The final race of the Antipodean season took place in Port Douglas, Australia, earlier today with the Olympic distance championships on the line. Several big names, including Hayden Wilde, Natalie Van Coevorden and Kira Hedgeland, were away in Cagliari. Moreover Matthew Hauser was a last-minute withdrawal from the event.
The event nonetheless contained multiple race winners from this year alone, as well as a smattering of WTCS and World Cup medallists.
Men’s race
It’s not every day that you see a 19 year old take the lunch money of world-level medallists. That, however, is exactly what Brad Course did to sign off the Oceania season in the most emphatic of styles.
Prior to the race, we had (it seems unreasonably) assumed that Port Douglas would be a mere tune up for him, with the bigger carrot of the World Junior Championships dangling ahead. When Course lost a bit of time into the swim to Dylan McCullough (who clocked 18:22 for the 1500m), Course’s narrative of a learning opportunity seemed set.
As he did at the Oceania Cup in Wanaka back in February, Course used a super performance on the bike to ride up to the leaders and put himself in contention.
A front pack of thirteen men ultimately consolidated their lead with the likes of McCullough and Course rolling along with Oscar Dart, Tayler Reid and Luke Willian.
As the pace ebbed and flowed, Reid began to assert himself a little more but Course still looked untroubled.
After a quick T2, he then struck out quickly onto the run. Dart, William and McCullough went with him but several in the lead pack fell behind. Once McCullough lost touch with the leaders, a three horse race was on the cards. Dart and Willian already had recent Continental Cup wins to their name but Course maintained his composure. As the final stretch came into view, he produced a vicious kick to pull clear of his rivals.
To go with the fastest bike split of the field, Course was the only man to dip under the 30 minute barrier on the run (hitting a 29:55).
Dart managed to cross the line ahead of Willian to take the silver medal. Course and Dart also took the gold and silver in the U23 category, with Dylan McCullough earning bronze after finishing 4th overall.
Triathlon is a tough sport and it’s often best for federations treat talents such as Course delicately to guide them beyond the possible early pitfalls of their career. However Course is starting to make a bit of a mockery of that. Indeed he looks almost fully formed. He will need to improve his swim a little if he is to figure in the WTCS but at this rate a debut in the Series later this year and a run of appearances next year do not look like crazy objectives.
At Course’s age, plenty of promising Juniors have never even raced over the Olympic distance, let one won a Senior Championship.
While the rest of the triathlon world processes what happened in Port Douglas, young Bradley will move on to his next target. The win will no doubt satisfy him but in the broader trajectory of his career it was simply a matter of course.
Women’s race
Ainsley Thorpe took charge of the women’s race in the water and emerged with a string of twelve others on her heels. Among the pursuers were Nicole Van Der Kaay (1 second back), Jaz Hedgeland (2 seconds back) and Charlotte Mcshane (8 seconds back).
Early in the bike, the leaders came together. Mcshane made an early move to the front but was closely guarded by Hedgeland. Over the course of the 40km, though, the group lost Chloe Bateup, Olivia Cummings and Zoe Clarke from their ranks, reducing the lead pack to ten.
Brea Roderick and Charlotte Derbyshire each came through the pack to take some prominent turns on the front. As she did at the New Plymouth World Cup, Van Der Kaay soon began to take charge of the bike and press the issue. Although the group held firm, a couple of grimaces betrayed the efforts of those trying to keep pace.
Van Der Kaay then was sure to make the first move on the run. While Thorpe, Hedgeland and Derbyshire tried to respond, the New Zealand starlet was clearly a class above her rivals. A 5m gap doubled and then doubled again.
Meanwhile, Thorpe’s efforts took their toll and she lost ground to Hedgeland and Derbyshire.
The run, though, was all about Van Der Kaay. With a split of 34:06, she was comfortably the fastest of the field and went on to take the win by 27 seconds. Hedgeland finished 2nd after pulling clear of Derbyshire.
Derbyshire could take solace with a win in the U23 category. Roderick earned silver (after finishing 6th overall) while Hannah Knighton won bronze (after taking 8th overall).
View the full results here.
