Tauranga triathlete Hannah Wells celebrates yet another victory, this time as the first woman in the Tinman Triathlon. Photo / George Novak
Tauranga triathlete Hannah Wells celebrates yet another victory, this time as the first woman in the Tinman Triathlon. Photo / George Novak
The weather threatened to put a dampener on the Tinman Triathlon in Tauranga todaybut with some of the most in-form triathletes in the country lined up on the start line, it was always going to be a good race.
Somebody start building Hannah Wells a bigger trophy cabinet.
The Taurangatriathlete was the first woman home in the Tinman Triathlon today,successfully adding to what has been an impressive year. The result also makes her a national champion as the event, hosted by Triathlon Tauranga, doubled as the Triathlon New Zealand National Championship.
She said the win was especially satisfying because it was her first time racing the national standard distance.
"It was really nice to take the win and at home, I haven't raced an Olympic distance tri before, I've only done the half Ironman distance.
"It was good, it was a little faster than I usually race so it was a good hit out before I race again in two weeks over in Sydney. It was good timing to have a hard, fast day."
She was second out of the water behind New Zealand triathlete Rebecca Clarke but soon overtook her on the bike and led to the finish. Wells said she could feel the full force of the wind during the bike leg.
"It was so windy it was actually quite hard to hang on and stay in an aero position, it was hectic. The only thing I really changed was making sure I took all the corners safely on the bike, just not taking any risks because it was pretty slippery.
"Having someone to chase down is always quite fun and I've raced Rebecca quite a few times - she's a well known triathlete around New Zealand and she's a really good swimmer so I'm used to chasing her down after the swim."
Auckland's Trent Dodds cruises to victory at the Tinman Triathlon. Photo / George Novak
Clarke ended up second in the women's race in 2h 13m 45s, followed by Taupō-based defending champion Samantha Bradley in 2h 19m 47s.
Wells has qualified for the Ironman 70.3 Championship in Taupō next year and will have another opportunity to work on her craft at the Western Sydney Ironman 70.3 on November 24.
"I raced there last year and got second behind Radka Kahlefeldt, she's a really good, well known triathlete around the world and she'll be back. I'd like to be closer to her this year and try to go for the win but she'll be difficult to beat for sure."
Meanwhile, New Zealand triathlete Trent Dodds, of Auckland, took the overall win at the Tinman Triathlon. He finished in 1h 56m 10s.
David Martin was second in 1h 56m 57s and Simon Cochrane was third in 1h 59m 24s.
