Lee coasts to classy victory

Marlborough triathlete Jono Lee coasted to an easy victory in yesterday's Avanti Plus Sprint Triathlon at Rabbit Island.

Lee cut out the 750m swim and the 300m run up the beach in 11min 43sec, nearly two minutes quicker than Dan Padial, who was followed out of the water in quick succession by Lionel Padial, Louis Olsen, Malcolm Anderson and Martin Bennett. Nigel Burgess and Josie Wilcox were in a chase bunch.

The mass start had triathletes over 750m and 250m and duathletes running 2.5km or 1.3km all starting together.

The first sprint-distance competitor to get out on the bike course was duathlete Danial Bremner, with a 30-second lead over Lee, followed by a string of duathletes including Don Wardle, Alan Donovan and Ian McNabb.

It didn't take Lee long to overhaul Bremner, but with a draft-legal format, the duathlete clung to Lee's wheel. Another bunch formed behind, but were no match for Burgess, who swept through the field until only the two leaders were ahead of him.

Wilcox was caught on her own, unable to make ground on the bunches ahead but staying away from the chasers behind.

Bremner's determination to stay on Lee's wheel paid off, the pair starting the final 5km run together, but Lee was in no mood to mess around, easily running away with the victory.

Bremner finished next to win the duathlon by a comfortable 11 minutes from Wardle. Burgess was the only runner with a pace close to Lee and he took second place in the triathlon, followed by Bill Revell, who ran in bare feet after he racked his bike in the wrong spot and couldn't find his shoes.

Olsen battled to hold off a fast-finishing Wilcox by five seconds. Wilcox had the third-quickest run and led home the second woman, Robin Harrington, by 11 minutes. Julie Beeden and Sue Petrie took the third and fourth female spots.

Jack Thornton was too quick in the short triathlon, the 15-year-old leading Hayden Squance, 11, out of the water by nearly a minute, then adding the fastest bike time over the 8km course.

Lindsey Chamberlain clawed back a little time on the final 2.5km run, but Thornton had the race under control, winning in 35.40 from Squance (38.27).

Chamberlain (39.02) was next, taking the first women's spot from Andrea Livingston (40.10).

Brendon Hughes combined with his children in a team entry which won the short duathlon ahead of Maryann Cant, Nicole Cant, Ben MacManus and Maxine Roberts.

Full results at nelsontriclub.co.nz.

Nelson triathlete Harrison Dean had his most convincing race yet on the national circuit, narrowly failing in his chase of Bryan Rhodes, one of triathlon's most durable competitors, to finish second in race four of the national Contact Trophy series in Timaru yesterday.

Rhodes dominated the bike section, establishing a lead of more than four minutes, but Dean led the chase, cutting out the final 10km run in 34min 16sec to finish in 1:56.49, 40 seconds behind.

In other Nelson results, Jon Linyard was second behind Rhodes in the 35-39 age group.

- © Fairfax NZ News