Moreton Bay OD Triathlon

Sunday 23rd of September was my first race of the season as I lined up for the Qld OD Triathlon champs held at Clontarf. Being a Redcliffe local it was very nice to only allow 10mins of travel time to get to the race. I missed this race earlier in the year due to Ironman commitments so was very keen to go around for this one and have a hitout across the Ted Smout Bridge (Hornibrook Bridge for old school locals).

Being the first race of the season, I was unsure on how I would go so was planning just to belt myself and stay on the gas as long as possible and hope to get some quality racing under my belt prior to Noosa.

We were met with glorious conditions on race morning with no swell, very light breeze and blue skies so it was a great way to start the season.

The swim was an M Shaped course and there were plenty of whispers of jelly fish in the water however compared to a Bribie Race earlier in the year, the odd jelly fish with a long sleeved wetsuit was not a worry. I stayed with the lead pack until just after the first buoy where I fell off the back which was a little disappointing as I was hoping to stay with the lead pack. I swam the rest of the way with one other and exiting the water it was obvious that the swim was short as I clocked 16min 52sec.

Onto the bike for 4 x 10km loops and it took about a lap to get going. Heading south across the Ted Smout Bridge for the first time we were riding into a slight headwind. I worked hard to catch some riders up the road. I bridged up to one group of riders who were not interested in riding legal so at the next turn around, I put the gas down in chase of the next lot of riders. I had ridden up to about 3rd place with three other guys in my AG. With about 7km to go, I again put the gas down to try and open up a gap on the guys with me. I put about 300m on them however by the time we reached T2, two of them had closed the gap which was going to make an interesting 10km run. Bike time - 1hr 1min 18sec

The start of a good battle

Myself, Tim Gado, and Christophe Manchon left T2 and Tim set the pace early. We all sat together until the 5km turn around where I cranked up the pace a little to try and drop the other two. This worked as I opened up a gap slowly and pulled away. I maintained a strong pace through to the finish and was great to finish in front of my family who were able to make it down to the race. I finished the run in 37min 32sec which is a little slower than I was hoping for but still gives me something to work on.


4km in and no-one was budging

Total time was 1hr 55mins 43sec for 8th overall and 3rd in AG behind Courtney Atkinson and Peter Court.

A big thanks again to my wife Hayley for coming to watch me race as well as my Mum, Sisters and Neice who was there for her first ever race and also the Redcliffe Tri club for their great encouragement.