| Troisport Joburg City Tri series: Event #2 |
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Troisport Joburg City Tri series: Event #2 – 7 February 2010 (Inc. Central Gauteng Tri Champs)  Race Report by Steve Pratt  The Troisport Joburg City Tri Series reached a capacity field this weekend to highlight how popular triathlon and the Olympic triathlon distance have become. ‘Troisport’ series has grown tremendously from humble beginnings and has now become the “must do†events series in the country. The field gets deeper and stronger every event with all the main contenders taking part.  The swim started with the women going off a few minutes ahead of the huge male field. Lucie Zelenkova the defending women’s champion and well respected Czech Olympian was as normal out of the water as the first lady followed shortly by Carlyn Fischer. In the men’s race all the main contenders Sander Berk, Erhard Wolfaardt, Hendrik De Villiers and Claude Eksteen were close by.  Lucie continued to lead and dominate the ladies race despite being tired from heavy ironman training volume. She cruised through to take the win despite looking rather weary towards the end. Carolyn Koll taking 2’nd place in a solid race with no wrong turns this time and ever present consistent Corinne Berg rounding off the podium.  Sander Berk maintained a lead off the bike over Erhard Wolfaardt, but Hendrik de Villiers, Claude Eksteen and Richard Murray were lurking in striking distance. Unfortunately Berk was disqualified due to a rule violation in transition 2 and his run to the line in 1st place was in vein (except for bragging rights). Erhard Wolfaardt then claimed the victory with Hendrik de Villiers returning to form in 2nd and Richard Murray claiming the thirds spot on the podium with lightning fast run.  Central Gauteng Triathlon Champs were incorporated into this event. There were some very competitive times in the age group ranks. Central Gauteng as an association is extremely strong in the triathlon space and will be looking forward to dominating the podium places at the national champs next month.  The final event will take place on the 11th April 2010 where the racing is sure to be fast again and may even include a wetsuit swim.  The 2010 South African triathlon champs takes place on the 21st of March at the same venue (Germiston, Victoria lake club) where all the top athletes from around the country will be racing.  Event 2 Results  Standard Male (1.5k Swim, 40k Bike, 10k Run) Erhard Wolfaardt                     1:52:08 Sander Berk                1:55:06 Richard Murray            0:55:57  Standard Female (1.5k, 40k, 10k) Lucie Zelenkova                        2:07:19 Carolyn Koll                  2:09:06 Corrine Berg                2:11:01   Full results are www.spectrumsport.co.za . Event race pages are available on www.troisport.co.za/troievents ; Entries for the final event is open on www.cyclelab.co.za |