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SAIPAN, CNMI - Australia’s Andrew Noble and England’s Julie Dibens won the Tagaman triathlon and the Pacific Islands Club Double award in Saipan today.
The PIC Double award is given to the man and woman with the fastest combined XTERRA Saipan Championship and Tagaman triathlon times. The two events are held just seven days apart.
For their efforts Noble and Dibens each win $500, seven free nights accommodation and a complimentary Gold Card for two (three meals a day in a choice of three restaurants) at the Pacific Islands Club for next year’s race.
Once again Julie Dibens was the first competitor – male or female – out of the swim, and she never really looked back. Her combined time of 5:53:04 marks the first time in four years a female has come in under 6-hours in the two races. Jamie Whitmore, last year’s Double Champ, was 15-minutes back in 2nd place at Tagaman, and also finished in the runner-up spot for the Double.
On the men’s side former Duathlon World Champion Andrew Noble had the fastest men’s swim – the second best bike split (just four seconds slower than the UK’s Sam Gardner) – and the quickest run for a dominating win. He crossed the finish line in 2:54:50, more than eight minutes ahead of Masayuki Matsumaru from Japan. He also made up the 2+ minutes he was trailing Gardner after XTERRA Saipan, for a convincing 8-minute margin of victory in the PIC Double competition.
“I had to win this one for Candy so we could come back next year and take the honeymoon I’ve promised her,” said Noble, referring to his wife Candy Angle – the 2002 XTERRA World Champion.
Dibens, who competed for Great Britain in the 2004 Olympic triathlon, is planning on using the PIC stay to bring her husband to Saipan with her next year.
“I’d really like to bring him. We’ve had a wonderful stay here and it’s a great place to train, the weather is lovely, the people are great, the races are organized well, what else is there,” said Dibens.
Paul Chetwynd of Japan won the men’s amateur double in 7:09:41 while Saipan (and the PIC’s) very own Kimiko Hasegawa took home women’s amateur honors in 9:06:39.
XTERRA Saipan, held March 17, is the “Crown Jewel” of the XTERRA Global Tour in its sixth year, combining a 1.5k swim with a 30k mountain bike and 12k trail run. The Tagaman is a road tri in its 18th year and combines a 2k swim with a 60k bike and 15k run.
A total of 30 participants representing five countries participated in both races, which are presented by the Marianas Visitors Authority.
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