Murray and Steyn of Team BSG continue Triseries domination

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Monday, 21 November 2011 17:31

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Rain fails to dampen spirits at Triseries round six

Andrea Steyn (Team BSG) continues her winning streak, making it six out of six, while in the Elite Men’s category Richard Murray (Team BSG) takes another gold and is now in prime position to claim the overall title for the 2011 BSG Energade Triseries.

The picturesque town of Worcester played host to the sixth (and penultimate) event of the 2011 BSG Energade Triseries, which was held at Brandvlei Dam on Sunday, 20 November. Despite the rainy weather conditions, all competitors were in high spirits with over 500 participants taking part in the Main Series and just over 100 young triathletes taking to the starting line in the Kiddies’ race.

Spectators were treated to some very exciting racing in the Elite Men’s race as Richard Murray (Team BSG), who was behind after the bike leg, caught up to the pack after being 45 seconds behind. Through sheer tenacity he won the race by eight seconds – showing his mental strength and stamina. At the start of the race, Henri Schoeman (Team Future Life) took the lead out of the water closely followed by Abrahm Louw (Team BSG). Henri and Abrahm were joined by Jeff Norton (Team Mr Price) as they left T1 with a 10 second lead over the rest of the pack. Abrahm and Henri managed to maintain their lead over the cycle leg, and together with Claude Eksteen (Team Inov-8), they lead the Elite Men into T2 – Richard Murray followed 45 seconds behind the leaders. During the run Richard dug deep and powered through to make up the 45 seconds, crossing the finish line in a winning time of 59:10. Fellow BSG team mate Abrahm Louw came in eight seconds later to secure second place with his time of 59:18. Claude Eksteen finished in third position in a time of 59:38. Henri Schoeman and Spanish athlete Antón Ruanova Fernández rounded off the top five.

In the Elite Ladies’ race, defending champion Andrea Steyn (Team BSG) secured her sixth consecutive win in the 2011 BSG Energade Triseries in a time of 1:08:43 – making it her 37^th win since she started competing in the BSG Energade Triseries. There was no early leader in the Elite Ladies’ race, with all the athletes moving through T1 in a single bunch. Over the cycle leg, Andrea managed to break ahead and win a small lead of five seconds over Vicky van der Merwe (Team BSG), Riana de Lange (Ocean Basket) and Carla van Huyssteen (Team Inov-8) as they entered into T2. In the end it was Carla van Huyssteen who secured second place, coming in at 1:09:24, followed by Vicky van der Merwe in third with her time of 1:09:49. Australian athlete Anel Stewart and Riana de Lange finished in fourth and fifth place respectively.

Elite Men’s Category Race Results:

1 Richard Murray 0:59:10

2 Abrahm Louw 0:59:18

3 Claude Eksteen 0:59:38

4 Henri Schoeman 1:00:43

5 Antón Ruanova Fernández 1:00:57

Elite Ladies’ Category Race Results:

1 Andrea Steyn 1:08:43

2 Carla van Huyssteen 1:09:24

3 Vicky van der Merwe 1:09:49

4 Anel Stewart 1:10:38

5 Riana de Lange 1:11:18

The rainy conditions did not hamper the 500+ athletes who took part in the Main Series, with the 30 – 39 men’s age group dominating at the finish line. Richard Woolrich was the fastest man to cross the finish line in a time of 1:01:35, followed by Rohan Kennedy and Dawid Visser – all three competing in the 30 – 39 men’s age category! The fastest lady in the Main Series was Veteran athlete Viv Williams with her time of 1:11:40, she was followed by Lezandre Joubert who was competing in the 20 – 29 age group.

In the BSG Energade Kids’ Series (12-15 age group), BSG development squad team mates Nathan Le Roux and Sidney Engelbrecht were once again vying for first position. In the end it was Nathan who crossed the finish line first in a time of 34:12. The fastest girl was young Robyn-Leigh Jones (Team Inov-8) who secured another win with her time of 38:59.

The final race in the 2011 BSG Energade Triseries will be taking place at Emerald Casino in Vanderbijlpark on Sunday, 4 December. With less than two weeks to go, race organisers are reminding athletes to get their online entries in early as entries are capped for both the Kiddies’ and the Main Series. Visit www.bsgmultisport.co.za to register and secure your place in what is sure to be a spectacular event for the finals of the 2011 BSG Energade Triseries.