Bank Holiday Weekend Challenge
The May bank holiday weekend was the first of the summer bank holiday weekends and as it happens, our second May bank holiday weekend in lockdown. Normally, at this time of the year the triathlon season is well under way with loads of early season duathlons taking place as athletes get back in to racing mode. Unfortunately, things haven’t quite progressed as we would all have liked so far this year, but there is light at the end of the tunnel and while mass gatherings still aren’t allowed athletes were able to participate in the ‘Cork’s Fastest Triathlon Club Challenge’ over the long weekend. This virtual duathlons challenge was the brainchild of our friends in the Cork Triathlon Club (CTC). The rules were simple; cycle 20km and run 5km as fast as possible with no more than ten minutes of a transition between the events. Participants were allowed to do the event any time over the long weekend. All the routes had to be either loops or out and back; no downhill/one-way courses permitted. Athletes then had to submit their times to their own club along with some proof from Strava or an associated tracking app. The top five males and top five females of each club were then sent on for the final results to be tallied. While the aim of the event was to get each club’s elite athletes out and competing against one another, it was also an opportunity for the rest of the club’s members to get out and hit the roads that weekend. Unfortunately, the weather this year didn’t quite live up to the glorious sunshine of the May bank holiday in 2020, but conditions were quite good up until the Monday. Some of our members chose to do a virtual aquavelo instead, starting with a swim and then doing the cycle. . It was great to see members out cycling and running again and really enjoying taking part in a race. Overall the weekend was a huge success with 149 athletes participating from 9 triathlon clubs in Cork. Well done to CTC for organising the event and to all the clubs who took part. Cobh Triathlon Club, Kinsale Triathlon Club, Mallow Triathlon Club, Midleton Cycling & Triathlon Club, Schull Triathlon Club, South Coast Triathlon Club, Watergrasshill AC & Triathlon Club and West Cork Triathlon Club all competed over the weekend. There were no cash prizes or medals or goody bags involved in this virtual duathlon, only the pride of holding the title of Cork’s fastest Triathlon Club. In the end the Cork Triathlon Club were crowned overall winners, finishing with a very impressive overall time of 9:18:38 for their top ten athletes. Blackwater Triathlon Club were second, totalling 09:40:12 for their combined efforts. In third place was Kinsale Triathlon Club in 09:48:33. In the individual stakes, BTC’s Michael Lyons was fastest male athlete, finishing the 20km cycle and 5km run in an amazing time of 48 minutes and 13 seconds! Equally impressive was BTC Treasurer Ashleigh Byrne O’Brien who came second overall in the female race, coming home in 57 minutes and 16 seconds. Clearly some people have been training hard during lockdown. Well done to everyone who took part and thanks to Cork Triathlon Club for arranging the whole thing.