Michael Fox and Lisa Marangon win race 3 of the Sydney Sprint Series

Michael Fox pulled one back on Sam Douglas when he won race 3 of the 2010/2011 Sydney Sprint Series. A month ago in Nowra Sam rode away from Michael in the triseries Olympic distance race put on by Elite Energy. Both guys ran a fairly similar, but tough, 10km in Nowra. On Sunday, Fox ran away from Sam and really stamped his authority on the race. Brady cramped on the run while in third place. Ben Hammond was chasing and when he saw Matt Brady had pulled up he stopped to offer assistance… ummm no he didn’t. He smiled and ran in to third place in the age group and took the bronze medal. Matt had put in one of the fastest swims and bikes before he succumbed to cramps on the run.  He posted 10:33 for the swim and 28:40 on the bike.

In the women’s race Lisa Marangon was dominant from start to finish. Siobhan McCarthy suffered a bit from the heat the previous day and struggled. Siobhan put in a solid fourth behind Natalie Van Coevorden and Laura Siddall. Natalie raced incredibly well with a blistering run almost a minute and a half faster than Lisa but lost too much on the bike. Laura is racing very strong right now.

Lisa Marangon is focusing on the shorter triathlons in 2011 as she works towards the possibility of London 2012. This is a big step up but if anyone has the determination and ability it is Lisa. Lisa has said she will be racing the club distance at Callala Beach this weekend. She has won a few rounds of the 2010/2011 triseries. This weekend she has two or three tough competitors. In 2010 Lisa won Busselton half ironman, was 3rd at Lake Placid ironman in the USA, 4th at Nepean and 2nd at the Canberra half ironman in December.

The top ten swim, bike and run times are below plus the top three in each age group and everyone’s results in one table. Natalie Van Coevorden was the only female to get a top ten spot in any of the legs.

Travis Shields won the first round just as he was peaking for IMWA and had a great race again in round 3 with an 8th overall and an age group 2nd place behind the talented Chris Dmitrieff. Chris is normally known for his long distance racing with some very good finishes over the years in long distance triathlons. Chris placed 8th in Ironman WA in 2008 with a time of 8:28 and a 3rd overall in the Port Macquarie half ironman in 2009 in 4:05.

Euan McNair pulled a heartilidge after doing some serious travelling to the northern hemisphere and decided not to race at the last minute after felling a ‘bit tired’. Euan has been training under Mark Newton of Herts and Jet Cycles fame. He has become very competitive in the last year for someone over 30 and working a serious job. Mark also trains Sam Douglas and first time winner last weekend Belinda Dent in the 35-39 age group.

Mick Maroney once again showed us what a great athlete he is. Another fast ‘old’ bloke is Scott Milson. For someone from Scotland he can swim fairly well and his run and bike are fast. Scott is training like a pro these days and has some good goals this year.

I didn’t race in round 2 but I have to say I was impressed with what the organisers put on for round 3. It was great to see a very accurate 5km run (although I was getting very close to going under 18mins on the old run course) and the swim was certainly more accurate than the first two rounds. Once the organisers get the bike course sorted this series has the potential to step up.

Open Category?

One thing missing (this was glaringly obvious) was an open age group. The fast guys and girls really struggled racing amongst us mere mortals. Having to cycle slowly through a no passing zone, swim around and over slower age groupers and then run on a packed course for full three laps is not what these elite guys and girls should be doing. If this race is going to be Sydney’s main triathlon series it would be good to see the fast crowd have the freedom to race hard. For them to step up to the next level they need to have the opportunities to really push themselves.

As a 40-44 age grouper who came 4th in this round I also think Mick Maroney should race in the open age group. It is only fair. Just kidding of course Mick although you did whinge a bit about the no passing lane and slow swimmers in front of you so the next race could be your opportunity if there is an open category. And after your ‘Sorry I am a superior athlete’ comment to your wonderfully talented charge I think you should race open.

There were two disqualifications in the race. Both were fast athletes. I know one of them who has been around for a while will have been not very happy. TriNSW’s Stephen Tudjman had to talk to us after the race about the no passing zone. Whilst it is a huge pain to pull up behind a slow cyclist and not be able to pass for 100m or so the rules were clear. I would be surprised if a car passed a cyclist in that area and there is definitely enough space to pass another cyclist safely. But rules are rules and we knew them before the race started. It is easy to forget though.