2014 Tri United 2 | Race Results and Review
Congratulations to the winners and finishers of the recently concluded Tri United 2!
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QUICK RESULTS
WOMENS DIVISION
RANK BIB FIRST NAME LAST NAME TEAM CATEGORY SWIM BIKE RUN TOTAL
1 6 Anna Stroh Unilab Active Health Long F Elite 0:35:28 1:55:29 0:52:01 3:22:59
2 7 Ani Brown Unilab Active Health Long F Elite 0:34:04 1:49:09 1:06:58 3:30:11
MEN’s DIVISION
RANK BIB FIRST NAME LAST NAME TEAM CATEGORY SWIM BIKE RUN TOTAL
1 1 Nikko Huelgas Century Tri Hard Long M Elite 0:28:40 1:37:57 0:49:50 2:56:26
2 77 John Chicano Unilab Active Health Long M Elite 0:30:32 1:39:29 0:47:25 2:57:26
3 3 August Benedicto Unilab Active Health Long M Elite 0:35:24 2:59:20
RACE REVIEW
It was a Unilab Active Health 1-2 finish for Anna Stroh and Coach Ani de Leon-Brown as the lone duo in the female elite division finished in 3:22:59 and 3:30:11 respectively. Coach Ani exited the swim a minute ahead of Anna Stroh and entered T2 well ahead with the lead. The run was the difference though as Stroh pounced the 15k run (it was actually 12km, as per most participants) with a blazing time of 52.01. Enough to snatch first place away from de Leon.
The men’s division was something else. Nikko Huelgas, who exited the swim a clear 2 mins away from the eventual second and third placers (John “Rambo” Chicano and August Benedicto), never felt safe with his lead and pushed himself to the limit the entire race. This was understable as most of us consider Chicano and Benedicto to be faster runners than him. Huelgas eventually hang on for the win with a time of 2:56:26. An exact minute away from Chicano, who finished in 2:57:26. Ironman 70.3 Champion August Benedicto never recovered from his bad swim and settled for third with a 2:59:20.
This was Huelgas after the race.
Photo Credit : Nikko Huelgas
SWIM
The strong waves didn’t help as most athletes had trouble with the 4 turn / 1 loop swim. We positioned ourselves at the swim exit and saw triathletes exiting the water in different directions. Athletes who have better sighting skills have a clear advantage over the newer / less experienced once. This once again showed by most consider Tri United 2 as the perfect tune up race for the big one happening in August.
Anticipating a congestion in the bike route, the organizers also released the athletes in waves.
BIKE
Nothing unusual happened in the bike section except for some who turned the 60k bike into a DRAFTpalooza! Draft marshall Ricky Ledesma, managed to capture some of them on video.
Check em out!
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5.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42Hlp14PVnM&list=UU9JjHCgT0KGAC40ZtfYpjQw&index=19
6.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63GENBJLpFo&list=UU9JjHCgT0KGAC40ZtfYpjQw
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14.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdLK9dkWGOA&list=UU9JjHCgT0KGAC40ZtfYpjQw&index=22
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RUN
This is where the supposed “tune-up” race became a race of attrition. With the safety of the participants in mind, the organizers had no choice but to activate plan B and change the run course. The runners turned right, straight to the uphill section, instead of going left to the town area. This meant that the athletes, after a grueling 60k bike, will now have to conquer the “heartbreak hill” 3x! We positioned ourselves at the top of the hill where we saw even the top age groupers, give in and walk the rest of the climb.
Trust us, we heard ALL KINDS OF DISCLAIMERS.
Also, 15k off-the-bike P.R.’s should be expected as the run was at least 3km’s short.
OVERALL
All in all, even with the sudden changes, we heard nothing but good reviews from all the participants. The race was well organized and the expo was jampacked! We still consider the 2014 Tri United 2 as the best tune up race for the upcoming I.M 70.3 in Cebu.
This guy deserves an award though.
Suffered a flat 3x, then a good samaritan handed him another spare. He had another flat and what did he do with 9k to go? He walked the rest of the damn bike course.
That’s what triathlon (and being a Filipino) and is all about. We never give up.
RESULTS
TRI UNITED 2 2014 – Official Results (PDF)
TRI UNITED 2 2014 – Team Competition Official Results (PDF)
nasaan na mga pics mo boss carlos? :-)