Craig Alexander wins 2017 Husky Long Course
Australia’s most successful long-distance athlete Craig Alexander has won his fourth Huskisson Long Course Triathlon holding off all challengers to take victory over Michael Fox and Kieran Roche.
The competitors all racing over a 2km swim, 83km bike ride, 20km run were all greeted with perfect conditions for racing. Ben Allen made the most of the calm, crystal clear water leading out of the water with a 24:53 swim and a 10-second gap over the pack, which included Fox, Nuru Somi, Nick North, Roche, Alexander and the strongest rider on the day, Lachlan Kerin.
It was on the roads through Jervis Bay that the leading men tried to make their mark on the race. Kerin went to the front of the field early, attacking the experienced Alexander who measured his effort and decided the pace was too hot.
“Every race is different. Last year Pete (Jacobs) and I rode away from the field and then battled it out the run. But today it turned out I would have to wait until the run before I would pull back Lachlan and Kieran,” said Alexander after the event.
Kerin flew into transition leading Roche by 3 minutes while Alexander was 4 mins 15 secs behind the leader off the bike.
However, as he has done so often in his stellar career Alexander made his move on his favoured discipline catching the front runners just after halfway of the run cruising to victory over a fast-finishing Fox.
“I love coming to Husky and being here with the family. It is close to Sydney and everyone enjoys the weekend. Lucy (Alexander’s daughter) did the fun run yesterday as did little Lani, who did her first 2km run,” Alexander beamed at the finish.
In the women’s race, Laura Dennis had a strong race beating Jennifer Davis by 2 minutes and 50 seconds. Hannah Donaldson, who lead out of the water with Dennis, finished third.
Davis had the fastest female cycle time for the day but was not able to close the 4-minute deficit to Dennis after the swim. Dennis raced consistently throughout the day and claimed victory at the Husky Long Course in Huskisson, NSW.
Over 4000 competitors along with their family and friends from all around Australia competed over the Husky Triathlon festival with races on Saturday and Sunday ranging from the kids Miniman Triathlon, the Ocean Swim and Fun Runs to the Husky Long Course race. The 2017 festival was the festival’s 12th year and is now the second largest festival of its kind in Australia.
