Deflation turned to elation for Wanganui triathlete James Wright when he won the under-19 elite division of the latest Kiwi Tri Series at Takapuna in Auckland last week.
Wright celebrated his 17th birthday with the win on Friday, but was also fully pumped to complete his first triathlon for theyear after flat tyres on the cycle legs forced him to pull the pin on races at Whangamata and across in Penrith, Australia, in recent weeks.
There was no such drama on Friday when he lined up with the world 13th seed and top New Zealand triathlete, Ryan Sissons, as well as over 20 other triathletes in the under-19, under-23 and Open elites.
Wright led to the first swim buoy in the 500-metre swim and exited the water in third place, right on the shoulder of Sissons.
The leading pack of eight triathletes, including Wright, led out of transition 10 seconds in front of the chasing pack.
The cycle leg was a criterium-style race comprising 10 laps on a technical and tight 1.6km loop around the closed streets of downtown Takapuna. The race was draft legal and any triathlete lapped by the leading rider would be disqualified.
The pace set by the lead group was brutal with speeds reaching over 50km/h and an average speed of 40km/h. The pace resulted in two triathletes being lapped and disqualified.
The lead group stayed together into transition two, with Wright getting the third quickest time on the bike, before setting off on the 4.2km run.
Sissons showed his world class and set a blistering pace as he left the rest of the group behind. Wright kept him in sight on the main street as he set off in eighth place after transition.
The course was similar to the cycle leg and a large crowd of supporters and bar patrons cheered the triathletes on.
Wright looked comfortable on the run and moved his way through the field. Going into the last lap he was running with Cooper Rand (under-23 elite) in fourth equal. Rand managed to pull away at the finish with Wright finishing in an excellent fifth overall and first place in the elite under-19 division.
The next Kiwi Tri Series race is in Kinloch near Taupo on Saturday. Wright again races in the elite under-19 category and then on Sunday races in the tag team relay.
