Gatorade Triathlon Series (Race 2, Robina) - 1st

After spending a few weeks doing some light training post Noosa Triathlon 2 weeks ago I set my sights on race 2 of the Queensland Gatorade Triathlon Series at Robina on the Gold Coast. The race distance was a 400m swim, 15km ride and a 4km run over what was a very flat and fast course. In addition to the race I was asked to present the medals to the kids triathlon participants at the finish line. It really was great to see how hard all the kids raced and helped add to my motivation minutes before my race start.

After a short warm up I positioned myself on the start line next to training partner Drew Box. After leading the 200m swim to the first swim buoy Drew Box and Byrce McMaster took the lead and kept up a solid tempo for the rest of the swim.

On the run into transition I lost a little time and really pushed hard to make up the seconds lost on the first straight towards the bike turn around. After passing the riders ahead over the first 2kms of the ride I pushed hard aboard my Specialized S-Works SHIV and established a solo lead of 1min 20 seconds by the time I hit T2. I knew that the run would be a real battle after pushing as hard as I did on the bike but kept cool under the pressure of the quick runners moving their way through the field. After the first of two laps on the run I could see eventual 2nd & 3rd place finishers Drew Box and Matt Brown pushing the pace but knew that the gap I had established on the bike would be too much for them to overcome over the 4km run. I enjoyed the final finishing shoot jogging the last hundred meters to claim the win in event 2 of the 2012/2013 Queensland Gatorade series.

Mens and women's race winners 

These events have become quite competitive in recent years and winning one of these races is by no means easy so I was really happy to take the win. Congratulations must go to my training partners Drew Box & Matt Brown for their 2nd and 3rd places respectively. Its great to share the podium with these guys as I know just how hard we all work in training pushing each other each and every day.

NBN News report & interview 

Results 

Pos	Athlete	Time	Cat	Cat Pos	Swim	Cycle	Run
1	Sam Betten	0:44:09	Open-Male	1	0:04:56	0:25:54	0:13:18
2	Drew Box	0:44:30	Open-Male	2	0:04:48	0:26:59	0:12:41
3	Matt Brown	0:44:45	Open-Male	3	0:05:01	0:26:47	0:12:56
4	Bryce Mcmaster	0:45:01	Open-Male	4	0:04:50	0:27:00	0:13:10
5	Christian Wilson	0:45:29	Open-Male	5	0:04:56	0:26:53	0:13:39
6	Angus Gibson	0:46:18	Open-Male	6	0:04:53	0:27:01	0:14:23
7	Giles Clayton	0:46:19	25-29-Male	1	0:05:11	0:27:46	0:13:21
8	Michael Hooper	0:46:36	Open-Male	7	0:05:28	0:27:40	0:13:27
9	Darren Westbook	0:46:36	Open-Male	8	0:05:25	0:27:43	0:13:27
10	Jamie Laverty	0:46:45	Open-Male	9	0:05:03	0:28:14	0:13:26