Posted: August 15, 2004

Triathlon: Australian wins inaugral Irish International Cup race

Sat. Aug 14th - Michelob Ultra Lough Neagh Triathlon, Ballyronan, Derry (1500m Swim, 40k Cycle, 10k run)

This was the biggest race of this type to be held in Ireland in recent years. Over 250 athletes hit the water at 10am to begin the Olympic distance National Series Triathlon. The course was changed this year making it a little tougher on the competitors but easier on the spectators, but this along with the heat on the day meant that there were a few retirements along the way.

The conditions did not bother Ciaran Cassidy,47 from Clondalkin Dublin though, who showed that experience can get the better of youth when the racing gets tough. After the 1500m swim he led the bike leg on his new bike from Cycle Inn,Tallaght. He kept the lead for the 4 laps of a hilly and technical course and headed out on the 4 lap run course with a strong lead over his main rivals. The heat took its toll on Ciaran and he was reeled in and overtaken by both Sean McEvoy, 37 from Maynooth and Peter Savage, 35 from Banbridge. Sean had a great run and came home first in 2hrs 11mins 43 secs, he was followed home by Peter and Ciaran.

The female race was just as exciting, with Anna Frankland, 26 from Dublin setting the pace from the swim, leading the bike section too, but was closely followed by Jenny Fay also of Dublin. Anna led the run but was being chased down lap by lap by Anne Paul from Portrush. Anna had to sprint home at the end, just beating Anne Paul by 9 seconds. Jenny Fay was third. Frankland stays on top of the National rankings with 555 points (out of a possible 600) with her nearest rival, Lisa Higgin on 395. Trevor Woods remains on top of the Mens rankings with 285 points but Vet Ciaran Cassidy jumps into joint second with Liam Dunne after his great finish in Lough Neagh.

ITU International Cup Race

When the excitement of the National race was over, the organisers did not get much time to rest. It was followed at 2pm by the Elite International Cup race which saw the Irelands best triathletes racing against the worlds best. The Elite men went off first, followed 5 mins by the Elite women. Unlike the National Race, this was a draft legal race, whereby groups can form on the bike leg and the athletes can help eachother out so positions after the swim are very important, they determine which group if any you will be in.

In the mens race, Gavin Noble, Irelands no.1 ranked Elite athlete was first home out of the water in a time of 18mins 26 secs, he was closely followed by Berk of Holland and Matthews of Australia and 4 others including local boy Brian Campbell. These 7 went out on the bike course together, sharing the work at the front of the pack and trying to increase their lead on the ensuing bikers.

For 3 of the 4 laps this group stayed as one with any breakaways being quickly reeled in. In the final lap though Paul Matthews (from NSW who trains at the Australian Institute of Sport AIS, pictured below) made a dash for it (a 10k dash) and was not raced down by the rest in the pack. He went at full speed for the final circuit and started the run with a nearly 2 min. head start over his nearest rivals. In an average race, 2 mins is not that much but in a field such as this where all athletes are of such a high calibre, it is an un assailable lead. The race was on though for the 2nd and 3rd spot and both Irelands Gavin Noble and Brian Campbell were in with a shout. Trevor Woods from Omagh would usually be up there with these boys but did not have a great swim. He came out of the water a bit behind with Van Es of Holland. They both worked hard on the bike but could not bridge that gap to the lead group. In the run Gavin Noble was not at his usual best and could not keep pace with some of the faster runners.

Brian Campbell did though. Brian the current Irish Champion (pictured below) is a member of the organising Hi-Elbow club and originally from the locality had great support from the crowd (as did all athletes) and he pushed himself hard to get away from the original bike group. Campbell, Berk and McKerracher managed to get away and began their own personal race for the remaining podium spots. Matthews romped home in a time of 1.58.37, a race he deservedly won by using superior tactics on the bike. Berk was second with Brian Campbell third only 5 secs behind. This was probably Brians finest race and result in his short triathlon career. There is much more to come from this man in the future. Noble came home 6th, Woods 11th. This race was also the debut ITU world ranking race for some more of Irelands up and coming triathletes. Thomas Elliott, Liam Dunne, Ray Glynn, Eamon McConvey and Eimhin McManus all had great races and gained a lot of experience from this race and respect from their fellow Irish triathletes.

The womens race was dominated by athletes from Great Britain. Annaliese Heard from Wales was first out of the water in 19mins 2secs, she was closely followed by Kerry Lang and Jessica Harrison. These 3 got away in their own bike group and worked hard to stay away. Caroline Kearney of Dublin and Julie Murphy of Belfast did not have as good swims and had a lot of work to do on the bike. Caroline joined up with a second group on the bike and pushed this group to chase down the leaders. She led a break from this group and along with Catriona Morrison tried hard to bridge the gap on the leaders who started off with a 2min15 secs lead, this had whittled down to 1.59, then 32 secs on the 3rd lap and they finally caught them on the final lap. Kearney put in the fastest bike split of the race but it had a knock on affect on the run. The girls in the lead bike group were that bit fresher and could go at a faster pace on the 10k run. Morrison from Scotland, who followed Kearney on the break had a great run, she was over 2 mins faster than her nearest rival Annaliese Heard who came in second and her compatriot Kerry Lang (whose family hail from N Ire) was third. Kearney held on for 5th place and Murphy finished 8th overall.

This race was the best race I've been at this year. It is a showcase event for Triathlon Ireland both home and abroad. The athletes, supporters, sponsors and last but not least the organisers did this sport proud. It was a professionally run race and a credit to Ian Lyle and the Hi-Elbow club who worked tirelessly to ensure the smooth running of both big events. Their main sponsor, Michelob Ultra must be proud of this event too. Its not quite as big as the London Tri but the atmosphere, enthusiasm and support in Ballyronan is ten times better. When the age groupers finished their race, the majority hung around to give their support to the International Elites (and have a few Michelobs in the sun), and waited around later on and packed into the hall for the prizegiving ceremony, where 73 prizes were handed out between the National and International race. Well done Hi-Elbow.

Male
1. Sean McEvoy (Carrick TC)	 2.11.43
2. Peter Savage (Hi-Elbow) 	2.13.57
3. Ciaran Cassidy (3dTri)	 	2.15.07
4. Daniel Wright			2.16.36
5. Dave Tilly (Tsunami Tri)	2.17.58

Female
1. Anna Frankland (Tsunami Tri)	2.23.15
2. Anne Paul (Triangle TC)	2.23.24
3. Jenny Fay (3dTri)		2.31.20
4. Emma Riggs (3dTri)		2.31.49
5. Joy Wright (Herne Hill) 	2.33.55

Junior Male
Michael Lyons (Cork)		2.28.50

Elite International Cup Race

Male
1. Paul Mathews (Aus)
2. Sander Berk (Ned)
3. Brian Campbell (IRE)
4. Duncan McKerracher (Gbr)
5. Hoib Rust (Ned)
6. Gavin Noble (IRE)
11. Trevor Woods (IRE)
14. Thomas Elliott (IRE)
15. Liam Dunne (IRE)
16. Eamon McConvey (IRE)
17. Eimhin McManus (IRE)

Female
1. Catriona Morrison (Gbr)
2. Annaliese Heard (Gbr)
3. Kerry Lang (Gbr)
4. Jessica Harrison (Gbr)
5. Caroline Kearney (IRE)
8. Julie Murphy (IRE)

Upcoming Events

25/26th August
Olympic Games
Coverage on RTE (with Trevor Woods on the commentary panel)

28th August
Skerries Triathlon
1500m Swim, 40k Cycle, 10k run + 500m, 13k, 3.3k Try a Triathlon
Info at mayjoe@hotmail.com
www.3dtri.com

5th Sept
Bonmahon Triathlon
400m swim, 15.2k cycle, 5.6k run
info: PJ O Shea
051 372525

11th Sept
Mitsubishi Electric Dublin City Triathlon
1500m Swim, 40k Cycle, 10k run  Olympic Distance and
500m, 16k, 3.3k Try a Triathlon
Info: info@dublincitytriathlon.com
ph. 0868321735
web www.dublincitytriathlon.com

From: Wes Murphy