Tony Dodds was in imperious form as he claimed victory at the Oceania Sprint Triathlon Championships at Kinloch, Taupo, yesterday, while fellow Wanaka triathlete Nicky Samuels similarly dominated the women's race.
Dodds was in a lead group of eight out of the water behind early leader James Elvery (Auckland) and rode strongly as this group put distance between themselves and the rest of the field. Dodds showed his growing maturity with a stunning bike to run transition as he led in and led out, putting 10 to 15 seconds on the group, in the process demoralising some before the 5km run had even begun.
Not so Brendan Sexton though, as the gritty Australian clawed back the deficit and at the midway point was running toe-to-toe with Dodds and looking strong.
Dodds, though, had gas left in the tank and made his move with 1500m to go up the slight incline on the two-lap course, breaking Sexton and running clear to win by 12sec to claim both the New Zealand and Oceania Sprint titles and vital ITU ranking points.
Dodds was delighted with his victory.
"That is a first ITU win for me and the first one is always good to get, especially on a tough honest course like Kinloch. Today I swam well, rode strong and ran away from them. I am really stoked. It is going to be a big year."
If Dodds was emphatic in the men's race, Samuels smashed the international women's field, leaving a host of Dutch triathletes behind her as she won her third race in the Contact Tri Series in four weeks.
Samuels was in a class of her own on the bike as she rode away from the field and cruised to the title without exerting herself too much on the run.
"The swim was a little choppy swim but I led most of the way, till just out of the water, then decided to ride with the lead group for one lap on the bike to see what they might try, then made my move, stayed away and the rest was a cruise home," she said.
"I am definitely happy. This is an ITU race with an international field which puts things in perspective, shows where you are."
Earlier in the day, Kieran Doe and Jo Lawn took won the prestigious Erin Baker Trophy race over the standard distance as several high-profile triathletes tuned up for next month's Ironman New Zealand in Taupo.
Doe won the men's race from young up and comer Tom Francis (Wanganui) and defending Ironman NZ champion Cameron Brown, while in the women's race Lawn won with ease from Michelle Bremer (Auckland) and Flossie van Dyke (Nelson).
