As Oceania begins its descent into winter, the triathlon season is drawing to a close Down Under. In the penultimate Oceania Cup of the year, Busselton, Australia, played host to a Super Sprint Eliminator.
The event was originally slated to be a World Cup race but was removed from the schedule in February. After a well-run event, Busselton could yet hold the World Cup next year.
The athletes took on three rounds, with the field being whittled down after each until only ten remained. Although the fields were not the biggest, the novelty of the format was clear to see as the athletes paced their efforts to different extents.
On a fast flat course, each round consisted of a 250m sea swim, a 6km bike and a 1.6km run.
Men’s races
Round 1
If there was a chance of athletes starting cautiously, Lachlan Jones and Luke Willian blew that away as they tore through the swim in the opening round. Only Jack Crome and Lleyton Wall were able to get within 10 seconds of the pair. Jones and Willian led the way as a trio initially escaped off the front of the bike although over such a short course the gap hardly grew.
In the end the field came back together and Kurt Wesley ran through to win the opening round. Crome put in a strong run to take 4th while Willian and Jones hung back in 8th and 9th.
Round 2
If the fans watching enjoyed Jones and Willian lead out the swim in the first round then they were in for a treat in round 2.
Jones knocked 7 seconds off his first round time to clock 2:37 with Willian just a second back. Once again, Crome followed next with Wall right behind. The pack behind, though, was a little more tightly bunched than in round 1 which led to a little bit of jostling in T1 as some athletes bumped into one another.
The field came back together on the bike with Oliver Larcombe logging a particularly impressive split to haul himself back into contention.
Whereas in round 1 the fastest run was a 5:44, Yoann Colin produced a 5:20 in round 2. In doing so, he arrived at the finish line on the shoulder of Willian to take 2nd. A large group of men finished together with the top-8 separated by only 2 seconds.
After his hard work on the bike, Larcombe was unlucky to finish 11th and was eliminated. So too were Wall and Crome after they slipped to 12th and 15th, respectively.
Round 3
Heading into the final Willian, Jones and Colin seemed to be the trio to watch. However Luke Bate and Kye Wylde had thus far kept their powder dry.
In a wholly unsurprising turn of events, Jones and Willian were the first two men out of the water. Their times in round 3, though, were their slowest of the day. In part this spoke to the effort of three triathlons in quick succession but also to the tactical element of the final round.
Kurt Wesley and Colin brought up the rear of the ten man field but both were quick to nip back into the group on the bike. Bate looked like he had another gear on the bike but the run was the real game ahead.
Willian, Jones and Wesley soon separated themselves from the field early out of T2. Bate and the Schofields (Luke and Jayden) were close behind but seemed to have missed the crucial surge.
With not enough ground to completely pull away, Willian had to rely on a late kick to escape the attention of Jones and Wesley. A former World Cup winner, he kept his composure and rounded the corner with a gap of barely a couple of seconds.
That was all he needed, though, and he crossed the line to log his first win of the season.
Jones held on for 2nd which was richly deserved after leading the swim in every round. Wesley rounded out the podium, only 1 second behind.
Women’s races
Round 1
Charlotte Mcshane arrived in Busselton hot off of a win at the Asia Cup in Subic Bay. Alongside Ellie Hoitink, the bronze medallist from Subic Bay, she was the athlete to watch.
Mcshane established her credentials early on, leading out the swim in a time of 3:18. Jessica Ewart-Mctigue and Maddison Yarrow followed, 3 seconds back.
A group of ten women surged clear on the bike, with Hoitink and Mcshane both taking turns setting the pace. On the run, though, it was Ewart-Mctigue that charged ahead. She brought her race home with a 6:47 split. By contrast Mcshane and Hoitink each ran 7:06.
Victoria Gillies and Chloe Bateup were the next two athletes to follow Ewart-Mctigue.
Round 2
Only three women were eliminated in round 1 but that seemed enough to embolden a couple of athletes in the second round.
Sian Munks ripped a 3:12 split to earn a small gap on the field in the water. Hoitink was the second woman out in 3:18. Both Mcshane and Ewart-Mctigue were content to sit in the pack and waited for the bike before easing towards the front.
Erika Tanno of Japan was the only athlete unable to stick with the main pack on the bike and a group of thirteen arrived into T2 within close proximity of one another.
This time, the field remained mostly together on the run and the top-8 all finished in close succession. Bateup and Ewart-Mctigue managed to cross the line first with Hoitink and Mcshane right behind. Munks capped a fine second round by finishing 5th while Gillies slipped from 2nd to 7th across the opening rounds. All that mattered, though, was that she qualified for the final.
Round 3
Munks led the swim again, this time recording a time of 3:10. Bateup and Mcshane were quick to eat into her lead in T1, though.
Mcshane really drove the pace on the bike but the pack mostly remained intact. Briana Mow was dropped from the group but Rhianna Hepburn, the silver medallist at this year’s Oceania Junior Championships, put in an impressive effort to keep touch with Mcshane.
After the field held on to Mcshane, Ewart-Mctigue had a rapid T2 and emerged first onto the run. Mcshane was next out with Hoitink, Bateup and Hepburn pushing to keep up. As Mcshane caught Ewart-Mctigue, the two women managed to forge ahead. Neither could quite drop the other and so, as they rounded the final corner, they attacked the finish at full pelt.
Mcshane just about managed to hold off Ewart-Mctigue to take a second win in as many weekends. Maybe it was her experience or the effort she conserved in the first round that made the difference; either way, she provided confirmation that she will be among the leading Australians this year.
Meanwhile, Ewart-Mctigue could reflect on an immense performance. A maiden Continental Cup podium was a great way to cap off a performance in which she showed her class in all three disciplines.
Hoitink came home in 3rd place to match her result from last weekend.
View the full results here.
