With the launching of “Troisport Tri Club”, Troisport had already gone a long way towards getting its name splashed across the field in a large variety of races. What we still wanted however was to stand a good chance of having the “Troisport” name splashed across the top end of the racing field.
This meant that we needed an “Elite” team. Our issue was that we didn’t want to restrict ourselves to a team that would be competitive in just one type of triathlon distance, but also didn’t see the value in affording a team large enough to cover all race distances!
What we finally decided on was a team of 7 athletes, all loyal to Troisport in some way, that had the potential to mix it up in both elite and age group categories from Sprint distance all the way up to Ironman.
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Katherin Cronje |
Bright Mamogale |
TEAM TROISPORT RACE REPORTS
TEAVIGO RACE 1
The first of the Momentum Teavigo National Duathlon Series races got underway on Sunday 6 April at Teak Place in Kromdraai. While last year’s series was a great success with races taking place over the sprint distance of 5km run/20km cycle/2.5km run, this year’s series over the standard distance of 10km/40km/5km would required more endurance in addition to the mandatory speed required in order to do well.
Race one was probably the toughest of all the races in the series and proved to be a tough day for every single competitor. It was a little longer than the standard distance with a hilly off-road 10.5km run, a 55km cycle with long rolling hills and strong winds, finishing off with another cross country 5km run. The first race of the season is always a learning curve as athletes discover where their fitness is and how far off they are from where they want to be. It’s also an opportunity for some to get a well deserved reward for the hours of training that they have put in.
South Africa’s top duathletes had gathered for the race in pursuit of the rich prize money on offer. Last year’s series winner Ian Don-Wachauppe and newcomer and fast improving athlete Brand du Plessis took out the run at a fast pace. They led together onto the bike followed by a group of 4, Milton, Jean Pierre Tienaple, Terence Lowe (Troisport) and Stephen Courtney (Troisport). With the longer distance and tough route of the bike leg it was important to work together and the chasing group did just that for the first lap of 27km. In the final third of the cycle leg it was down to Stephen and Terence and despite numerous attacks by Stephen to get rid of Terence the two remained together, passing Ian a few kilometers from the end of the cycle. Brand had a commanding lead starting the final run and Stephen and Terence entered transition in 2nd and 3rd. The final run was a case of survival for all athletes. Brand took the honours, with Terence achieving a well deserved 2nd. Stephen in 3rd, Ian 4th, Jean Pierre 5th. An excellent day for Troisport with 3 athletes in the top 6 positions. Marc Price just missing out on 5th place and prize money.
With the excellent support of the Momentum and Teavigo and the Supersport coverage, this series will continue to grow. There are 5 races remaining in the series spread throughout the winter months with the last event on 24 August.
Stephen Courtney
