In one of the quickest paced races in the 14-year history of the BSG Energade Triathlon Series, victory in this morning’s (Sunday, October 19) second leg of the competition at Vaal Pukke, Vanderbijlpark went to Bloemfontein’s Erhard Wolfaardt and Pretoria’s Andrea Steyn.

Pretoria’s golden girl of triathlon, Andrea Steyn, captured a hat-trick of victories in the 2008 BSG Energade Triathlon Series when she took top honours in the Roodeplaat Dam leg of the competition in Pretoria this morning (October 26).

Claude Eksteen and Andrea Steyn set the early pace in the 2008 BSG Energade Triathlon Series winning the senior men’s and women’s divisions respectively in the first leg of this exciting seven-event competition at Midmar Dam in KZN this morning (October 12).

The 2008 BSG Energade Triathlon Series gets underway on Sunday, October 12 at Midmar Dam in KZN with a star studded field, which includes three Olympic triathletes, lining up to compete for the nearly R200 000 that is up for grabs in this exiting seven-event series.

Billed as one of Africa’s premiere triathlon competitions it will this year have one of the strongest fields in its 14-year history with the senior men’s section attracting the likes of reigning champ, Sander Berk of the Netherlands, who represented his country in Beijing recently.

Berk will have his work cut out to retain his title however, as he can expect stiff competition from Zimbabwe’s Olympic star, Chris Felgate and Durban-based, Claude Eksteen, who did not compete in last year’s Energade series, but is a former series champ and in good form of late.

One of Africa’s premiere triathlon events will for the next four years be known as the BSG Energade Triathlon Series, after business and software solutions delivery company BSG (Africa) signed a deal to co-sponsor the competition with series founders Energade.

With the start of the 2008 series only months away Energade’s senior brand manager, Kerryann Kitshoff, said this alliance with BSG would immediately contribute to this year’s event having the biggest purse in this competition’s fourteen year history with nearly R200 000 in prize money up for grabs in the senior event.

This association will also benefit the development of children and young teenagers in triathlon as BSG has also signed on to co-sponsor the BSG Energade Junior Triathlon Series. Started last year by Energade to get kids between the ages of five and fourteen, active, outdoors and involved in this exciting tri-discipline sport it proved a huge success and is set for greater things in the future.

Whether you are eight or eighty it is time to start preparing for the ever-popular BSG Energade Triathlon Series, incorporating a kiddies event for the second year, which gets underway in October.

With wide spread appeal, the whole family can enter, this series is without a doubt Africa's premiere triathlon event that not only offers a stage for South Africa’s and the world’s top athletes to showcase their talents but also nurture tomorrows champions.

Now in its 14th year, the BSG Energade Triathlon Series has gone from strength-to-strength drawing thousands of participants each year. Not only has it provided a platform for local triathletes like Raynard Tissink, Hendrik de Villiers and Marie Rabie to hone their skills and reach for international stardom, but it also offers beginners and intermediate athletes all over the country an opportunity to participate in this exciting multi-sport.

bsg energade triathlon series 

The BSG Energade Triathlon Series 2008 dates will be released in April. Watch this space!

In a bold step to get youngsters active and leading a healthier lifestyle, the organisers of the annual seven-event BSG Energade Junior Triathlon Series, one of the longest-running triathlon events in Africa, will host a series this year specifically aimed at kids.

Speaking at the BSG Energade Junior Triathlon Series launch in Pretoria this week, event organiser Corné Grobler said, "We are really excited about this series and believe it has the potential to become one of the biggest sporting events in the country for youngsters.

"It is all about getting our children active, growing the sport of triathlon and giving kids a secure environment in which they can achieve their personal potential, without the pressure of winning."

There are no first prizes up for grabs but each participant will be a winner as every entrant will receive a medal, T-shirt, Energade, swimming cap and a goodie bag with fun stuff from the series co-sponsors, Black Cat and Spur Steak Ranches. After each race there will also be loads of spot prizes given away with participants able to win the coolest Bollé sunglasses and the latest Puma apparel.

History repeated itself at Midmar Dam in KwaZulu-Natal yesterday morning (Sunday, December 3) when Hendrik de Villiers and Andrea Horak were again crowned the Resolution/Energade Triathlon Series senior men and women’s champions.

Starting the 2006 series as reigning champs and favourites the two did not have matters all their own way in this year’s exciting seven-race event, however. De Villiers had to contend with a slight slump in form and a late onslaught from Claude Eksteen while Horak had to battle her way back from a disastrous start to the competition and overcome stiff opposition from a number of younger athletes to claim the crown.

Victory this morning (Sunday, November 26) for Bloemfontein’s Erhard Wolfaardt (57:54), in the penultimate race of the 2006 Resolution/Energade Triathlon Series at Vaal Pukke on Sunday 26 November, means he keeps his hopes of taking the senior men’s title in this year’s series alive.

To be crowned 2006 champion he will, however, have to win the last event at Midmar Dam in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday, December 3 and hope reigning champion, Hendrik de Villiers does not return to the form he showed in the middle stages of the series.

De Villiers, with three victories to his name (against Wolfaardt’s two), will go into the final at Midmar as the favourite to win the title for the third consecutive year. This, despite finishing fourth (in 59:21) behind Wolfaardt, Sander Berk (58:05) and Claude Eksteen (58:10) this morning and finishing second in the fifth race of the series at Gordon’s Bay, Cape Town, where Eksteen beat him by three seconds.