Sportsman Dundalk Duathlon: Results & Photos – 21st March 2010

100 photos from the Duathlon are online here.

Bryan Keane (Wheelworx) runs to victory.

Mary Lavery (Setanta Tri) used home town advantage to win.

From the start all the main contenders set the pace. Left to Right: Paul Carroll, John Caffrey, Adam Speer, Bryan McCrystal, Bryan Keane, Kevin Donagher, plus Wheelworx athlete Mark Lacy

Keane opened a large gap on the opening run. Quote from Speer "did the first mile in 4:56 and he was still over 40m ahead".

Paul Carroll led Speer into T1.

Speer (Tri 24/7) looked comfortable in 3rd spot.

Bryan McCrystal (Setanta) led the chase pack.

John Caffrey (Belpark) the winner of the first 2 Sportsman Duathlons and Kevin Donagher (Belpark) the winner at Naas last weekend.

Strong biker Stephen Harkens was 7th into T1.

Jerry McCabe just back from a running injury was further back than expected.

Mary Lavery (Setanta Tri) led into T1.

2nd woman into T1 was Michelle Ryan.

Keane dug deep in what he described as a tough bike course.

McCrystal soon over took Speer and set about reeling in Keane, which he almost managed to do.

Speer was always in fear of getting caught on the bike and slipped from 2nd to 4th.

Harkens made big gains moving from 7th up to 3rd.

Caffrey, winner of the first 2 Sportsman Duathlons had what he described as "a bad day at the office", as he struggled to find his usual bike speed.

Carroll slid from 2nd to 8th over the bike leg.

Donagher wasn't able to reproduce last week's dominating bike performance.

Grainne Connor (Belpark) moved from 4th in the run, up to the lead by the second bike lap.

Lavery dug deep to hold Connor and then retake the lead. Male pride award goes to the guys drafting off Lavery!!!

Deirdre O'Toole (Belpark) moved from 6th up to 3rd on the bike.

Celine Mc Phillips was initially in 3rd spot on the bike, but after a long battle with O'Toole had to settle for 4th.

Keane kept his lead onto the final run and cruised to victory.

McCrystal made up almost 45seconds on the bike, but it was not enough to catch Keane by the start of the 2nd run.

Harkens looked safe in 3rd.

Speer had other ideas, as he set to eat into Harken's 40sec lead.

Caffrey was hot on Speer's feet, with Jerry McCabe just behind (in blue).

There was only 50m between Speer in 4th and McCabe in 6th at the start of the 2nd run.

Donagher was just ahead of Carroll (in blue) at T2.

Lavery was just ahead of Connor (in red behind) at T2.

However Connor started the 2nd run first. Lavery then retook the lead and eventually won by 20seconds.

O'Toole had a clear gap in 3rd place by T2.

Mc Phillips started and finished the 2nd run in 4th place.

The Women's Podium (L to R). 3rd Grainne Connor (Belpark), 1st Mary Lavery (Setanta Tri), 3rd Deirdre O'Toole (Belpark) with her baby Fionn.

On Sunday, 21 March 2010, welcome sunshine took the edge off the early morning chill as more than 150 athletes gathered from all over Ireland, some from as far as Donegal, to face each other in a challenging race. This was the second in the Sportsman’s duathlon series, organised by Dundalk Triathlon club Setanta, and the largest amount of entries to date. The race drew many of the country’s top athletes, some of them internationally renowned, to form the most competetive field in Ireland so far. A name that everyone knows on the circuit, Bryan Keane. With the beautiful Cooley Mountains looking on, the run course of 3.2km looped its way along quiet rural roads. The 17km cycle started with a generous decline to allow athletes to catch their breath after the run, though a turn at a roundabout saw them tackling that hill as an incline on the second half of the course. Once the cycle leg – two laps of the course -was completed, the same run route had to be conquered before the finish line was in sight. First place was almost a certainty from the start, with Ireland’s top triathlete, Bryan Keane, taking the lead and showing why he has a good chance to take part in the 2012 Olympics. Paul Carroll was twenty-seven seconds behind him at the end of the first run, followed closely by Adam Speer and Bryan McCrystal. Every second counted as Kevin Danagher, current series leader John Caffery and Stephen Harkins sped into the transition area and onto their bikes, all within ten seconds of each other. McCrystal clawed his way to second place with a great performance on the bike, the fastest of the day. Harkens made a big leap from seventh to third. Speer followed, two seconds ahead of Caffery, with Danagher and Carroll close behind. The second run brought few changes in the top of the field, Keane taking first place overall and McCrystal second. Only seven seconds separated Stephen Harkens in third place – first in the veterans’ category – and Adam Speer in fourth. Paul Carroll was fifth, second among the veterans. John Caffery and Kevin Danagher crossed the finish line in sixth and seventh places. Setanta’s Peter Tomany and Gerry McCabe battled for eighth place, but it was McCabe who crossed the line ahead of Tomany to take third place in the veterans’ category, eighth overall. Among the women, the competition was, if anything, fiercer. Mary Lavery took the lead at the end of the first run. Michelle Ryan came in hot on her heels, but only a second after Ryan, Annette Dawe and Grainne Conor arrived. Didi Baxter and Celine McPhillips held fifth and sixth places at the end of the first run, with Sonia Rea and Deidre O’Toole in seventh and eighth. Conor flashed through transition thirty seconds faster than Dawe and Ryan, a vital advantage with competition between these ladies so close. She gave the best performance among the women leaders on the bike, leaving her only a second away from Lavery’s first place. They left transition neck-to-neck. It was all down to the second run to determine who’d take honours in the women’s race, and Mary Lavery dug deep to cross the line 21 seconds ahead of Grainne Conor. This was the first time Mary lined out this year, a great way to start her 2010 racing season. Deidre ‘Toole was third, followed by Celine McPhillips, Michelle Ryan, Didi Baxter, Sonia Rea and Annette Dawe. In the female veterans category, Maria Duffy was first, followed by Lorraine McCann and Geraldine McCabe. Further down the pack, many athletes delivered impressive performances. Neal Leddy, 35^th overall, worked hard on the bike. Damian Trainor continued to improve. He knocked almost a minute off his previous time to move from 12^th to 11^th place, ahead of Alan Bingham. Ciaron McDonnell initiated a brand new tri bike with a respectable 57^th place overall. Jim Gonnelly of North East Runners came in 19^th, a great performance for his debut in the two-discipline event. Ken Behan managed 52^nd place, shaving 2 minutes off his previous time, in spite of not feeling his best. Karl Dolan managed the amazing feat of looking after not two, not three, but four small toddlers while wife Michelle got a great 15^th place in the women’s category. Marie Gorman finished 9 minutes faster than in the first race, and newcomer Nadia Williams felt the improvement of a shiny new road bike over a hybrid, slashing her time by eighteen minutes. Nadia is new to this type of competition and has made remarkable progress in such a short space of time. The next race in the series will take place on 25^th April with a 9:30am start. Bryan Keane will be back in April to compete and to better his time on the best duathlon circuit in the country. The final race is scheduled for the evening of Wednesday, 12^th May with a 7:30pm start.