from Brian Crinion Kevin Keane and Elana Maslova won the July Duathlon.
Men’s race
Run 1
Kevin Keane (Belpark) opened up an early lead along the back straight. However May and June’s winner Mark Doyle (Belpark/Wheelworx) never really lost contact. Doyle worked with John Caffrey (Belpark) to get back level with Keane by the end of the 2.7km opening run. Then Doyle’s track speed showed in the sprint for the run prime. This leading trio were followed by James Davenport (Pulse) fresh from his second place at last weekend’s national triathlon championships and Colin Bolger (Pulse) who ran to victory in the recent Skerries Triathlon.
Keane had been almost 50m ahead of Doyle in last months race, so it appeared that his heavy training for the upcoming Mountain Running World Championships had sapped some of his speed!
Cycle
Onto the bike and any doubts of Keane’s form were dismissed as he opened up a lead on the first of three laps. Afterwards Keane said “I was expecting Caffrey to fly by, but when I had a gap of almost 5 seconds after 5km, I knew that I had a chance”.
Meanwhile Davenport and Bolger were eating up the bike course, with Bolger almost closing the gap on Keane by the end of the 13km cycle. Davenport had passed Caffrey and Doyle, but never managed to drop them. This meant that the top five all started the final 2.7km run within 15sec of Keane. It was all to play for.
Run 2
Keane looked comfortable on the run and with his run pedigree was never going to be caught. Behind him was the scramble for podium spots. Davenport, Cafrey and Doyle worked together to catch Bolger after 1km. Caffrey then attacked. He succeeded in dropping Bolger and Davenport, but not Doyle. Doyle then upped the pace in the closing 1km, but it wasn’t enough to catch Keane.
Place Time (min,sec) Name Club
1 00:36:37 Kevin Keane Belpark
2 00:37:13 Mark Doyle Belpark
3 00:37:19 John Caffrey Belpark
4 00:37:27 James Davenport Pulse
5 00:37:29 Colin Bolger Pulse
Women’s race
Run 1
Before the start it was looking like it might be a re-run of May’s Duathlon,
with Elana Maslova (Wheelworx) leading from start to finish. However Judith Lowrey had come down from Belfast and soon was pushing the pace on the first run along with Monica Marconi. However Maslova’s strength shone through as she led into transition. Lowrey followed, with Marconi, Helen White (Sportsworld), Aoife Lynch (Pulse) and Bronagh Ni Bhriain (Clonliffe Harriers).
Cycle
Onto the bike Maslova opened over a 1minute lead on the rest of the women. Marconi and Lynch traded places on the cycle, with Lynch’s speed finally getting the better of Marconi’s slick Italian cycling skills. White fell off the pace somewhat, but stayed ahead of Ni Bhriain.
Run 2
Onto the run Maslova only extended her lead to two minutes. Marconi regained the second spot, passing Lynch after 1km. White pulled away from Ni Bhriain to secure the 4th sport, while Ni Bhriain solid run ensured that she rounded off the top five from the fast finishing Lowrey.
Place Time (min,sec) Name Club
1 00:40:17 Elena Maslova Wheelworx
2 00:42:10 Monica Marconi 0
3 00:42:23 Aoife Lynch Pulse
4 00:43:43 Helen White Sportsworld
5 00:44:11 Bronagh ni bhriain Clonliffe Harriers
Full results and photos are on www.dublintri.com