The Erhard Wolfaardt show in the 2009 edition of the BSG Energade Triathlon Series came to an end this morning, November 29 when duathlon star, Richard Murray of Cape Town caused the upset of the series by beating the lanky Potchefstroom athlete in the sixth race of the competition at Pollock Beach in Port Elizabeth.
For Wolfaardt, it brought to an end an unbelievable 11 run winning streak in the series and for Murray it was his first podium finish in this year’s competition – an awesome performance after the 20-year-old from Durbanville struggled with a knee injury at the end of last year and has also been battling with shoulder problems of late.
Smiling from ear-to-ear after winning in a time of 54:07 in near perfect racing conditions, Murray said, “I love the coast, and I can’t run like this at altitude.” A factor that certainly worked in his favour in beating the reigning champion (Wolfaardt) from up north, who with five straight wins in the 2009 series, just has to turn up and start the final on Sunday (December 6) in Vanderbijlpark to retain his title.
With very little separating the top competitors coming out the sea after the 600m swim, a leading pack of about 20 cyclists flew into transition after the 20km cycle stage of the race and it was clear it was always going to come down to the man who had the most left in the tank in the final 5km run leg. On the day, the man of the moment was Murray whose duathlon background, he was the World U/19 Elite duathlon champion in 2007/8, perhaps gave him the edge over Wolfaardt.
“As I came out of transition for the run Erhard, Claude (Eksteen) and Hendrik (De Villiers) had a small gap on me but after about 50m’s I’d caught them and Erhard and I went to the front. At the halfway mark I picked up the pace and was able to pull away from Erhard to win the race,” commented the ecstatic victor who believes the last race in Vanderbijlpark will be more difficult for him because of the high altitude.
Wolfaardt, who finished in 54:29, praised the man who ended his winning streak saying, “All the credit to him (Murray),” but was critical of the tactics being employed by everyone on the cycle leg in the various races. “Not enough is being done on the bike stage, it is like everyone is on a recovery ride so each race comes down to the run leg,” said the champion. A sentiment it must be said, that is also felt by many of the other competitors and may need addressing by the race organizers in the future.
The other athletes to finish on the podium at Pollock Beach were Eksteen, third in 54:58, Michael Davidson fourth in 55:08 and De Villiers fifth in 55:16.
Andrea wins
A sprint finish in the women’s section of the race once again saw reigning champion Andrea Steyn of Pretoria cross the line first ahead of arch rival, Kate Roberts of Bloemfontein, who took top honours in the fifth race of the competition in Cape Town last week.
Both however, had to "run like the blazes", as Roberts commented, to catch junior Ashleigh Blackwell of Cape Town who cycled like a Trojan to have a 35 second lead on the rest of the field after the 20km cycle stage. The youngster, however, didn’t have the stamina, suffering with asthma and Steyn and Roberts soon passed her.
These two, who have been involved in nail biting finishes throughout the series, then hit the final straight at Pollock Beach shoulder-to-shoulder with Steyn’s powerful kick at the end seeing her inch away from Roberts to claim her fifth win in 1:03:52. This was a mere four seconds ahead of the runner-up who finished in 1:03:56. Carla Germishuys was third in 1:05:00 with Kim Battson fourth in 1:07:46 and Riana de Lange fifth in 1:09:36.
Speaking after her triumph, Steyn said she had taken it easy on the training front during the week as she felt she was suffering from fatigue and it seemed to have paid dividends as she had enough in her legs to beat Roberts who in turn commented, ‘I gave my best but it just wasn’t enough today!”
Both will go to Vanderbijlpark looking to finish on a high note with a win but it is purely academic as Steyn has done more than enough, with five victories, to be crowned the 2009 women’s champion and collect her third series title. For Roberts it will be a matter of pride and a confidence builder before next year’s racing calendar starts.
In the junior men’s race Abrahm Louw of Potchefstroom once again proved he has no equal in this division, winning comfortably in 55:32 followed by Wian Sullwald of Bela Bela second in 56:02 and Rudolf Naude of the Vaal Triangle third in 56:50. Eastern Cape youngster, Corne van der Ryst of Jefferys Bay, who has not raced in the series as he has been writing his matric exams, was fourth in 1:02:05.
One of the few categories in the series that will only be decided in the final, the junior women’s section, saw Carlyn Fischer of Pretoria finish first in 1:05:32 ahead of Lauren Dance of Boksburg in 1:05:39 with Ashleigh Blackwell, who had lead the race going into the final 5km run stage, third in 1:07:42.
These girls have all had turns taking the number one spot on the podium throughout the series and it is now a winner-takes-all scenario for them in Vanderbijlpark which is sure to make for an exciting race.
The other prize winners at Pollock Beach were:
Master men – 1st Peter Venter (1:07:41), 2nd Mike Bosch (1:08:19) and 3rd Neil Son Hing (1:17:46);
Veteran men – 1st Glen Gore (57:34), 2nd Craig Dickson (1:06:32) and 3rd Andre de Beer (1:06:58);
Veteran women – 1st Lynette Fischer (1:13:48), 2nd Bettina van Wyk (1:16:26) and 3rd Christine Claasen (1:22:13).
