Sunday, 24 July 2011 18:59
Merciless hills make KZN National Series Duathlon a toughie
It was billed as a fast, flowing course in the sugarcane fields around the picture-perfect Collisheen Estate, but dusty, muddy duathletes piling through the finish chute told a very different story, of big rolling uphills, sharp technical turns and BMX-style speedhumps to negotiate in the fifth event in the R300,000 Momentum Health i-Flex Duathlon National Series.
In the end, the first hosting of the four year-old Series on the green hills of Holla Trails, outside Ballito, KwaZulu-Natal, favoured a local in the men's race, as Ballito's Tyronne White (Thule South Africa) took full advantage of his MTB strength and the bike issues suffered by Series leader Brand du Plessis (PeptoSport) of Secunda (drivetrain and puncture) and Pretoria's Theo Blignaut (puncture), while holding off the charge of Cape Town's experienced XTERRA campaigner, 41-year-old Lieuwe Boonstra (Momentum/Red Bull).
Du Plessis, still feeling the effects of frostbitten thumbs from a recent training ride in Secunda, wasn't having a good day for other reasons. First he had to attempt a DIY repair to his chainring using a cable-tie with minutes to the start, which didn't work, resulting in a bent blade and having to ride the entire race, including all the hills, in the big blade.
Next, he punctured and had to hand-pump instead of using the much faster CO2 bomb. His third today does mean he retains his overall Series lead for the fourth year in a row, a phenomenal achievement of consistency. A newcomer to duathlon but no stranger to suffering was fourth-placed Jock Green, well-known as a top-class road cyclist. The 37-year-old was only 2:46 off Du Plessis' third-place time - a sign perhaps of him making a name for himself in multisport in the future.
In the ladies race, Pretoria's Carla van Huyssteen (Team Inov-8 Elite) put her recent dominant local form and international placings at both XTERRA Sardinia (third) and XTERRA France (fifth) to good use, running the first lap in sixth place overall and then using her cycling talent to power further away from Capetonian chaser Alae Brand (Team Inov-8 Elite) and Durban's Retha Shaw (PeptoSport). Natalie Bergstrom was a surprise cat amongst the pigeons on her mountain bike, leapfrogging Brand and Shaw to steam into T2 (the transition from mountain bike to run) in second, with Brand snapping on her heels. An under pressure Bergstrom made a tactical decision to save a few seconds by running in her rigid MTB shoes for the final 2.5km run. By her own admission this made for some slipping and sliding on the corners of the undulating course. Whether running shoes would have made any difference is debatable, since Brand's running prowess is legend and she reclaimed second spot with ease.
The final stop in the six-event Series is at Potchefstroom in North-West Province on Sunday 14 August. More at duathlon.co.za. Event coverage in Go Multi magazine gomulti.co.za.
RESULTS EVENT 5
Open Men
1 Tyronne White 1:44:37
2 Lieuwe Boonstra 1:45:44
3 Brand du Plessis 1:50:16
Open Women
1 Carla Van Huyssteen 2:07:40
2 Alae Brand 2:17:22
3 Natalie Bergstrom 2:20:11
Vet Men (40-49)
1 Patrice Gautier 2:00:26
2 Per Lofstrand 2:07:13
3 Pieter Hougaard 2:15:02
Vet Ladies (40-49)
1 Joanne Gibb 3:05:03
Master Men (50+)
1 Russell White 2:00:57
2 Charles Nienaber 2:09:47
3 Martin Birtwhistle 2:35:09
Master Ladies (50+)
1 June Watson 3:42:10
Junior Men (15-19)
1 Gareth Jooste 2:08:20
2 Sipho Kupiso 2:11:15
3 Jurgens Bornman 2:28:17
Mixed Team
1 Tennille Robertson & Shaun White 2:10:10
2 Wayne Atherstone & Claire Black 2:32:13
3 Nathalie Carbonel & Pierre Carbonel 3:32:21
Men's Team
1 Channing Smith & Craig Jarrett 1:55:00
2 Chris Lionett & Graham Daniel 2:05:11
3 Matt Coughlan & David McClennghan 2:12:59
VITAL SERIES STATS
Series overview
Fourth year (started 2008)
Total series prizemoney in excess of R300,000
Three events are off-road (5km run / 30km mountain bike / 2.5km run - timed as one event)
Three events are road (5km run / 40km cycle / 2.5km run - timed as one event)
Duathlon is run + bike + run (timed as one continuous event from the time you start the first run to the time you cross the finish line on the second run)
Team option: Yes
Categories: Open, Age 40-49, 50+
Prizemoney: The Grand Prix system awards 20 points for a win, 19 points for second etc. At the end of the Series, a bonus of R10,000 prizemoney is awarded to the winning man and the winning woman, R6,000 for second and R4,000 for third. See www.duathlon.co.za for more
Medals: Only for Kiddies race
Kids distances 1km run / 5km cycle / 1km run
Race website www.duathlon.co.za
Enter online www.cyclelab.co.za
Online fees: R155 individual, R210 team, R50 kiddies, R80 kiddies team
On the day entries: R200 / R250 / R60 / R100
Enquiries: Andre de Beer 082 490 5061
Televised on SuperSport
Remaining 2011 Series dates:
Event 6: Sun 14 Aug, Potch Dam, North West Province (road)
WHAT THE SPORTS ARE
Aquathlon: swim - run (continuous)
Biathlon: cross-country skiing - precision shooting
Biathle: run - swim - run
Duathlon: run - bike - run (continuous)
Triathlon: swim - bike - run (continuous)
