NEW ZEALANDER Luke Walton won the first event of the De Putron Winter Duathlon Series. In the absence of most leading Guernsey triathletes, the Kiwi led almost from start to finish of the short distance event, his first in Guernsey.
‘I was very happy with my race, especially for the time of year. I used to race regularly in New Zealand and Australia but have not competed in a triathlon for six years,’ he said.
‘My first race back was the Tauranga half-ironman in New Zealand just after New Year so I was fortunate to have two weeks to train there.
‘I am happy to be racing this well so early in the season. It is a bit difficult for everyone to train and race in winter. I found the conditions quite hard but think everyone would have struggled as it was a very windy day,’ he admitted.
His plan was to take the runs reasonably steadily, then go hard on the bike.
‘My running condition was better than I expected and I was slow on the bike - so I need to improve that.
‘I still had enough of a gap before the last run to feel comfortable finishing, though, once everyone starts getting fitter in the next few months, I will need to train a bit more to stay competitive,’ said Walton.
The event comprised a two-mile coastal run from the Imperial to the former Rocquaine fish factory and back, a 12-mile cycle leg to Grandes Rocques and back, followed by a repeat of the run.
Walton headed a field of runners, including seven newcomers to the sport, returning to the transition area after his two-mile run in a rapid 11 minutes 17 seconds, three seconds ahead of Tim Coates, who had run conservatively hoping to remain free of his recent injury woes.
Strong south-westerly winds aided the cyclists up the coast road towards Grandes Rocques, with many reaching speeds in excess of 30mph.
But on the return it was a different story as riders battled into the strong headwind, with newcomers trying their first event on a mountain bike struggling more than most.
Lyn Mahy had run a steady first leg, but once on the bike moved steadily through the field, showing her strength to record the fourth-fastest bike-split time overall.
Walton was fastest of the male cyclists, extending his lead by over a minute on the bike.
Coates, though, showed his strength on the second run with an impressive 12-minute effort to take the fastest split and a clear second place from Philip Touzeau in third.
Mahy finished in the middle of the men’s field in ninth place overall, with juniors Alex Ford and Alex Falla also showing impressive bike skills to take 10th and 13th places respectively.
The winter duathlon series has races every three weeks until April, when the focus switches to triathlon, with the novice event on Sunday 18 May at Beau Sejour.
Details of all events are on www.gsytriclub.org.gg.
Walton’s long-term aims for the year are the New York Marathon, a personal best at half-marathon and the Jersey Triathlon.
‘I also want to do quite a few local triathlons and running races and may do a few races in France.
‘In the next couple of months I will probably enter a couple more events in the duathlon series and have a look at the athletics calendar,’ he said.
‘I am aiming to do a half marathon best [less than 1hr 15min.] at Easter so will need some racing to get up to speed.’
Article posted on 25th January, 2008 - 12.00am
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