning the Tour de Femme in Nelson. It is also nice to be able to race in our own series at home in front of family, friends and supporters. Nicky has been racing well and is in good form so might have the edge on Sunday but we will see. The result is almost irrelevant anyway, for me it is more about how I race and how I feel at this early stage of my schedule."
Samuels has already picked up two impressive wins in the Contact Energy My Sport Series, including a commanding victory in Whangamata two weeks ago. But like Hewitt, the world's 35th ranked athlete is not giving too much away ahead of Sunday.
"Sunday is another race and another opportunity to continue the hard work of recent weeks that has me building nicely for Mooloolaba. It will be important not to get carried away this early in the season knowing that the bigger prize is still 9 weeks away but I'm looking forward to racing and having some fun in what is developing into an excellent series. Andrea and I know each other pretty well so its not as if we can hide anything ahead of Mooloolaba so racing on Sunday is not such a big deal."
Samantha Warriner and Debbie Tanner have already secured two of the possible three spots in the New Zealand team for Beijing with Hewitt and Samuels expected to be the leading contenders to secure the third spot at the final New Zealand selection race in Mooloolaba on March 30th.
The men's race looks at this stage to be in the hands of series points leader Stephen Sheldrake, a winner of two of the three events so far. The defending Contact Cup Series champion has been in imperious form and will start a hot favourite again on Sunday.
Once again the day will feature a Tri My Sport race for novice, beginner or less confident athletes with distances designed to allow everyday New Zealanders an opportunity to give the sport a go.
Tri NZ CEO Dave Beeche says the response so far to the Tri My Sport concept has been superb.
"This series is about the elite with top quality races in great venues with good prize money. But the Contact Energy My Sport Series is even more focused on the average Kiwi looking to get out and give the sport a go for general health and fitness reasons."
"Timaru is a particularly good race for the first timers over a short distance and a flat course. If anyone is looking for an entry point into the sport or a return after time out, this is the ideal race."
Contact Energy My Sport Series, Timaru
Date: Sunday 27th January 2008
Location: Caroline Bay Timaru
Parking by marshals off Marine Parade
Registration Middle of Loop Road Caroline Bay Timaru
Races:
Tri My Sport - 200 m Swim / 11.5 km Cycle / 3.3 km Run
Contact Energy Cup Triathlon (Individual & Teams) - 1500m Swim / 40km Cycle / 10km Run
Also Kayak & Duathlon option
Its still not too late enter, as online entries close Friday at 6pm. Enter at www.triathlon.org.nz
However Late Entries will also be taken at the times and locations below
Saturday 26th January 2008, 1 – 5pm Caroline Bay Hall, Caroline Bay Timaru
Sunday 27th January 2008, 7 – 8.30am at Venue
Tuesday, 22 January 2008
James Elvery January 2008 report
From James Elvery:
19 January 2008 - World Ranking: was:111, now:53
Hi Everyone
I hope this finds you well and rested after a good Christmas and New Year. Heaps has happened since my last update in November. I raced in 2 more Stroke n Strides, with my fitness improving each time from 5th in round one, to 4th and then 3rd. Next up at the start of December was Round 2 of the TriNZ Contact Energy My Sport Series held in downtown Takapuna. This was a really cool race. We started in the evening, about 7pm and raced a 400/16/4.5 format tri. The bike and run courses were criterium style round the bars and cafes of Takapuna, and with the crowd right in your face cheering the whole way; it made for an outstanding atmosphere. I finally felt good in this race, and was in contention until the last lap of the run, eventually finishing 4th. This is right where I needed to be without any speed work under my belt.
From there I drove the Civic down to Christchurch and put in the 2 best weeks training I feel I've ever completed. The weather was awesome and I had a great time exploring some of the trails in the Port Hills and the forest tracks out by New Brighton. The focus was on base running work in preparation for the big races in March but I did have a couple of short term targets in mind...
On January 1st I left Auckland and flew to Chile (via Sydney, Bangkok, Dubai, Sao Paulo, Santiago!) to compete in 2 ITU Continental Cup races in Vina del Mar, Chile and La Paz, Argentina. The purpose of this trip was to get some ITU points right at the start of the year. At the end of each year everyone's points are reduced to 1/3rd, meaning that if you score any points early in the season you are likely to move more dramatically up the rankings. This is exactly what I needed to guarantee me a start in the Mooloolaba World Cup; NZ's last Olympic selection race. It also helps with things like getting a good start spot on pontoons, and gaining selection to the Elite World Champs.
So off I went! Vina del Mar is located on Chile's Pacific Coast about 150Km North of Santiago. It's apparently THE place for Chileans to holiday in the summer, and it was packed! The weather was cool in the mornings but got really hot around lunch and stayed warm into the night. The water was particularly cold with a current coming up from Antarctica, so it was a wetsuit swim. The bike and run courses were both flat around the waterfront.
Before the first race I wasn't really sure at all how I would go. I was still only in my base training, and after the long drag flight my sleeping was pretty messed up and I was wide awake from 1am on race day. The competition turned out to be tougher than I had expected with some Japanese, Americans, and good South Americans. The entire Mexican team also turned up with the goal of helping one of their guys earn Mexico an Olympic spot.
I swam alright, made the front pack and was feeling good. The pace wasn't really on and I ended up breaking away, unintentionally at first, with a Mexican athlete. We stayed away for about 10k before the bunch got its act together and we gave up with 10k to go. I got off and felt good running right away. It's a great feeling when that happens! I pushed hard in the first 5k with 3 other athletes and got a good gap on the rest of the field. Again in the finish I was lacking the top end intensity and just couldn't lift to go with the other 3. I came 4th, which was a very positive start to the year.
The next day I traveled to Santiago, and stayed 3 nights with an American athlete Bucky Shafer. I would have to say Santiago is one of the nicest cities I've been to; very clean, surrounded by mountains and perfect weather every day. I was told it never rains from November to February. It was so hot; the only thing I could have done with was a surf beach to cool off at.
Later in the week we flew to Buenos Aires for a night, then took another flight north into Argentina and were eventually picked up and driven 3hrs to the little town of La Paz. This place seriously seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. La Paz sits on the banks of the muddy brown Parana River, which makes the Waikato look pretty small and is home to 30,000 people. The triathlon has been held here every year since 1983 and with it being such a small place; everyone is involved and very knowledgeable about the sport and athletes.
I managed to avoid food poisoning and such from the food and water, but unfortunately woke up the day before the race with the start of a cold and spent most of the last day and a half before the race in bed. I felt pretty bad but was determined to get a decent result after coming all that way.
La Paz was even hotter than Vina the week before. We started at 5pm and it was 37degrees, not a breath of wind or a cloud in the sky. Bring on the suffering! I decided to race safe and get a reasonable result without doing myself too much damage with being sick and the heat.
First we were ushered onto a cattle barge and taken up river a bit. As we filed onto the boat fishermen had laid out their catch of the day. It was really reassuring to see a couple of unmistakable Piranhas among the strange looking fish. I did not do a warm up in the water! It was a tricky swim as we swam downriver, and then had to do a circle around 3 buoys making a loop of about 800m before finishing downstream. With the current this loop made things pretty interesting when swimming across the current. I was feeling terrible, wondering if I would make it to the finish today. I stayed with the main group, I didn't want to get isolated and become fish food!
I came out about halfway down the field, rode with the third pack up to the second and settled in for a long hot race. We had 9 laps with 2 hills each lap, big lumps and cracks and speed bumps in the road and average bike handling from a few. There were 5 guys ahead with a 45 sec lead from the swim. I was happy to leave them out there as they would have trouble riding hard and then running well in the heat. Unfortunately I missed an opportunity when 3 guys bridged across the gap and suddenly it was 8 vs 12 and all the strong guys were up front. The crowd support was fantastic. The entire course was absolutely packed, and everyone was handing out water and spraying us with hoses. Some crazy locals let off a bunch of fireworks on the ground by the bike turnaround.
We got off about 1min30 down and this week I wasn't feeling it off the bike. I did sort of come right after 2k though, and just held my form to run through a few guys. I got thrown an all black jersey as I ran down the straight, and managed to get it on before the finish. I finished 9th which looking back now was solid and made the trip a total success. I moved from 111th up to 53rd in the world rankings.
I am now in with a shot at our last place for the Olympics. Even if it's a small chance! So now I've just got home after 4 long hard days of bus trips, airports and aeroplanes and am taking a few days to recover and properly kick my cold. Next week I'm back down to the South Island to get back into the real important training for my goals in March. I'm pretty happy with where my fitness is at at this point. I just need to be careful not to go overboard and try and do too much now and keep the intensity under control. The Mooloolaba World Cup is the main target on March 31st, with 4 of us going for 1 place on the team for Beijing.
I'm out of funds (again!) but hopefully I can start to win some decent cash in the next few Stroke n Strides. I don't think there is a better way to get motivated to race well!
Thanks for your support.
James
19 January 2008 - World Ranking: was:111, now:53
Hi Everyone
I hope this finds you well and rested after a good Christmas and New Year. Heaps has happened since my last update in November. I raced in 2 more Stroke n Strides, with my fitness improving each time from 5th in round one, to 4th and then 3rd. Next up at the start of December was Round 2 of the TriNZ Contact Energy My Sport Series held in downtown Takapuna. This was a really cool race. We started in the evening, about 7pm and raced a 400/16/4.5 format tri. The bike and run courses were criterium style round the bars and cafes of Takapuna, and with the crowd right in your face cheering the whole way; it made for an outstanding atmosphere. I finally felt good in this race, and was in contention until the last lap of the run, eventually finishing 4th. This is right where I needed to be without any speed work under my belt.
From there I drove the Civic down to Christchurch and put in the 2 best weeks training I feel I've ever completed. The weather was awesome and I had a great time exploring some of the trails in the Port Hills and the forest tracks out by New Brighton. The focus was on base running work in preparation for the big races in March but I did have a couple of short term targets in mind...
On January 1st I left Auckland and flew to Chile (via Sydney, Bangkok, Dubai, Sao Paulo, Santiago!) to compete in 2 ITU Continental Cup races in Vina del Mar, Chile and La Paz, Argentina. The purpose of this trip was to get some ITU points right at the start of the year. At the end of each year everyone's points are reduced to 1/3rd, meaning that if you score any points early in the season you are likely to move more dramatically up the rankings. This is exactly what I needed to guarantee me a start in the Mooloolaba World Cup; NZ's last Olympic selection race. It also helps with things like getting a good start spot on pontoons, and gaining selection to the Elite World Champs.
So off I went! Vina del Mar is located on Chile's Pacific Coast about 150Km North of Santiago. It's apparently THE place for Chileans to holiday in the summer, and it was packed! The weather was cool in the mornings but got really hot around lunch and stayed warm into the night. The water was particularly cold with a current coming up from Antarctica, so it was a wetsuit swim. The bike and run courses were both flat around the waterfront.
Before the first race I wasn't really sure at all how I would go. I was still only in my base training, and after the long drag flight my sleeping was pretty messed up and I was wide awake from 1am on race day. The competition turned out to be tougher than I had expected with some Japanese, Americans, and good South Americans. The entire Mexican team also turned up with the goal of helping one of their guys earn Mexico an Olympic spot.
I swam alright, made the front pack and was feeling good. The pace wasn't really on and I ended up breaking away, unintentionally at first, with a Mexican athlete. We stayed away for about 10k before the bunch got its act together and we gave up with 10k to go. I got off and felt good running right away. It's a great feeling when that happens! I pushed hard in the first 5k with 3 other athletes and got a good gap on the rest of the field. Again in the finish I was lacking the top end intensity and just couldn't lift to go with the other 3. I came 4th, which was a very positive start to the year.
The next day I traveled to Santiago, and stayed 3 nights with an American athlete Bucky Shafer. I would have to say Santiago is one of the nicest cities I've been to; very clean, surrounded by mountains and perfect weather every day. I was told it never rains from November to February. It was so hot; the only thing I could have done with was a surf beach to cool off at.
Later in the week we flew to Buenos Aires for a night, then took another flight north into Argentina and were eventually picked up and driven 3hrs to the little town of La Paz. This place seriously seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. La Paz sits on the banks of the muddy brown Parana River, which makes the Waikato look pretty small and is home to 30,000 people. The triathlon has been held here every year since 1983 and with it being such a small place; everyone is involved and very knowledgeable about the sport and athletes.
I managed to avoid food poisoning and such from the food and water, but unfortunately woke up the day before the race with the start of a cold and spent most of the last day and a half before the race in bed. I felt pretty bad but was determined to get a decent result after coming all that way.
La Paz was even hotter than Vina the week before. We started at 5pm and it was 37degrees, not a breath of wind or a cloud in the sky. Bring on the suffering! I decided to race safe and get a reasonable result without doing myself too much damage with being sick and the heat.
First we were ushered onto a cattle barge and taken up river a bit. As we filed onto the boat fishermen had laid out their catch of the day. It was really reassuring to see a couple of unmistakable Piranhas among the strange looking fish. I did not do a warm up in the water! It was a tricky swim as we swam downriver, and then had to do a circle around 3 buoys making a loop of about 800m before finishing downstream. With the current this loop made things pretty interesting when swimming across the current. I was feeling terrible, wondering if I would make it to the finish today. I stayed with the main group, I didn't want to get isolated and become fish food!
I came out about halfway down the field, rode with the third pack up to the second and settled in for a long hot race. We had 9 laps with 2 hills each lap, big lumps and cracks and speed bumps in the road and average bike handling from a few. There were 5 guys ahead with a 45 sec lead from the swim. I was happy to leave them out there as they would have trouble riding hard and then running well in the heat. Unfortunately I missed an opportunity when 3 guys bridged across the gap and suddenly it was 8 vs 12 and all the strong guys were up front. The crowd support was fantastic. The entire course was absolutely packed, and everyone was handing out water and spraying us with hoses. Some crazy locals let off a bunch of fireworks on the ground by the bike turnaround.
We got off about 1min30 down and this week I wasn't feeling it off the bike. I did sort of come right after 2k though, and just held my form to run through a few guys. I got thrown an all black jersey as I ran down the straight, and managed to get it on before the finish. I finished 9th which looking back now was solid and made the trip a total success. I moved from 111th up to 53rd in the world rankings.
I am now in with a shot at our last place for the Olympics. Even if it's a small chance! So now I've just got home after 4 long hard days of bus trips, airports and aeroplanes and am taking a few days to recover and properly kick my cold. Next week I'm back down to the South Island to get back into the real important training for my goals in March. I'm pretty happy with where my fitness is at at this point. I just need to be careful not to go overboard and try and do too much now and keep the intensity under control. The Mooloolaba World Cup is the main target on March 31st, with 4 of us going for 1 place on the team for Beijing.
I'm out of funds (again!) but hopefully I can start to win some decent cash in the next few Stroke n Strides. I don't think there is a better way to get motivated to race well!
Thanks for your support.
James
Sunday, 20 January 2008
Challenge Wanaka 2008
Press Release: Challenge Wanaka.
19 January, 2008.
LAKE WANAKA - German's Marc Pschebezin set a new course record in staging a dramatic come-from-behind win in 8:47:49 at the second annual Challenge Wanaka long course triathlon on Saturday in Wanaka.
Pschebezin overhauled a more than seven-minute lead held by Australia's Chris McDonald with just 12km left to run to move to the front while the tenacious McDonald held on to finish second in 8:49:37 less than two minutes in arrears. Australia's Justin Granger, second here last year, took third in 8:54:08 with defending champion Luke Dragstra finishing fourth in 8:58:42. New Zealand's Keegan Williams, the top amateur at Ironman New Zealand last year, rounded out the top five in his professional debut with a 9:05:55 finish.
New Zealand's Gina Ferguson took the women's win after leading wire to wire in 9:33:46, another new course record. American Hillary Biscay, second here last year, took second again in 10:11:17 with Germany's Celia Kuch third in 10:32:39. Wanaka's own Merryn Greenwood, in her professional debut, took fourth in 10:36:21 with Canada's Marilyn McDonald fifth in 10:42:55.
The race opened with a 3.8km swim in Lake Wanaka, then transitioned to a 180km cycle through the rolling terrain of the Southern Lakes region before closing out with a 42.2km, two-lap run that includes some 21km on trails along the Clutha River.
After the first lap of the run Pschebezin, a seven time winner of the mountainous Inferno Triathlon in Switzerland, had halved his deficit to McDonald and had begun to entertain thoughts of the win. Known for his closing run speed, Pschebezin posted a scorching 2:48 run to seal his win.
"I really pushed it very hard to close the gap," he said. "I knew Chris was a pretty good runner. I just gave everything on the uphill section."
"It's not an easy course," Pschebezin continued. "You have to push it and keep pedaling all the time. You can't really relax on the course. The scenery was just gorgeous."
McDonald, winner of last year's Ironman Louisville in the US, is known as a tough cyclist and had moved to the front by 15km on his way to a record-breaking 4:59 bike ride. As he made his way around the course the gap had grown to 5:45 to the defending champion, Dragstra, with Williams another minute back and Pschebezin 7:30 back.
McDonald, who in December was eighth at Ironman Western Australia, said he was glad to have a hard hitout and was pleased with second on the day.
"I came here for a solid hitout," he said. "It's tough but it's beautiful."
Ferguson, who started racing long course only last year at Ironman New Zealand, took second at Ironman Western Australia in December after scoring her first Ironman win at Ironman Wisconsin in the US.
"It's the second time I've led from start to finish and that's the toughest position to be in," she said. "You have no idea what's happening behind you. You don't know if they're catching or gaining. I was pleased with my focus all day."
Ferguson, who is aiming at Ironman New Zealand in March, said she had entered the race in Wanaka with no taper. "It's the first time I haven't tapered for an Ironman and I wasn't sure how I'd go," she said, "but it seemed to suit me quite well."
"I like it tough," Ferguson said of the course's reputation for challenging conditions. "I really enjoyed the run. I like the off-road stuff. I do all my training off road."
Biscay came into the race on limited training as she'd had elbow surgery in December but said she enjoyed the day and met her goal. "I just did what I could on the bike,” she said. “My coach told me to not really kill myself. I think I was pretty conservative. I just tried to be tough and keep going."
More than 100 individual competitors and more than 70 three-person teams took on the challenge of the triathlon with competitors ranging in age from 14 to 80. Challenge Wanaka is part of the global TEAMChallenge series that includes events in Germany, France and Spain. For further information, visit www.challenge-wanaka.com.
Results Challenge Wanaka 3.8km swim/180km bike/42.2km run
19 January 2008
Men:
1) Marc Pschebizin (GER) 8:47:49
2) Chris McDonald (AUS) 8:49:37
3) Justin Granger (AUS) 8:54:08
4) Luke Dragstra (CAN) 8:58:42
5) Keegan Williams (NZL) 9:05:55
Women:
1) Gina Ferguson (NZL) 9:33:46
2) Hillary Biscay (USA) 10:11:17
3) Celia Kuch (GER) 10:32:39
4) Merryn Greenwood (NZL) 10:36:21
5) Marilyn McDonald (CAN) 10:42:55
19 January, 2008.
LAKE WANAKA - German's Marc Pschebezin set a new course record in staging a dramatic come-from-behind win in 8:47:49 at the second annual Challenge Wanaka long course triathlon on Saturday in Wanaka.
Pschebezin overhauled a more than seven-minute lead held by Australia's Chris McDonald with just 12km left to run to move to the front while the tenacious McDonald held on to finish second in 8:49:37 less than two minutes in arrears. Australia's Justin Granger, second here last year, took third in 8:54:08 with defending champion Luke Dragstra finishing fourth in 8:58:42. New Zealand's Keegan Williams, the top amateur at Ironman New Zealand last year, rounded out the top five in his professional debut with a 9:05:55 finish.
New Zealand's Gina Ferguson took the women's win after leading wire to wire in 9:33:46, another new course record. American Hillary Biscay, second here last year, took second again in 10:11:17 with Germany's Celia Kuch third in 10:32:39. Wanaka's own Merryn Greenwood, in her professional debut, took fourth in 10:36:21 with Canada's Marilyn McDonald fifth in 10:42:55.
The race opened with a 3.8km swim in Lake Wanaka, then transitioned to a 180km cycle through the rolling terrain of the Southern Lakes region before closing out with a 42.2km, two-lap run that includes some 21km on trails along the Clutha River.
After the first lap of the run Pschebezin, a seven time winner of the mountainous Inferno Triathlon in Switzerland, had halved his deficit to McDonald and had begun to entertain thoughts of the win. Known for his closing run speed, Pschebezin posted a scorching 2:48 run to seal his win.
"I really pushed it very hard to close the gap," he said. "I knew Chris was a pretty good runner. I just gave everything on the uphill section."
"It's not an easy course," Pschebezin continued. "You have to push it and keep pedaling all the time. You can't really relax on the course. The scenery was just gorgeous."
McDonald, winner of last year's Ironman Louisville in the US, is known as a tough cyclist and had moved to the front by 15km on his way to a record-breaking 4:59 bike ride. As he made his way around the course the gap had grown to 5:45 to the defending champion, Dragstra, with Williams another minute back and Pschebezin 7:30 back.
McDonald, who in December was eighth at Ironman Western Australia, said he was glad to have a hard hitout and was pleased with second on the day.
"I came here for a solid hitout," he said. "It's tough but it's beautiful."
Ferguson, who started racing long course only last year at Ironman New Zealand, took second at Ironman Western Australia in December after scoring her first Ironman win at Ironman Wisconsin in the US.
"It's the second time I've led from start to finish and that's the toughest position to be in," she said. "You have no idea what's happening behind you. You don't know if they're catching or gaining. I was pleased with my focus all day."
Ferguson, who is aiming at Ironman New Zealand in March, said she had entered the race in Wanaka with no taper. "It's the first time I haven't tapered for an Ironman and I wasn't sure how I'd go," she said, "but it seemed to suit me quite well."
"I like it tough," Ferguson said of the course's reputation for challenging conditions. "I really enjoyed the run. I like the off-road stuff. I do all my training off road."
Biscay came into the race on limited training as she'd had elbow surgery in December but said she enjoyed the day and met her goal. "I just did what I could on the bike,” she said. “My coach told me to not really kill myself. I think I was pretty conservative. I just tried to be tough and keep going."
More than 100 individual competitors and more than 70 three-person teams took on the challenge of the triathlon with competitors ranging in age from 14 to 80. Challenge Wanaka is part of the global TEAMChallenge series that includes events in Germany, France and Spain. For further information, visit www.challenge-wanaka.com.
Results Challenge Wanaka 3.8km swim/180km bike/42.2km run
19 January 2008
Men:
1) Marc Pschebizin (GER) 8:47:49
2) Chris McDonald (AUS) 8:49:37
3) Justin Granger (AUS) 8:54:08
4) Luke Dragstra (CAN) 8:58:42
5) Keegan Williams (NZL) 9:05:55
Women:
1) Gina Ferguson (NZL) 9:33:46
2) Hillary Biscay (USA) 10:11:17
3) Celia Kuch (GER) 10:32:39
4) Merryn Greenwood (NZL) 10:36:21
5) Marilyn McDonald (CAN) 10:42:55
Friday, 18 January 2008
Challenge Wanaka leaderboard
Keep an eye on the Challenge Wanaka website for updates on Saturday's big race with starts at 7am.
Last year the coverage was pretty good with You Tube video clips keeping spectators up to date.
Last year the coverage was pretty good with You Tube video clips keeping spectators up to date.
Petr Vabrousek takes his time
A couple of days ago I brazenly predicted Petr Vabrousek would take out the Wanaka Challenge even though I knew such predictions were foolish.
However he has had an interesting time getting to Wanaka. I had been annoyed that my carefully planned 5 hour trip from the North Island turned into a 3 flight 13 hour trip when weather caused a last minute landing abort of the 737 coming into Queenstown. I shouldn't have worried.
The likeable Czech, who has more than a dozen such events under his belt in the last 12 months left his base in Europe on Monday. He was then stranded in London and Hong Kong and rescheduled twice. He arrived late on Thursday just in time for the carbo dinner with just the shirt on his back for company. His bike and other gear were in Sydney, and there wasn't much communication from the airlines about when he was going to get it.
At the time of writing, just before bike check-in time he was riding around on borrowed bikes trying to find one that fitted him.
While he will be grateful for the help he has received he must be finding Wanaka a little frustrating after losing a possible winning position last year because of a technical infringement.
It will be remarkable if he does well given that 4 days in airports is not the best preparation for a race on somebody else's gear. He was going to have his work cut out anyway with the likes of Chris McDonald, Luke Dragstra and Justin Granger in the field.
However he has had an interesting time getting to Wanaka. I had been annoyed that my carefully planned 5 hour trip from the North Island turned into a 3 flight 13 hour trip when weather caused a last minute landing abort of the 737 coming into Queenstown. I shouldn't have worried.
The likeable Czech, who has more than a dozen such events under his belt in the last 12 months left his base in Europe on Monday. He was then stranded in London and Hong Kong and rescheduled twice. He arrived late on Thursday just in time for the carbo dinner with just the shirt on his back for company. His bike and other gear were in Sydney, and there wasn't much communication from the airlines about when he was going to get it.
At the time of writing, just before bike check-in time he was riding around on borrowed bikes trying to find one that fitted him.
While he will be grateful for the help he has received he must be finding Wanaka a little frustrating after losing a possible winning position last year because of a technical infringement.
It will be remarkable if he does well given that 4 days in airports is not the best preparation for a race on somebody else's gear. He was going to have his work cut out anyway with the likes of Chris McDonald, Luke Dragstra and Justin Granger in the field.
Wanaka rocks
There are 380 athletes in town for the second running of the Wanaka Challenge and the lakeside resort village of Wanaka is rocking. This little town has taken this race to its heart.
Ardmore street which is the main drag along the waterfront has been closed for three days in preparation for a finish right in the middle of town. This is one of a few minor changes from the inaugural event course last year.
The other notable change is that the swim now becomes a two lap course bringing it closer to town and the beach making it more spectator friendly.
The atmosphere is carnival, and it's one of the reasons races like this succeed so well in communities like this.
Where else can you get off the plane still an hours drive from the race and have the airport security policewoman say "I remember you. I gave you drinks on the hillside last year"? And waiting for your luggage an army lad says "Good luck with the race mate!". And then when you get to town, the taxi driver says "I remember you. I dropped you off after the race last year. Boy, you were a mess." I couldn't tell him that his memory must be fading due to age.
John Alldred, Lake Wanaka Tourism CEO, is over the moon about this race. He even takes a week's leave from his work to help with jobs like stuffing of registration bags. As he welcomes athletes at the carbo-loading party he fights back the emotion. The respect is mutual - without people like him this race would not exist.
There are nearly 400 volunteers, many are now replacing those from last year who now find themselves on the starting line.
With only 121 individual entrants and a couple of hundred team athletes this is one of the best kept secrets on the ironman-distance race calendar. But not for too long. Now in the very capable hands of TeamChallenge and ably assisted by local event managers I expect these numbers to blow out of the water in the coming years. TeamChallenge afterall run the largest ironman-distance race in the world, and have a huge reputation overseas.
If you are not in Wanaka for this race, you should ask yourself why not.
Ardmore street which is the main drag along the waterfront has been closed for three days in preparation for a finish right in the middle of town. This is one of a few minor changes from the inaugural event course last year.
The other notable change is that the swim now becomes a two lap course bringing it closer to town and the beach making it more spectator friendly.
The atmosphere is carnival, and it's one of the reasons races like this succeed so well in communities like this.
Where else can you get off the plane still an hours drive from the race and have the airport security policewoman say "I remember you. I gave you drinks on the hillside last year"? And waiting for your luggage an army lad says "Good luck with the race mate!". And then when you get to town, the taxi driver says "I remember you. I dropped you off after the race last year. Boy, you were a mess." I couldn't tell him that his memory must be fading due to age.
John Alldred, Lake Wanaka Tourism CEO, is over the moon about this race. He even takes a week's leave from his work to help with jobs like stuffing of registration bags. As he welcomes athletes at the carbo-loading party he fights back the emotion. The respect is mutual - without people like him this race would not exist.
There are nearly 400 volunteers, many are now replacing those from last year who now find themselves on the starting line.
With only 121 individual entrants and a couple of hundred team athletes this is one of the best kept secrets on the ironman-distance race calendar. But not for too long. Now in the very capable hands of TeamChallenge and ably assisted by local event managers I expect these numbers to blow out of the water in the coming years. TeamChallenge afterall run the largest ironman-distance race in the world, and have a huge reputation overseas.
If you are not in Wanaka for this race, you should ask yourself why not.
Challenge Wanaka pre-race update
Press release: Challenge Wanaka.
18 January 2008.
The countdown to the second Challenge Wanaka is well underway with registration open and over 60 athletes testing the Lake Wanaka water on the "Swim the Course" on Wednesday morning. There was universal acclaim for the crystal clear water and surrounding scenery. One athlete even went so far as to say that down the final length he was more engrossed in the scenery than the course!
Yesterday evening saw over 300 lcoals pack into the Lake Wanaka Centre for the Volunteers' briefing. From eight to 80, these generous individuals are the heart and soul of the event, giving up their free time to make the race possible.
A relaxed media briefing with the professional athletes saw friendly rivalry between one of the sport's best swimmers, Hillary Biscay (USA) and Luke Dragstra (CAN), last year's winner. At the inaugural Challenge Wanaka, Biscay was out of the water just a few seconds ahead of Dragstra but has spent the last few weeks unable to swim due to surgery on her elbow. In the meantime, Dragstra has been working hard at his swim so we'll be watching the outcome with interest on race day morning.
The men's event is shaping up to be a close run race with Dragstra and Chris McDonald (AUS) spending much time training together during the last year. In the five races they have competed in together, they have finished within 60 seconds of each other in all of them.
Another contender is Justin Granger who came in second last year. "I'm in pretty good shape having managed to stay away from the grog monster at Christmas!" he said. "I was left empty with second last year so that motivation’s been with me for the last 12 months and I’m looking forward to Saturday."
Two New Zealand pro athletes taking part are Keegan Williams from Hamilton and Gina Ferguson from Christchurch. This is Williams' first professional race and although by his own admission he's "still pretty green", he was keen to "hold the New Zealand flag high". With a half ironman victory and full ironman fastest age grouper title already under his belt, he’ll be doing that with ease.
Ferguson remains well-grounded despite her recent record-breaking success in Wisconsin and a second in Western Australia. "I go into a race with my own focus. I don't take any notice of where anyone else is, I just go as hard as I can. I’m just treating this as I would any other race and am looking forward to travelling to Challenge Roth and Hawaii later in the year."
Professional German athletes Susanne Buckenlei said it was one of her big dreams to be here in New Zealand, despite losing her wheels to Uganda courtesy of the airline! "It’s one of the most beautiful courses I’ve ever seen. I’ve been to many places but never seen anything like this; it has everything – mountains, lakes. It’s the perfect holiday combining a race with visiting this beautiful country."
The course was described by Justin Granger as "very honest – just you against the elements and nature. The way the New Zealand weather can turn, especially in an alpine region is a major factor. The run is 50% on trail which is a new concept for ironman distance as most are on tarmac. This creates more difficulty and takes a lot out of you."
Chris McDonald also agreed the course was challenging with heavy road chip and strong winds but said that suited him fine.
The nature of the course and the field numbers means that the lead athletes spend large amounts of time during the day by themselves. Granger said this was when the race came own to the mental factor. "You need a lot of motivation and positive thoughts. Were all very fit but of course there are highs and lows throughout the day. You prepare to the best of your ability but there are different mental factors that come in through the day – life would be boring if you didn’t challenge yourself – sure, we probably challenge ourselves more than others but it becomes an addiction and you keep wanting more!"
Challenge Wanaka will take place on January 19, 2008 starting at 7.00am and is part of the global TEAMChallenge series that includes events in Germany, France and Spain. For further information, visit www.challenge-wanaka.com.
18 January 2008.
The countdown to the second Challenge Wanaka is well underway with registration open and over 60 athletes testing the Lake Wanaka water on the "Swim the Course" on Wednesday morning. There was universal acclaim for the crystal clear water and surrounding scenery. One athlete even went so far as to say that down the final length he was more engrossed in the scenery than the course!
Yesterday evening saw over 300 lcoals pack into the Lake Wanaka Centre for the Volunteers' briefing. From eight to 80, these generous individuals are the heart and soul of the event, giving up their free time to make the race possible.
A relaxed media briefing with the professional athletes saw friendly rivalry between one of the sport's best swimmers, Hillary Biscay (USA) and Luke Dragstra (CAN), last year's winner. At the inaugural Challenge Wanaka, Biscay was out of the water just a few seconds ahead of Dragstra but has spent the last few weeks unable to swim due to surgery on her elbow. In the meantime, Dragstra has been working hard at his swim so we'll be watching the outcome with interest on race day morning.
The men's event is shaping up to be a close run race with Dragstra and Chris McDonald (AUS) spending much time training together during the last year. In the five races they have competed in together, they have finished within 60 seconds of each other in all of them.
Another contender is Justin Granger who came in second last year. "I'm in pretty good shape having managed to stay away from the grog monster at Christmas!" he said. "I was left empty with second last year so that motivation’s been with me for the last 12 months and I’m looking forward to Saturday."
Two New Zealand pro athletes taking part are Keegan Williams from Hamilton and Gina Ferguson from Christchurch. This is Williams' first professional race and although by his own admission he's "still pretty green", he was keen to "hold the New Zealand flag high". With a half ironman victory and full ironman fastest age grouper title already under his belt, he’ll be doing that with ease.
Ferguson remains well-grounded despite her recent record-breaking success in Wisconsin and a second in Western Australia. "I go into a race with my own focus. I don't take any notice of where anyone else is, I just go as hard as I can. I’m just treating this as I would any other race and am looking forward to travelling to Challenge Roth and Hawaii later in the year."
Professional German athletes Susanne Buckenlei said it was one of her big dreams to be here in New Zealand, despite losing her wheels to Uganda courtesy of the airline! "It’s one of the most beautiful courses I’ve ever seen. I’ve been to many places but never seen anything like this; it has everything – mountains, lakes. It’s the perfect holiday combining a race with visiting this beautiful country."
The course was described by Justin Granger as "very honest – just you against the elements and nature. The way the New Zealand weather can turn, especially in an alpine region is a major factor. The run is 50% on trail which is a new concept for ironman distance as most are on tarmac. This creates more difficulty and takes a lot out of you."
Chris McDonald also agreed the course was challenging with heavy road chip and strong winds but said that suited him fine.
The nature of the course and the field numbers means that the lead athletes spend large amounts of time during the day by themselves. Granger said this was when the race came own to the mental factor. "You need a lot of motivation and positive thoughts. Were all very fit but of course there are highs and lows throughout the day. You prepare to the best of your ability but there are different mental factors that come in through the day – life would be boring if you didn’t challenge yourself – sure, we probably challenge ourselves more than others but it becomes an addiction and you keep wanting more!"
Challenge Wanaka will take place on January 19, 2008 starting at 7.00am and is part of the global TEAMChallenge series that includes events in Germany, France and Spain. For further information, visit www.challenge-wanaka.com.
Thursday, 17 January 2008
International and one day entries up in Coast to Coast
Press Release: Speights.
16 January 2008.
This year's Speight's Coast to Coast has set new entry records across the board - the most entries in the open one day event and in the International field plus record female participation.
So far 229 athletes have entered the one day individual race, otherwise known as the "Longest day". In the one day individual race entrants must cycle 140 km, run 36 km across the Southern Alps and kayak 67km of the grade two Waimakariri River through the Grand Canyon of New Zealand, the Waimakariri Gorge.
"This is the largest longest day field that has ever been assembled in the 26-year history of the event," says Robin Judkins, Speight's Coast to Coast Race Director.
Judkins is thrilled to see that the number of International competitors continues to increase each year, with 2008 being no exception. There are 112 International entries spanning 21 countries – including 45 entrants from the UK and 37 from Australia. Last year's race saw 84 International entries.
"I've been promoting this event through the television documentary in 120 countries each year," says Judkins. "Last year I also added articles and photographs in the leading International and multisport magazines – it has paid off with a 33% increase in International entries."
Breaking yet another record are the 38 women registered for the one day event, the most the race has ever seen and a significant increase from the 26 female entrants in 2007.
"The number of women in the entire event has been increasing every year, there are more women in the Speight's Coast to Coast this year than ever before," says Judkins. "A total of 197 women will compete in the 2008 race, making up 24.8% of the field. It's fantastic."
There are limited entries left for last-minute enthusiasts – visit www.coasttocoast.co.nz
Speight's Coast to Coast Kumara to Sumner 8th & 9th February, 2008
16 January 2008.
This year's Speight's Coast to Coast has set new entry records across the board - the most entries in the open one day event and in the International field plus record female participation.
So far 229 athletes have entered the one day individual race, otherwise known as the "Longest day". In the one day individual race entrants must cycle 140 km, run 36 km across the Southern Alps and kayak 67km of the grade two Waimakariri River through the Grand Canyon of New Zealand, the Waimakariri Gorge.
"This is the largest longest day field that has ever been assembled in the 26-year history of the event," says Robin Judkins, Speight's Coast to Coast Race Director.
Judkins is thrilled to see that the number of International competitors continues to increase each year, with 2008 being no exception. There are 112 International entries spanning 21 countries – including 45 entrants from the UK and 37 from Australia. Last year's race saw 84 International entries.
"I've been promoting this event through the television documentary in 120 countries each year," says Judkins. "Last year I also added articles and photographs in the leading International and multisport magazines – it has paid off with a 33% increase in International entries."
Breaking yet another record are the 38 women registered for the one day event, the most the race has ever seen and a significant increase from the 26 female entrants in 2007.
"The number of women in the entire event has been increasing every year, there are more women in the Speight's Coast to Coast this year than ever before," says Judkins. "A total of 197 women will compete in the 2008 race, making up 24.8% of the field. It's fantastic."
There are limited entries left for last-minute enthusiasts – visit www.coasttocoast.co.nz
Speight's Coast to Coast Kumara to Sumner 8th & 9th February, 2008
Tuesday, 15 January 2008
Tough Challenge Wanaka course beckons competitors
Saturday is looming ever closer for 121 individuals and 69 teams entered for Challenge Wanaka. Although only in its second year this ironman-distance race is one of the epic events on the New Zealand calendar, and in my opinion it is the best long distance triathlon event in New Zealand.
The lake is already at a balmy 18 degC and should the good weather hold it may still warm slightly. The swim is fantastic for competitors, spectators and the media alike. Its a 2 lap course with much of it close to the beach. For the competitors the excellent visibility, in refreshing, relatively shallow water makes this one of the more pleasant swims on the world ironman-distance calendar.
The bike course on the other hand matches the race name. This is certainly not one of those pancake flat ironman circuit courses where disk wheels and aero helmets almost make a mockery of the distance. Not that one can mock 180km of cycling when its only the second of three events, but in this race you know you have done the distance after contending with the hills, the rough road surface and the inevitable winds and variable temperatures.
The bike course heads out to Luggate steadily dropping from Wanaka, and after crossing the river below Lake Dunstan at Cromwell the competitors turn north and head up the otherside of the Clutha for Lake Hawea and then back to Wanaka. But here's the rub. At that mentally difficult stage 140km into the bike leg the athletes have to leave the home base of Wanaka and head out past Glendhu Bay towards Treble Cone just to make up some distance. This little section is pretty technical with a couple of reasonable climbs out and back.
The run course meanders over two laps around the peninsula near the town on the Lake Wanaka Outlet Track and alongside the Clutha river. Much of the course is off road, and while not particularly ardous runners do have to contend with stones, sandy patches and styles (affectionately referred to as pig-styles by one athlete last year) over fences. Then there is the short but vicious climb up Gunn road which takes you up the appropriately named Mt Iron.
The fastest times from last year give you an indication of the toughness of this course.
Fastest course times
8.54:17 (Luke Dragstra)
9.38:26 (Belinda Granger)
Fast swim times
50:15 (Luke Dragstra)
50:09 (Hillary Biscay)
Fastest bike times
5.00:02 (Justin Granger)
5.21.12 (Belinda Granger)
Fastest run
3.00.11 (Luke Dragstra)
3.17.46 (Karyn Balance)
The top Pro athletes in the event are
Women
Hillary Biscay (USA) 29, Completed seven ironman races in 2007, including 2nd at Challenge Wanaka '07
Gina Ferguson (NZ) 27, 1st Ironman Wisconsin, 2nd Ironman Western Australia
Marilyn McDonald (CAN) 30, Regular top 10 ironman finisher
Susanne Buckenlei (GER) 31, 4th Ironman UK
Men
Luke Dragstra (CAN) 26, 1st Challenge Wanaka '07, 10 top 10 ironman finishes
Chris McDonald (AUS) 29, 1st Ironman Louisville
Petr Vabrousek (CZE) 34, 1st Silverman Ironman Nevada, Czech Ironman National Champion Justin Granger (AUS) 36, 2nd Challenge Wanaka '07
Michael Hofmann (GER) 27, World champion ironman firefighter - Roth
Marc Pschebizin (GER) 34, Seven times winner of Inferno Triathlon – world’s most difficult high altitude triathlon
Keegan Williams (NZ) 27, First professional race – highest placed age grouper at Ironman New Zealand '07
I'll do that hopeless thing of trying to pick the winners and go for Petr Vabrousek from Chris McDonald and Luke Dragstra in the men's race, and Gina Ferguson from Hilary Biscay in the women's event.
Vabrousek was in a good position last year when he was stood down, and then disqualified for a gear infringement in the swim. I think he has a point to prove and the fact that he is back suggests that he means business.
Ferguson, like Biscay, seems to thrive on a diet of heavy racing, she is on the up, and loves racing over tough courses. My money is on the fact that her distant third place in the Port of Tauranga Half Ironman was because she would have just been cruising.
The lake is already at a balmy 18 degC and should the good weather hold it may still warm slightly. The swim is fantastic for competitors, spectators and the media alike. Its a 2 lap course with much of it close to the beach. For the competitors the excellent visibility, in refreshing, relatively shallow water makes this one of the more pleasant swims on the world ironman-distance calendar.
The bike course on the other hand matches the race name. This is certainly not one of those pancake flat ironman circuit courses where disk wheels and aero helmets almost make a mockery of the distance. Not that one can mock 180km of cycling when its only the second of three events, but in this race you know you have done the distance after contending with the hills, the rough road surface and the inevitable winds and variable temperatures.
The bike course heads out to Luggate steadily dropping from Wanaka, and after crossing the river below Lake Dunstan at Cromwell the competitors turn north and head up the otherside of the Clutha for Lake Hawea and then back to Wanaka. But here's the rub. At that mentally difficult stage 140km into the bike leg the athletes have to leave the home base of Wanaka and head out past Glendhu Bay towards Treble Cone just to make up some distance. This little section is pretty technical with a couple of reasonable climbs out and back.
The run course meanders over two laps around the peninsula near the town on the Lake Wanaka Outlet Track and alongside the Clutha river. Much of the course is off road, and while not particularly ardous runners do have to contend with stones, sandy patches and styles (affectionately referred to as pig-styles by one athlete last year) over fences. Then there is the short but vicious climb up Gunn road which takes you up the appropriately named Mt Iron.
The fastest times from last year give you an indication of the toughness of this course.
Fastest course times
8.54:17 (Luke Dragstra)
9.38:26 (Belinda Granger)
Fast swim times
50:15 (Luke Dragstra)
50:09 (Hillary Biscay)
Fastest bike times
5.00:02 (Justin Granger)
5.21.12 (Belinda Granger)
Fastest run
3.00.11 (Luke Dragstra)
3.17.46 (Karyn Balance)
The top Pro athletes in the event are
Women
Hillary Biscay (USA) 29, Completed seven ironman races in 2007, including 2nd at Challenge Wanaka '07
Gina Ferguson (NZ) 27, 1st Ironman Wisconsin, 2nd Ironman Western Australia
Marilyn McDonald (CAN) 30, Regular top 10 ironman finisher
Susanne Buckenlei (GER) 31, 4th Ironman UK
Men
Luke Dragstra (CAN) 26, 1st Challenge Wanaka '07, 10 top 10 ironman finishes
Chris McDonald (AUS) 29, 1st Ironman Louisville
Petr Vabrousek (CZE) 34, 1st Silverman Ironman Nevada, Czech Ironman National Champion Justin Granger (AUS) 36, 2nd Challenge Wanaka '07
Michael Hofmann (GER) 27, World champion ironman firefighter - Roth
Marc Pschebizin (GER) 34, Seven times winner of Inferno Triathlon – world’s most difficult high altitude triathlon
Keegan Williams (NZ) 27, First professional race – highest placed age grouper at Ironman New Zealand '07
I'll do that hopeless thing of trying to pick the winners and go for Petr Vabrousek from Chris McDonald and Luke Dragstra in the men's race, and Gina Ferguson from Hilary Biscay in the women's event.
Vabrousek was in a good position last year when he was stood down, and then disqualified for a gear infringement in the swim. I think he has a point to prove and the fact that he is back suggests that he means business.
Ferguson, like Biscay, seems to thrive on a diet of heavy racing, she is on the up, and loves racing over tough courses. My money is on the fact that her distant third place in the Port of Tauranga Half Ironman was because she would have just been cruising.
Meshy takes NZ cycling titles while training for IMNZ
You have to wonder how well Melissa Holt can run and swim. Better known as Meshy, the Athens Olympian pulled off a great double when she won both the women's time trial and road race titles at the New Zealand cycling road championships over the weekend. What is more remarkable however, is that she is in full training for Ironman New Zealand in Taupo in March.
We hope this is a sign of her strength, rather than a measure of a lack of competition on women's cycling ranks. But it is always great when a triathlete wins at individual events. Like Lance Armstrong. Even if the definition of triathlete gets a little shaky. Armstrong of course, was first and foremost a triathlete who was one of the few who could knock Mark Allen off his perch, before he turned to cycling. Holt on the other hand, is really a cyclist.
Holt has had her share of bad fortune. Once before she lost the national time trial title when she punctured with 2km to go. At the Athens Olympics she had to withdraw from the road race due to cramps, and the 2004 Commonwealth Games she broke her collar bone after a rider went down in front of her. While these victories might have been incidental, they will have been sweet.
Her recent third place in the Taupo half suggests her swimming will not leave her too far behind, and that she could well be near the lead of the women's field after the Ironman bike leg. However, her 2:08 run suggests she has some work to do before she can compete at the very top level.
We hope this is a sign of her strength, rather than a measure of a lack of competition on women's cycling ranks. But it is always great when a triathlete wins at individual events. Like Lance Armstrong. Even if the definition of triathlete gets a little shaky. Armstrong of course, was first and foremost a triathlete who was one of the few who could knock Mark Allen off his perch, before he turned to cycling. Holt on the other hand, is really a cyclist.
Holt has had her share of bad fortune. Once before she lost the national time trial title when she punctured with 2km to go. At the Athens Olympics she had to withdraw from the road race due to cramps, and the 2004 Commonwealth Games she broke her collar bone after a rider went down in front of her. While these victories might have been incidental, they will have been sweet.
Her recent third place in the Taupo half suggests her swimming will not leave her too far behind, and that she could well be near the lead of the women's field after the Ironman bike leg. However, her 2:08 run suggests she has some work to do before she can compete at the very top level.
Monday, 14 January 2008
Anna Hamilton back on the horse
After her terrible accident last year Anna Hamilton made a tentative return at the Contact Energy My Sport Series in Whangamata on Saturday. Hamilton rode the bike leg in a team effort today and was thrilled to be back in the sport.
"Things are moving very slowly but most importantly slowly forward and today is another step in that process. It is just great to be involved in the sport again. I have no fear in getting back out there and hope to be back into racing as soon as I can but for now it is working slowly but surely back to fitness and 100 percent health," she said.
"Things are moving very slowly but most importantly slowly forward and today is another step in that process. It is just great to be involved in the sport again. I have no fear in getting back out there and hope to be back into racing as soon as I can but for now it is working slowly but surely back to fitness and 100 percent health," she said.
Experience shows in Whangamata
Experience showed when Stephen Sheldrake and Nicky Samuels domininated the third round of the Contact Energy Cup at Whangamata on Saturday where 300 athletes braved the tough conditions.
Sheldrake, and Cameron Brown only a week out from their efforts in last weekend's Port of Tauranga Half Ironman had to put the pain behind them, particularly during the multilap surf swim. Sheldrake caught a great wave coming in on the third lap which put him ahead of his main competitors before the bike ride.
"The ride went to plan, I had to be aggressive on what is a tough bike leg to open the gap on some of the quicker runners. I managed that and from then on it was a case of controlling the race on the run leg home," he said.
Sheldrake finished 2 minutes ahead of six-time Ironman NZ champion Cameron Brown, who was using this race as part of his buildup.
"The swim was tough today, tougher than I expected and from that point in such a short race it was always going to be difficult to catch the athletes used to these shorter distances. But I enjoyed it immensely, it is a favourite race of mine and in some ways reminded me of 1991 when I beat Rick Wells with young Tama Christensen running alongside me most of the way."
Palmerston North's Christensen showed his class by finishing half a minute behind Brown in 4th place, with Callum Millward rounding out the podium.
Samuels had no trouble with the women's field today clearing out to win by more than 6 minutes from Katherine Anton who in turn was 4 mintues ahead of 3rd placed Janine Sax. Less than 3 minutes separated the first 5 in the men's field, compared to 14 minutes in women's event.
Samuals is one of the favorites to take out the third Olympic selection spot at the final qualifying race in Mooloolaba in late March. "I felt good today within myself and clearly getting fitter every race. Today was a great rehearsal in some ways for Mooloolaba with a salt water surf swim and tough bike in hot conditions. I am right on target with my swimming - the best it's ever been - and the cycling is also working well. I need now to finish it off with a strong run and that is the focus for me in training."
Triathlon CEO Dave Beech was a happy man after the race. "We've more than doubled the entry list from last year and the number of first time competitors was great to see. The potential for this race with the new date of early January is enormous and will see an even bigger entry list next year I'm sure. The local community has been superb, the volunteers wonderful and the officials and surf lifesaving club tremendous in their support of the event making it a safe and successful day."
The next race in the series is in Timaru on the January 27.
Results - Contact Energy Cup - Whangamata 12 January 2008
Men
1. Stephen Sheldrake (Gisborne) 2:01:56
2. Cameron Brown (Auckland) 2:04:04
3. Callum Millward (North Shore) 2:04:13
4. Tama Christensen (Palmerston North) 2:04:30
5. Graham O'Grady (Hamilton) 2:04:39
6. Ryan Sissons (Auckland) 2:05:13
7. Martin van Barneveld (Wellington) 2:09:01
8. Dylan McNeice (Christchurch) 2:09:54
9. Bobby Douglas (Invercargill 2:10:36
10. Tristan Calwell (Auckland) 2:11:26
Women
1. Nicky Samuels (Whangarei) 2:14:18
2. Katherine Anton (Whangarei) 2:20:40
3. Janine Sax (Bay of Plenty) 2:24:54
4. Fleur Bromley (Auckland) 2:26:16
5. Julia Grant (Christchurch) 2:28:47
6. Marina Fowell (Auckland) 2:29:50
7. Danielle Montogue (Tauranga) 2:32:40
8. Nicola Mackay (Tauranga) 2:34:06
9. Naomi Ferguson(Hastings) 2:35:14
10. Belinda Harper (Auckland) 2:36:07
Sheldrake, and Cameron Brown only a week out from their efforts in last weekend's Port of Tauranga Half Ironman had to put the pain behind them, particularly during the multilap surf swim. Sheldrake caught a great wave coming in on the third lap which put him ahead of his main competitors before the bike ride.
"The ride went to plan, I had to be aggressive on what is a tough bike leg to open the gap on some of the quicker runners. I managed that and from then on it was a case of controlling the race on the run leg home," he said.
Sheldrake finished 2 minutes ahead of six-time Ironman NZ champion Cameron Brown, who was using this race as part of his buildup.
"The swim was tough today, tougher than I expected and from that point in such a short race it was always going to be difficult to catch the athletes used to these shorter distances. But I enjoyed it immensely, it is a favourite race of mine and in some ways reminded me of 1991 when I beat Rick Wells with young Tama Christensen running alongside me most of the way."
Palmerston North's Christensen showed his class by finishing half a minute behind Brown in 4th place, with Callum Millward rounding out the podium.
Samuels had no trouble with the women's field today clearing out to win by more than 6 minutes from Katherine Anton who in turn was 4 mintues ahead of 3rd placed Janine Sax. Less than 3 minutes separated the first 5 in the men's field, compared to 14 minutes in women's event.
Samuals is one of the favorites to take out the third Olympic selection spot at the final qualifying race in Mooloolaba in late March. "I felt good today within myself and clearly getting fitter every race. Today was a great rehearsal in some ways for Mooloolaba with a salt water surf swim and tough bike in hot conditions. I am right on target with my swimming - the best it's ever been - and the cycling is also working well. I need now to finish it off with a strong run and that is the focus for me in training."
Triathlon CEO Dave Beech was a happy man after the race. "We've more than doubled the entry list from last year and the number of first time competitors was great to see. The potential for this race with the new date of early January is enormous and will see an even bigger entry list next year I'm sure. The local community has been superb, the volunteers wonderful and the officials and surf lifesaving club tremendous in their support of the event making it a safe and successful day."
The next race in the series is in Timaru on the January 27.
Results - Contact Energy Cup - Whangamata 12 January 2008
Men
1. Stephen Sheldrake (Gisborne) 2:01:56
2. Cameron Brown (Auckland) 2:04:04
3. Callum Millward (North Shore) 2:04:13
4. Tama Christensen (Palmerston North) 2:04:30
5. Graham O'Grady (Hamilton) 2:04:39
6. Ryan Sissons (Auckland) 2:05:13
7. Martin van Barneveld (Wellington) 2:09:01
8. Dylan McNeice (Christchurch) 2:09:54
9. Bobby Douglas (Invercargill 2:10:36
10. Tristan Calwell (Auckland) 2:11:26
Women
1. Nicky Samuels (Whangarei) 2:14:18
2. Katherine Anton (Whangarei) 2:20:40
3. Janine Sax (Bay of Plenty) 2:24:54
4. Fleur Bromley (Auckland) 2:26:16
5. Julia Grant (Christchurch) 2:28:47
6. Marina Fowell (Auckland) 2:29:50
7. Danielle Montogue (Tauranga) 2:32:40
8. Nicola Mackay (Tauranga) 2:34:06
9. Naomi Ferguson(Hastings) 2:35:14
10. Belinda Harper (Auckland) 2:36:07
Saturday, 12 January 2008
Southern Traverse signs Fairydown as title sponsor
Press Release: Southern Traverse Ltd.
11 January 2008.
Queenstown - Two iconic New Zealand adventure companies have joined forces, with
outdoor company Fairydown becoming title sponsor for the Southern
Traverse.
"We are absolutely delighted to have attracted the support of
Fairydown," says Southern Traverse director Geoff Hunt. "It is an
endorsement of the Traverse's standing as New Zealand's premier
adventure race to have attracted sponsorship from the internationally
recognised brand."
Fairydown director Campbell Junor says the two brands have a natural synergy.
The company, which was traditionally a wholesaler, has recently been
relaunched by Campbell Junor, Bernard Wicht and Pierre van Noorden
and retail shops are operating in Christchurch, Dunedin , Auckland
and Wellington.
"Fairydown has a history of being involved with adventure racing
since the sport began," says Campbell, "and our mantra is ' adventure
for life' with fits well with the outdoor community. By supporting
the Southern Traverse we are expanding our involvement with the
athletes who take part in adventure racing."
"We see the Southern Traverse as an ideal way for us to make a
significant contribution to the people who support us. Fairydown is
also focused on using technology to create light and fast equipment
in response to the demands of adventure racing."
"Our product line is building on designs that Fairydown is renowned
for including packs, sleeping bags and tents, as well as diversifying
and refining other products," says Junor.
The 2008 Classic Southern Traverse, will highlight the new
partnership with Fairydown, when it is staged at Hanmer Springs on
April 11, 12 and 13.
The 200km three day event will showcase a new format offering
competition for both four and two person teams. The four team
category will compete for the Southern Traverse Classic title and the
winning team will receive free entry to the 2008 Adventure Racing
World Championships in Brazil in September.
Geoff Hunt says there is an excellent variety of terrain in the
Hanmer Springs area and disciplines include trekking, mountain
biking, kayaking and rope skills with a strong focus on navigation
and orienteering.
"We are currently finalising the overall format but we can assure
competitors that this year's Southern Traverse will provide some
exciting challenges against a background of camaraderie between
teams, support crews and organisers."
11 January 2008.
Queenstown - Two iconic New Zealand adventure companies have joined forces, with
outdoor company Fairydown becoming title sponsor for the Southern
Traverse.
"We are absolutely delighted to have attracted the support of
Fairydown," says Southern Traverse director Geoff Hunt. "It is an
endorsement of the Traverse's standing as New Zealand's premier
adventure race to have attracted sponsorship from the internationally
recognised brand."
Fairydown director Campbell Junor says the two brands have a natural synergy.
The company, which was traditionally a wholesaler, has recently been
relaunched by Campbell Junor, Bernard Wicht and Pierre van Noorden
and retail shops are operating in Christchurch, Dunedin , Auckland
and Wellington.
"Fairydown has a history of being involved with adventure racing
since the sport began," says Campbell, "and our mantra is ' adventure
for life' with fits well with the outdoor community. By supporting
the Southern Traverse we are expanding our involvement with the
athletes who take part in adventure racing."
"We see the Southern Traverse as an ideal way for us to make a
significant contribution to the people who support us. Fairydown is
also focused on using technology to create light and fast equipment
in response to the demands of adventure racing."
"Our product line is building on designs that Fairydown is renowned
for including packs, sleeping bags and tents, as well as diversifying
and refining other products," says Junor.
The 2008 Classic Southern Traverse, will highlight the new
partnership with Fairydown, when it is staged at Hanmer Springs on
April 11, 12 and 13.
The 200km three day event will showcase a new format offering
competition for both four and two person teams. The four team
category will compete for the Southern Traverse Classic title and the
winning team will receive free entry to the 2008 Adventure Racing
World Championships in Brazil in September.
Geoff Hunt says there is an excellent variety of terrain in the
Hanmer Springs area and disciplines include trekking, mountain
biking, kayaking and rope skills with a strong focus on navigation
and orienteering.
"We are currently finalising the overall format but we can assure
competitors that this year's Southern Traverse will provide some
exciting challenges against a background of camaraderie between
teams, support crews and organisers."
Monday, 7 January 2008
Challenge Wanaka entries up
Press Release: Challenge Wanaka.
7 January 2008.
Lake Wanaka - With Challenge Wanaka entries now closed, organisers today announced that entries had nearly doubled from the inaugural event in 2007 with over 300 athletes due to race on 19 January.
The individual competition features 120 athletes, 44% of whom are from overseas. Thirteen countries are represented at the South Island's only iron distance triathlon and international athletes include last year's winner Luke Dragstra (CAN) as well as top athletes Chris McDonald (AUS), Petr Vabrousek (CZE) and Hillary Biscay (USA). Top Kiwi athlete Gina Ferguson is the only professional New Zealand woman taking part. With recent form including a win at Ironman Wisconsin and second place at Ironman Western Australia, a good race for her will mean a podium finish.
A key aspect of the TEAMChallenge series of events is the relay team competition. Designed to make the sport more accessible and attract more athletes to the world of iron-distance competition, it will feature 69 teams at this year's Challenge Wanaka.
Event director, Victoria Murray-Orr, said it was encouraging to see such growth in both disciplines of the event.
"We're delighted to see so many international athletes making the journey to Lake Wanaka to take part in the event," she said. "It proves the message is filtering through the international triathlon scene and Challenge Wanaka is well on the way to becoming a firm fixture on the international circuit. The spin-off benefits for the region will be huge as the event continues to grow. However, it's not just about the high international profile. Hundreds of Kiwis are taking part, including a large number of locals, and it's wonderful to see so many of the community involved, whether as athletes, volunteers or supporters."
Challenge Wanaka is part of the TEAMChallenge series of events that includes events in Germany, France and Spain with more planned in the near future. Race day is 19 January 2008 with the action kicking off at 7.00am on Lake Wanaka's waterfront for the 3.8km swim leg, followed by a 180km bike leg and 42.2km run leg. The first athletes are expected across the finish line at approximately 3.45pm and the course will close at 11.30pm after 16.5 hours of incredible physical achievement.
7 January 2008.
Lake Wanaka - With Challenge Wanaka entries now closed, organisers today announced that entries had nearly doubled from the inaugural event in 2007 with over 300 athletes due to race on 19 January.
The individual competition features 120 athletes, 44% of whom are from overseas. Thirteen countries are represented at the South Island's only iron distance triathlon and international athletes include last year's winner Luke Dragstra (CAN) as well as top athletes Chris McDonald (AUS), Petr Vabrousek (CZE) and Hillary Biscay (USA). Top Kiwi athlete Gina Ferguson is the only professional New Zealand woman taking part. With recent form including a win at Ironman Wisconsin and second place at Ironman Western Australia, a good race for her will mean a podium finish.
A key aspect of the TEAMChallenge series of events is the relay team competition. Designed to make the sport more accessible and attract more athletes to the world of iron-distance competition, it will feature 69 teams at this year's Challenge Wanaka.
Event director, Victoria Murray-Orr, said it was encouraging to see such growth in both disciplines of the event.
"We're delighted to see so many international athletes making the journey to Lake Wanaka to take part in the event," she said. "It proves the message is filtering through the international triathlon scene and Challenge Wanaka is well on the way to becoming a firm fixture on the international circuit. The spin-off benefits for the region will be huge as the event continues to grow. However, it's not just about the high international profile. Hundreds of Kiwis are taking part, including a large number of locals, and it's wonderful to see so many of the community involved, whether as athletes, volunteers or supporters."
Challenge Wanaka is part of the TEAMChallenge series of events that includes events in Germany, France and Spain with more planned in the near future. Race day is 19 January 2008 with the action kicking off at 7.00am on Lake Wanaka's waterfront for the 3.8km swim leg, followed by a 180km bike leg and 42.2km run leg. The first athletes are expected across the finish line at approximately 3.45pm and the course will close at 11.30pm after 16.5 hours of incredible physical achievement.
James Elvery report - 4th at Vina Del Mar
From James Elvery:
I've just finished 4th in the Vina Del Mar, Chile, American Continental Cup. This result should move me into the top 75 in the world and up to 5th kiwi on the ITU Ranking List as we approach Beijing selection at the Mooloolaba World Cup in March.
I wasn't really sure how I would go before the race. I have been doing lots of steady mileage training in preparation for bigger races in March; NZ Champs, Mooloolaba World Cup and New Plymouth World Cup. I picked up a cold last week just after Christmas getting immunised for coming here and had most of the week off before getting on the plane. Then instead of taking the easy route from Auckland to Chile, I found a cheap flight going the other way around the world; Auckland - Sydney - Bangkok - Dubai - Sao Paulo - Santiago. So effectively It took me a whole 3 days to get here. I've got pretty bad jet lag and still didn't manage to sleep after 1am last night.
So to come off all that and pull out a good result is really pleasing! The competition was stronger than I was expecting with the entire Mexican team here trying to get their country a place in the Olympics, and other strong athletes from South America, Japan and the US.
I had a good swim, came out in the front group, the pace wasn't really on in the bike so I attacked for 10Km with a Mexican before we were swallowed up at the halfway mark. It perhaps wasn't the smartest move, but it was worth a try. Off the bike 4 of us ran away from the pack of 20 odd and stayed together until 7.5km. At this point I just couldn't go with the others' pace with no session work in me yet. I felt fine, but just couldn't go any faster. Pretty frustrating. I was in no danger from behind so jogged in the last couple of k to save the legs for next week. The race was won by Juraci Moriera from Brazil, 2nd was Leonardo Chacon of Costa Rica, and 3rd was Manuel Huerta of the US, I was 4th and Francisco Serrano of Mexico was 5th.
Next week we race in Argentina, in a place called La Paz, which is about 600km north of Buenos Aires. We swim in the river Paranha and Ive been told to watch out for the 'toothpick fish' a parasitic fish that swims up the penis and holds on with barbs while eating its way inside. They must be surgically removed. I'm not sure what would be worse, that or swimming into a bunch of Paranhas!
I've just finished 4th in the Vina Del Mar, Chile, American Continental Cup. This result should move me into the top 75 in the world and up to 5th kiwi on the ITU Ranking List as we approach Beijing selection at the Mooloolaba World Cup in March.
I wasn't really sure how I would go before the race. I have been doing lots of steady mileage training in preparation for bigger races in March; NZ Champs, Mooloolaba World Cup and New Plymouth World Cup. I picked up a cold last week just after Christmas getting immunised for coming here and had most of the week off before getting on the plane. Then instead of taking the easy route from Auckland to Chile, I found a cheap flight going the other way around the world; Auckland - Sydney - Bangkok - Dubai - Sao Paulo - Santiago. So effectively It took me a whole 3 days to get here. I've got pretty bad jet lag and still didn't manage to sleep after 1am last night.
So to come off all that and pull out a good result is really pleasing! The competition was stronger than I was expecting with the entire Mexican team here trying to get their country a place in the Olympics, and other strong athletes from South America, Japan and the US.
I had a good swim, came out in the front group, the pace wasn't really on in the bike so I attacked for 10Km with a Mexican before we were swallowed up at the halfway mark. It perhaps wasn't the smartest move, but it was worth a try. Off the bike 4 of us ran away from the pack of 20 odd and stayed together until 7.5km. At this point I just couldn't go with the others' pace with no session work in me yet. I felt fine, but just couldn't go any faster. Pretty frustrating. I was in no danger from behind so jogged in the last couple of k to save the legs for next week. The race was won by Juraci Moriera from Brazil, 2nd was Leonardo Chacon of Costa Rica, and 3rd was Manuel Huerta of the US, I was 4th and Francisco Serrano of Mexico was 5th.
Next week we race in Argentina, in a place called La Paz, which is about 600km north of Buenos Aires. We swim in the river Paranha and Ive been told to watch out for the 'toothpick fish' a parasitic fish that swims up the penis and holds on with barbs while eating its way inside. They must be surgically removed. I'm not sure what would be worse, that or swimming into a bunch of Paranhas!
Sunday, 6 January 2008
Brown and Lawn upset at Port of Tauranga Half Ironman
Kieran Doe proved that his Ironman Canada win was no one-off with a imperious win over Cameron Brown in Saturday's Port of Tauranga Half Ironman triathlon.
An emotional Doe said afterwards that this win was more important to him than that in Canada. He took the race to Brown on the swim and the bike leaving the 8-time champion with an 8 minute deficit going onto the run. Without taking anything away from Doe, it should be acknowledged that Brown is only 6 weeks into his work after a break following a difficult race in Hawaii.
In the women's race the story was no different for the defending champion Jo Lawn, as she was beaten by Australian Kate Bevilaqua by only 10 seconds.
This sets up an intriguing battle for Ironman New Zealand in March where both Doe and Bevilaqua will again take on Brown and Lawn for the season's big title.
Traditionally Doe, formerly a swimmer blasts through the bike after a good swim, but can't always hang on in the run. However, now 26, the former Feilding lad is finding the strength that allows him to run well off a hard bike.
"This win means a lot to me. I am definitely more confident after I won at Ironman Canada with the same tactics. It was getting a bit wobbly on the run around the Mount but I managed to hold on," he said, giving praise to coach, training partner and current Ironman world champion Chris MacCormack.
"He has been an incredible influence and I have learned so much from him. He knows how to make the best of every situation and training with him has made all the difference."
Christchurch's Gina Ferguson, the current Ironman Wisconsin champion, led the women's race out of the swim but was quickly swallowed up by pre-race favourites Lawn and Ironman Australian champion Rebekah Keat by the 20km mark on the bike.
Keat punctured out as Ferguson wasn't up to her best on a bike leg that would have been too fast for her liking. However Lawn was only 2 minutes ahead of Western Australian Bevilaqua after the 90km bike.
"I felt quite strong on the first long lap but I was not able to extend it on the two shorter laps when there was a lot more riders on the course," Lawn said.
The Western Australian had reduced the margin to 1min 30sec after the first run lap, and passed Lawn around the Mount base track for the last time and hung on to win by 10 seconds.
"I was really surprised. Last year I finished fourth in every major race and 24th at the world championships in Hawaii," Bevilaqua said. "I'm glad the jinx was broken. I didn't know what to expect as I am half way through a training block for Ironman New Zealand and just wanted to see where I am at. I didn't expect to be second on the bike and from there my whole race plan changed because running is my strong suit."
Results
Port of Tauranga Half Ironman, 5th January 2007, (2km swim 90km bike 21km run)
Male:
1. Kieran Doe (Auckland) 3:56.41 (22.59, 2:08.13, 1:23.38)
2. Cameron Brown (Auckland) 3:58.33 (24.31, 2:14.06, 1:17.50)
3. Nathan Richmond (Auckland) 4:00.04 (22.57, 2:14.44, 1:20.24)
4. Shane Reed (New Plymouth) 4:01.29 (22.59, 2:19.45, 1:16.55)
5. Stephen Sheldrake (Gisborne) 4:03.46 (22.21, 2:11.58, 1:27.23)
6. James Bowstead (Waiuku) 4:06.48 (26.52, 2:12.06, 1:25.35)
7. Jamie Whyte (Auckland) 4:09.07 (26.09, 2:14.29, 1:26.27)
8. Walter Thorburn (Auckland) 4:09.49 (27.14, 2:14.51, 1:25.21)
9. Scott Thorne (Hamilton) 4:10.03 (27.26, 2:16.53, 1:23.26)
10.Paul Westwood (Rotorua) 4:10.37 (28.47, 2:18.32, 1:21.15)
Female:
1. Kate Bevilaqua (Australia) 4:17.54 (28.39, 2:23.52, 1:22.48)
2. Joanna Lawn (Auckland) 4:18.04 (27.13, 2:23.04, 1:25.27)
3. Gina Ferguson (Christchurch) 4:29.39 (25.53, 2:30.39, 1:30.33)
4. Fleur Bromley (Auckland) 4:34.40 (28.49, 2:34.31, 1:28.32)
5. Carmel Hanly (Auckland) 4:38.32 (27.23, 2:35.33, 1:32.40)
6. Jennifer Cooper (Auckland) 5:02.19 (26.13, 2:41.17, 1:52.26)
An emotional Doe said afterwards that this win was more important to him than that in Canada. He took the race to Brown on the swim and the bike leaving the 8-time champion with an 8 minute deficit going onto the run. Without taking anything away from Doe, it should be acknowledged that Brown is only 6 weeks into his work after a break following a difficult race in Hawaii.
In the women's race the story was no different for the defending champion Jo Lawn, as she was beaten by Australian Kate Bevilaqua by only 10 seconds.
This sets up an intriguing battle for Ironman New Zealand in March where both Doe and Bevilaqua will again take on Brown and Lawn for the season's big title.
Traditionally Doe, formerly a swimmer blasts through the bike after a good swim, but can't always hang on in the run. However, now 26, the former Feilding lad is finding the strength that allows him to run well off a hard bike.
"This win means a lot to me. I am definitely more confident after I won at Ironman Canada with the same tactics. It was getting a bit wobbly on the run around the Mount but I managed to hold on," he said, giving praise to coach, training partner and current Ironman world champion Chris MacCormack.
"He has been an incredible influence and I have learned so much from him. He knows how to make the best of every situation and training with him has made all the difference."
Christchurch's Gina Ferguson, the current Ironman Wisconsin champion, led the women's race out of the swim but was quickly swallowed up by pre-race favourites Lawn and Ironman Australian champion Rebekah Keat by the 20km mark on the bike.
Keat punctured out as Ferguson wasn't up to her best on a bike leg that would have been too fast for her liking. However Lawn was only 2 minutes ahead of Western Australian Bevilaqua after the 90km bike.
"I felt quite strong on the first long lap but I was not able to extend it on the two shorter laps when there was a lot more riders on the course," Lawn said.
The Western Australian had reduced the margin to 1min 30sec after the first run lap, and passed Lawn around the Mount base track for the last time and hung on to win by 10 seconds.
"I was really surprised. Last year I finished fourth in every major race and 24th at the world championships in Hawaii," Bevilaqua said. "I'm glad the jinx was broken. I didn't know what to expect as I am half way through a training block for Ironman New Zealand and just wanted to see where I am at. I didn't expect to be second on the bike and from there my whole race plan changed because running is my strong suit."
Results
Port of Tauranga Half Ironman, 5th January 2007, (2km swim 90km bike 21km run)
Male:
1. Kieran Doe (Auckland) 3:56.41 (22.59, 2:08.13, 1:23.38)
2. Cameron Brown (Auckland) 3:58.33 (24.31, 2:14.06, 1:17.50)
3. Nathan Richmond (Auckland) 4:00.04 (22.57, 2:14.44, 1:20.24)
4. Shane Reed (New Plymouth) 4:01.29 (22.59, 2:19.45, 1:16.55)
5. Stephen Sheldrake (Gisborne) 4:03.46 (22.21, 2:11.58, 1:27.23)
6. James Bowstead (Waiuku) 4:06.48 (26.52, 2:12.06, 1:25.35)
7. Jamie Whyte (Auckland) 4:09.07 (26.09, 2:14.29, 1:26.27)
8. Walter Thorburn (Auckland) 4:09.49 (27.14, 2:14.51, 1:25.21)
9. Scott Thorne (Hamilton) 4:10.03 (27.26, 2:16.53, 1:23.26)
10.Paul Westwood (Rotorua) 4:10.37 (28.47, 2:18.32, 1:21.15)
Female:
1. Kate Bevilaqua (Australia) 4:17.54 (28.39, 2:23.52, 1:22.48)
2. Joanna Lawn (Auckland) 4:18.04 (27.13, 2:23.04, 1:25.27)
3. Gina Ferguson (Christchurch) 4:29.39 (25.53, 2:30.39, 1:30.33)
4. Fleur Bromley (Auckland) 4:34.40 (28.49, 2:34.31, 1:28.32)
5. Carmel Hanly (Auckland) 4:38.32 (27.23, 2:35.33, 1:32.40)
6. Jennifer Cooper (Auckland) 5:02.19 (26.13, 2:41.17, 1:52.26)
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