While the weather wasn't on the side of 13 Mudgee Triathlon athletes as they braced for round three of the Central West Interclub Series, their results showed anything but disadvantage.
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Dubbo Triathlon Club played host on February 9 for the race which saw an amendment of format with the cycle leg canned due to safety concerns, tasking triathletes with a run, swim, run aquathlon styled competition.
The highest placing a Mudgee triathlete received went to Campbell Ward who came third overall to Orange's Jack Bilton and Tom Tudor.
Meanwhile, Riley Taylor and Adam Mort were the next Devils in line, taking out the top three male positions for the club.
Rebecca George was the first Mudgee female to finish, who was followed by Giselle Denley and Ronda Gainsford.
With the red and black outfit currently perched second on the ladder to Orange, there are doubts a top place will be on the cards this year however, Mudgee Triathlon Club secretary Giselle Denley says it's possible to achieve in the years ahead.
"We had some great results over the weekend and I expect we will maintain second position on the ladder," Denley said.
"Over the last few years Mudgee has finished in second or third place behind the dominant Orange and Bathurst clubs.
We will struggle to catch up again to Orange this year, however it is achievable in the future if we can attract a decent number of members across all the age groups.
- Mudgee Triathlon Club secretary, Giselle Denley
The fourth round of the series hosted by the Orange Triathlon Club on February 16 will also undergo a change of format, dropping the swim which Denley says will be a favourable decision for some.
"This will favour the cyclists and runners and provide an opportunity for them to improve on their results from Dubbo," she said.
With the final round of the year booked for late March, Denley is predicting a struggle for numbers.
"Cowra is geographically the furthest event from Mudgee so we always struggle to get a decent number of members to attend," Denley added.
With a break of five weeks from a jam packed month of racing in February, hopefully our members will be keen to travel for one last hit out for the season against all their rivals from around the Central West.
Mudgee's group placings:
- Campbell Wall (under 20) - second place
- Riley Taylor (under 20) - third place
- Beau Rohr (under 20) - fourth place
- Elise Keane (20-29 years) - second place
- Brett Murray (30-39 years) - seventh place
- Rebecca George (40-49 years) - second place
- Giselle Denley (40-49 years) - third place
- Darren Rohr (40-49 years) - second place
- Edward George (40-49 years) - third place
- Scott Taylor (40-49 years) - fifth place
- Adam Mort (50-59 years) - first place
- Ronda Gainsford (60-69 years) - first place
- Stewart Campbell (60-69 years) - second place
Mudgee Triathlon's next local club meet will be on Sunday, February 23 at Lawson Park.
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.
