It was another Bathurst and Orange victory for the second round of the Central West Interclub titles held in Mudgee on the weekend.
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Bathurst Wallabies Triathlon clubs Nick North took out the male category with a significant lead in front of Orange’s Rory Thornhill (2nd) and Tom Tudor (3rd) while Orange’s Lauren Kerwick was the first female to cross the line, followed by Nicky Western (Scone) and Holly Simmons (Bathurst).
“It definitely suited my strengths with a very windy and tough bike course,” North said.
“This course really suits me being a very tough course, and Mudgee always brings the wind and thankfully I’m stronger on the bike ... I was able to really punch it and build up that gap.”
Although winning is a glorious achievement, Kerwick says it’s not all about that.
It’s not really about the wins for me, it’s more about supporting the club and I’m lucky just to have the win.
- Lauren Kerwick
“I just love supporting my town and our little club because compared to the Sydney clubs, they are quite hard to compete against.
“I think if we all support each other, we can be a big impact against the bigger clubs.”
This years Mudgee leg celebrates its 20th anniversary of being a part of the titles, with approximately 100 competitors overall taking part.
Mudgee Triathlon Club President, Matt Webster who came in fourth, says this race was a different style compared to other triathlons, but admits it suits the towns competitors.
“We did a Grand Prix Sprint type of event, instead it was a run, swim, bike, swim, run style which is shorter than usual,” Webster said.
“We’re pretty strong on the bike, Mudgee is a great area for cycling so we tend to do a bit more of it.
“I enjoy these types of races, there’s a lot of transitions to go through and each leg is fairly short so it’s fairly fast.”
Webster says it’s a positive to see juniors progress through the ranks and go up against the older competitors and manage to pull out some surprising results.
“It’s great to see the juniors come through and beat some of us old folks,” he said.
Mudgee’s top four finishers were Matt Webster (4th) and Giselle Denley (6th).
The next installment of the interclub titles will be held in Bathurst on Australia Day, while club points are up for grabs at a race day in Forbes early December.
Jay-Anna Sleeman
Reporter for the Western Advocate. First began as a sports journalist with ACM in 2018 before moving on to cover news and court.
Reporter for the Western Advocate. First began as a sports journalist with ACM in 2018 before moving on to cover news and court.
