Ideal racing conditions greeted 250 competitors today at the dock in Kinsale for Cork Tri clubs annual sprint distance triathlon, the King of the Hill. Light winds and relatively warm temperatures are a rarity in Ireland of late but these made for fast and exciting racing.
The two waves were started 10 minutes apart. First out of the water in the first wave (Men Under 40) was Ross Higgins (Limerick Tri Club) in just 11mins11sec. He was followed by Philip King, Shaun Hennessy (a promising junior triathlete- cork tri club) and Trevor Woods (Cork Tri Club), with a mere 27 seconds separating the first four men. A quick transition and they started off on the 20km out and back bike course. The bike course is more or less uphill for the first 10k with the turnaround just past Dundurrow. The returning 10k is aided by gravity but challenging road surfaces made the descent harder. In the second wave (Men over 40 and all women), Deirdre Casey was the first to emerge in 12mins48, followed by Lizzie Lee (Cork tri club) trailing by just 25sec and Lorna Wolfe (Piranha tri) a further 10sec behind.
10k into the bike saw Trevor Woods in 1st place, followed by Philip King and Eric Wolfe who had made up valuable time on the bike having been 6th fastest in the water. These places remained unchanged as the men returned to transition, Trevor Woods recording the fastest bike split of the day with 32min18 for the 20km bike. The 5km run is anything but flat (it is the King of the Hill triathlon after all) but Trevor Woods, a multiple winner of this and many other triathlons, had the third fastest run split to finish in first position with a finishing time of 1hr03.27. Running his way into second place was Eric Wolfe (Cork Tri club) with the second fastest run split of the day to finish in 1hr04.43. Rounding out the men’s top three was Philip King of New Zealand who finished in 1hr05.37.
In the female contest, Deirdre Casey consolidated her lead with the 11th fastest bike split of the day (36min14). She set off the run with 4 minute plus lead over Lizzie Lee. Lorna Wolfe was third female in off the bike with Katie Fitzgerald and Karina Teahan (Cork Tri club) in pursuit. Last year’s winner, Lizzie posted a sub-20minute 5k time but was unable to overhaul Deirdre who finished in an impressive 9th overall in 1hr11.35 with Lizzie finishing second in 1hr14.12. Karina Teahan ran a fantastic 19min27 for the hilly 5km to overtake both Katie Fitzgerald and Lorna Wolfe and finished third in 1hr18.06.
Lucy/Campbell/Lynch won the relay with a finishing time of 1hr12.51.
Well done to all competitors racing today in what was a very enjoyable and exciting triathlon event. Photos to follow in the next few days.
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