Liz Blatchford of the Uplace-BMC Pro Triathlon Team has started her season with a win in today’s Husky Long Course Triathlon. Liz, the defending champion in Huskisson (NSW, Australia), completed the 2 kilometer swim, 80 kilometer bike ride and 20 kilometer run in 04:07:19. Lisa Marangon (04:08:51) finished second; Carrie Lester (04:12:28) came in third.
The men’s top-three was all-Australian as well. Pete Jacobs took the title with a time of 03:34:58. Tim Reed (03:36:24) and Sam Appleton (03:39:26) completed the podium.
Liz led the race, for the most part together with Lisa Marangon, from start to finish. She came out of the water with Marangon, with Lester two minutes behind in third. During the bike leg, the two women stayed together, building their lead on Lester to almost 4 minutes at the start of the run. Liz had been nursing an inflamed ankle before the race. But any doubts about her being race-fit were quickly dispelled when she made her move in the opening kilometers of the 20k. Marangon was not able to return, allowing Liz a controlled run for a comfortable win.
Liz was obviously pleased with her first win of the year, “Early races are always a test of your form. So it’s nice to start with a win. The good news is that my ankle felt all right. It was strapped really tightly, so it didn’t bother me too much. I felt it a little when I ran out of the water, but I just tried not to focus on it too much. In the bike leg, Lisa and I worked hard to put some time on the rest of the girls, but I still felt fresh going into T2. I started the run at a decent pace and then focused on doing what I had to do to control the race. Next up is the Batemans Bay Challenge in three weeks. Another half distance race, but it’s my first ever Challenge race, so I’m excited.”
