Trax Brasserie Naas Duathlon Series
By some miracle Punchestown racecourse avoided the bad weather this weekend and Sunday morning was bright but sharp for the 1st of the Trax Brasserie Duathlon race series organised by Naas Triathlon Club.
This race series has been growing steadily over the last few years and was sold out last week for the first time in its history. Primarily aimed at encouraging people new to the sport it also has a highly competitive edge at the elite end. This year was no different, Belparkās James McFadden set a blistering pace on the first run followed closely by local Naas member Mariusz Olejniczak and these two led James Hoare into T1 but on the bike leg Mariusz took a two minute lead over James to allow himself a comfortable second run and finished in a time of 57:02 ahead of McFadden and James Hoare who cane in 2nd and 3rd respectively.
In the ladies section Caroline Conway led from start to finish and the real battle of the day was between Niamh Stein from Naas Tri Club and Kim Hickey from Pulse. Niamh entered T1 just 7 seconds behind Caroline with Kim close behind but while Caroline extended her lead on the bike leg Kim just edged past Niamh to take 2nd spot entering T2. This set up a tough second run leg for the two girls but in the end Niamh just pipped Kim for 2nd place with only 4 seconds to spare.
This was a great start to the season with a full field and a successful start to the year for many athletes. A special mention goes to all those who took part in their first event, hopefully one of many to come in the future. Race 2 takes place on Feb 24th and places are filling fast so get your entries in soon.