Guernsey Press Report Below...
Greenfield takes win in huge duathlon field Jonny Greenfield set the bar for the forthcoming season after winning Sunday’s opening duathlon race in the De Putron Fund Management winter series. 56 people lined up in perfect conditions to test the results of their winter base training in a two mile run, 13 mile bike, two mile run format. Greenfield crossed the line in a time of 56 minutes and 16 seconds, 45 seconds clear of his nearest rival but it was not all plain sailing. The closest battle of the day without doubt was fought between Ben Creasey and Tim Coates, placing second and third respectively. Creasey and Coates headed into T1 side by side after the first two mile run in a swift 10 minutes and 47 seconds. Tristan Robilliard, Greenfield and Dan Smith were hot on their heels. Despite taking an inordinate amount of time trying to remove some leg warmers, Greenfield’s bike split of 32.46 gave him a comfortable 40 second lead coming into T2. Greenfield’s second run was strong and he held on to take his first victory of 2012. “Racing was surprisingly sharp today for a season opener. Ben and Tim showed their intent from the start and set off with a super-fast run pace. “Thankfully I made up ground quickly on the bike and gave myself a good lead before the final run. A big thank you to all the organisers and marshals for an excellently run event,” Greenfield said. The Coates versus Creasey battle continued to develop with Coates entering T2 in second place, 6 seconds clear of Creasey. Creasey made the deficit even more challenging for himself taking a wrong exit from T2 but managed to claw it back and with a hundred or so yards from the line, a sprint finish with Coates saw him pull away to take a very well deserved second place. Coates took third, Jon Picton fourth with Jon Osborne wrapping up the top 5 spots. The strong turnout from the women - 13 in total - bodes very well for the triathlon season ahead. Nikki Neal was first home in 1:04:44 with visiting Ironman specialist Lisa Picton following shortly after, and Colette Andrews in third place. Full results can be found below. Club president Mark Naftel was encouraged by the number of competitors on the starting line. “56 signing on for this event [everyone finished] was a new record number for the season opener. This is further evidence, if it were needed, that endurance sport is showing great growth in participant numbers with triathlon experiencing some of the benefit seen by the GIAAC in their winter cross country series and the Velo Club with their hugely popular sportives,” he said. Three more duathlons will follow in February, March and April. The club’s summer triathlon series has been bolstered this season giving competitors the opportunity to race up to eight triathlon races between May and September. The Novice event on Sunday, 13th May (400m swim/12k bike/3k run) is ideal for first time competitors with the swim taking place at Beau Sejour. The remaining events will range from a Super Sprint (500m swim/13k bike/3k run) to Olympic distance (1500m swim/40k bike/10k run) enabling everybody to come and give the sport a go. Both the duathlon and triathlon series’ welcome newcomers to the sport to test themselves competing against other novice athletes by incorporating a ‘novice’ category into each event, only open to those in the first two years of competition. The races are then split into divisions so that competitors have the chance to compare their performance with those of a similar ability over the course of the series. The club are hosting the annual Inter-insular competition against Jersey on Sunday, 19th August and is looking forward to a strong competition, with some athletes targeting selection for the 2013 Bermuda Island Games as a priority for their year. The intention is for the club to send strong contingents to both Bermuda and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, with potential athletes’ performances being monitored over the next two years. Naftel is keen to get more people involved in the sport. “With the extra events we have added to our calendar this year the club very much hopes to see new faces and what a great way to start the new year to increase fitness, regardless of your current level. If anyone has any questions, no matter how small, all committee members can be reached via the club’s new website www.Guernseytriathlon.com,” he said. A number of events will also be held for juniors, details to follow.
2 mile run, 12 mile bike & 2 mile run.
Transition will be set up between the imperial and Portelet kiosk
Sign on begins at 7:15am until 7:45am, Race starts at 8:00am sharp.
Click to see Run Route Map
Click to see CYCLE ROUTE MAP
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