RACE REVIEW
In the men ’ s race it was Dan Wilson who led a group of four out of the water – followed by Sam Appleton , Sam Betten and Casey Munro . But it was Appleton who made a move early on the bike to break away from the group . “ I had a decent swim ,” Appleton exclaimed , “ but I know Dan [ Wilson ] and Reedy [ Tim Reed ] are phenomenal runners , and I really didn ’ t want to get off the bike with those guys and have it come down to a running race . It just leaves too much to chance for me , so I thought my best way of winning was to attack on the bike .”
Appleton took advantage of the near perfect conditions for the first lap , and came flying back through St Kilda with a solid lead on his chasers . But soon enough , he wasn ’ t only trying to out-ride his competitors , but he was trying to out-ride the tough weather conditions that returned and settled in for the rest of the morning . “ It was actually OK for the first third of the bike ,” he said . “ The sun was out and it was still . But all of a sudden the temperature dropped , I was freezing , and it got really windy !”
Not taking his foot off the gas though , Appleton shot into transition with a sizeable lead on the chasers . Local Lachie Kerin followed him out onto the run course over a minute behind , but it was Dan Wilson and Tim Reed ( who were almost two and a half minutes back off the bike ) who had Appleton worried the most over the 21km run .
Wilson broke away from Reed attempting to reel back Appleton , but the gap was too big off the bike . “ I pushed out hard on the first lap , which cut the lead back a bit , but when you give a couple of minutes away on the bike , it ’ s always going to be pretty hard ,” Wilson said .
Appleton held strong on the run crossing the line to become the Challenge Asia Pacific Half Distance champion - his second victory over this distance for the year so far . “ When you race in these conditions , it makes you tougher , so I was super stoked with the win today !” Appleton said .
Wilson was running well , putting more time into Reed behind him , and crossed the line in second place , while Reed held his position on the run to round out the podium .
In the women ’ s race , it was local Annabel Luxford who took charge from the starter ’ s gun , and never looked back . Weaving her way through the age group athletes and across the bike course she rides nearly every day in training , Luxford was proving that not even the merciless weather conditions could slow her down as she went about dominating the women ’ s race . “ It was pretty horrible conditions ,” Luxford exclaimed . “ I certainly felt cold , but surprisingly not cold enough that it impeded my performance .”
Race best swim and bike splits saw Luxford enter T2 in high spirits with an extremely comfortable lead of almost eight minutes over her nearest rival , Laura Siddall , who had made a last minute decision to fly over from Christchurch for a crack at the podium , and the prize purse .
“ I knew Bella ( Luxford ) would be tough to beat over this
distance ,” Siddall explained . “ I would have loved to have given her a bit more of a race , but I couldn ’ t find great rhythm on the bike today – that ’ s just the way it goes .”
Luxford settled into a good tempo over the half marathon , looking comfortable with a solid buffer over Siddall . “ I knew I had quite a lead ,” Luxford said . “ Laura [ Siddall ] is a good runner , but that sort of time gap is hard to make up . In saying that , you never really take your foot of the gas because you just don ’ t know what will happen . I also wanted to get a good work out to see where I was at .”
Luxford grabbed the finish line tape , stoked to take the Deep Heat Challenge Asia Pacific Half Distance title in front of a home crowd – adding this win to her already impressive belt of wins over this distance .
A gallant effort by Siddall on the run with a race best run split had her narrowing the gap slightly to Luxford , but the deficit off the bike would prove far too big for Siddall to challenge her for the top step . Regardless , Siddall was happy with her decision to step up to the plate for this race . “ I felt pretty solid and strong on the run , and felt comfortable at the end , so hopefully that bodes well for the coming season ,” she said .
Penny Hosken managed to hold off a charging Annelise Jefferies on the run to claim third place .
The decision to move the race to St Kilda was well received by athletes and supporters , regardless of the weather conditions .
“ With a change of venue this year to the iconic St . Kilda ’ s Catani Gardens , and new swim , bike and run courses under challenging weather conditions , it was a credit to all competitors who experienced what a Challenge triathlon is all about ,” General Manager of SME360 Dallas O ’ Brien said .
RESULTS
MEN |
|
|
1 |
Samuel APPLETON |
3:44:51.8 |
2 |
Dan WILSON |
3:46:23.0 |
3 |
Timothy REED |
3:54:11.7 |
WOMEN |
|
|
1 |
Annabel LUXFORD |
4:09:58.2 |
2 |
Laura SIDDALL |
4:16:02.1 |
3 |
Penny HOSKEN |
4:39:20.4 |
20 | MULTISPORT MAGAZINE