Press Release – Triathlon New Zealand
Racing for the first time under the New Zealand flag, Bryce McMaster was the best of the Kiwis in the elite U23 men’s triathlon World Championships in Auckland today coming home inside the top 20.

The under 23 men raced in cooler temperatures this afternoon at Queens Wharf in Auckland. But this did not put the crowd off, with the Mexican waves continuing from the earlier Elite women’s race and the Aussies delighting in Aaron Royle’s victory.

Mc Master has been racing under the ITU banner for a year after initiating a transfer from Australia to New Zealand and after an unusually poor swim, rode and ran strongly to finish in 17th place.

Often strong in the water, McMaster struggled in the swim, getting swamped on the second lap.

“It was unfortunate I didn’t make the front break on the bike, but I raced my heart out for New Zealand and did the best that I could. I’m a very, very proud Kiwi and I’ll be back next year to race here as an elite and hopefully do a better job of it!”

McMaster was still the first kiwi out of the water, followed closely by Tom Davison who went straight to the front of the bike bunch. The front pack worked hard up Auckland’s steep streets to put almost two minutes on the rest of the field.

“I had to go on the bike,” said Davison who led out with Kris Gemmell in the World Cup last year. “I’ve had pretty limited build up, so I knew my run wasn’t quite there, a few of us were working quite hard together and we tried to put as much time into the main runners as we could”.

Davison took his fair share of turns at the front, and came out of the second transition on the toes of the leader. But after grappling with injury and illness this year, the Christchurch athlete was unable to hold onto the swift pace the front six runners set and finished in 19th place.

Fellow Cantabrian Mike Philips found the going tough in his first U23 World Champs finishing in 40th place. He was pleased to get the race under his belt and said “it was a good experience and I learned a lot”

Elite Under 23 Men
1. Aaron Royle AUS 1:57:18
2. Fernando Alarza ESP 1:57:19
3. Thomas Bishop GBR 1:57: 22
4. Pierre Le Corre FRA 1:57:29
5. Ryan Fisher AUS 1:57:51
Plus Nzers
17. Bryce McMaster 2:01:14
19. Tom Davison 2:02:42
40. Mike Phillips 2:07:31

For the full ITU report and results, click here

Press Release – Triathlon New Zealand
The Under 23 women kicked off the Elite ITU World Triathlon Grand Final racing at Queens Wharf in Auckland this morning. Non Stanford of Great Britain won the race, followed by Sarissa De Vries from the Netherlands (coached by former New Zealand coach John Hellemans) and Canadian Joanna Brown.

The first New Zealander home was Simone Ackermann in ninth place.

“It was really tough,” said Ackermann. “Where I was at, I did the best I could, the crowd were really supportive, they really kept me going, especially on the run, the run really hurt a lot.”

A vocal crowd turned out in warm, sunny conditions, bright and early to watch the girls dive into the 15 degree harbour water.

The Kiwi girls exited the current affected waters over 45 seconds behind the lead bunch. Ackermann was the first Kiwi out, followed by Sophie Corbidge and Rebecca Kingsford. Ackermann said the gap the lead girls had on the swim “made her nervous”.

The first drama of the race took place on the swim, with Ashlee Bailie of Australia being red carded for allegedly cutting the course. She was allowed to continue racing however and was later reinstated by the officials.

Kingsford had a quick transition out of the water and left T1 with Corbidge who struggled with cold fingers to get her helmet on. Ackermann put in a solid effort on the bike early on to catch the lead pack of twelve girls including Great Britain Olympian Lucy Hall. Ackermann said, “It was really tough catching those girls in the first bunch.”

Meanwhile, Sophie Corbidge in her first year racing under 23, had a “frustrating” time at the front of the second bunch, helped out by Kingsford. But, the Kiwi pair were unable to break away or motivate the pack to catch the first.

Kingsford had the misfortune of dropping her chain on the first lap of the bike and dropped back into the second bunch. The lead group stretched out their lead to over two minutes and Ackermann managed to stay with the bunch into the second transition.

On the run Ackermann was unable to hold onto the leaders, but spurred on by the crowd finished strongly. She said “all things considered she was happy with her race”.

All three Kiwis girls were grateful for the support of the crowd, Kingsford said, “There were so many people that you don’t even know just cheering you on, it was awesome.”

2012 ITU World Championship
Auckland
U23 Women
1 Non Stanford GBR 2:13:06
2 Sarissa De Vries NED 2:13:15
3 Joanna Brown CAN 2:14:12
4 Claudia Rivas MEX 2:14:26
5 Natalie van Covorden AUS 2:14:28
Plus NZers
9 Simone Ackermann NZL 2:15:24
20 Sophie Corbidge NZL 2:18:03
26 Rebecca Kingsford NZL 2:20:20

For the full ITU report and results, click here

Barfoot & Thompson ITU World Triathlon Grand Final
October 2012
Auckland City
Facts and figures
Event Partners: Tri NZ, ATEED, Major Events, Tourism NZ, Sport NZ, Pub Charity
Event Hub: Queens Wharf,
Dates: 14 to 22 October 2012
Estimated TV audience: 25,000,000 global audience for ITU Grand Final
Participants: 7,000 plus (including Internationals)
Volunteers: 1,000
Elite: 360 from around the world including top 20
Spectators: 100,000 plus
Courses: A variety of CBD, Queen St, Waterfront
(see www.triauckland.co.nz)
Economic Impact: Estimated net $7 million for Auckland (using ATEED’s “Return on Regional Investment” methodology)

Event Schedule
Sun 21st Oct 7.00am 3:5:3 Teams Tri Queens Wharf and CBD
11.00am Junior Women (U19) Queens Wharf and CBD
1.06pm Elite Men Queens Wharf and CBD
4.00pm Junior Men (U19) Queens Wharf and CBD
Mon 22nd Oct 6.55am Age Group Sprint WC Queens Wharf/Tamaki Dr
8.30am Age Group Standard WC Queens Wharf/Tamaki Dr
3.15pm Paratriathlon WC Queens Wharf/waterfront
6.30pm Awards Presentation The Cloud
8.30pm Event Party The Cloud
Tues 23rd Oct 10.00am ITU Congress Viaduct Events Centre