TRIATHLON

Neumann and Hancox claim TreX season opener in Queensland

By In2Adventure

Mother nature turned on her charm on Saturday for near-perfect race conditions as Leela Hancox (QLD) and reigning Australian Cross Triathlon Champion Max Neumann (QLD) took top honours at the Queensland Enduro to kick off the 2015/16 TreX season calendar on Saturday.

Queenslander Drew Box led out of the water at the start with Ricky Smith in second, followed by Neumann in third. Box retired with an existing injury during the first bike leg and at the end of the 10 kilometre mountain bike ride. Brodie Gardner (QLD) was first onto the run with Neumann and Surf Ironmn champion Guy Andrews third. After the 4km run Neumann was first into the water for the second swim with Gardner second and Andrews third – the same order as the final podium.

Very happy to get the off-road tri season under away with second today in round one of the In2Adventure Tre-X season,” said Gardner. “Congrats to Max Neumann for the win and demonstrating why he’s the reigning Australian champ and to Guy Andrews for rounding out the podium.
“For me, glad to see the hard work is paying off in the pool to come out of the swim with only minimal ground to make up which enabled me to take an early lead on the bike. 


Photo © In2Adventure

“Unfortunately Max was to strong on the first run and held the lead for the rest of the race.”
In the elite women, Hancox, who raced her first off-road triathlon, held off fellow Queenslander Lucy Shewell.

The extremely popular Enduro format challenges long course competitors to take on the tough Murrenbong route, and after a heart pumping 350-metre swim, 10-kilometre mountain bike and 4-kilometre trail run, it’s back in the water to do it all again.  The event also included a one-lap Sprint (350m/10km/4km), Junior (150m/4km/1km) and Teaser (150m/4km/1km) course.
 
With the 2015 X-Tri world champs being held in Sardinia, Italy (26-28 September), the In2Adventure team will immediately travel overseas following the weekend’s racing to represent Australia and entice amateur and professional athletes from all over the world to race Down Under next year.
 

Photo © In2Adventure

In2Adventure recently launched its Pathway Partners programme to help local athletes and coaches connect and reach their individual goals of representing Australia at next year’s world champs. The TreX Series will be hosting three state qualifiers, including the Victorian Championships (28-29 November) in Bendigo, the Australian Championships (27-28 February) in the Snowy Mountains (NSW) and the Queensland Championships (16-17 April) on the Sunshine Coast.

To find out more about the TreX Series go to Trextriathlon.com.au