Gatorade AA Off-Road Duathlon
Blistering Off-Roading in Hong Kong
18.10.2005
You could tell the heat was sapping competitors at the Gatorade AA Off-Road Duathlon when they all went with lightning speed from the finish line to the ice buckets after running a hilly 8km off-road trail followed by an even more punishing 15km intermediate graded technical mountain bike trail on Chi Ma Wan peninsula near Pui O Wan, Lantau Island on Sunday.Gary Mandy surprised many with a blistering 34:26 run split, then a steaming 58:21 bike split for an overall total time of 1 hour 33 min and 5 seconds, finishing over 7 minutes in front of Daniel Brown who claimed 2nd in 1:40:53 and Macau’s Pedro Ribeiro claiming the final top 3 in 1:43:09.
“The race was well organized and I almost made a wrong turn on the 8k run, but luckily stayed on the trail to see the well marked junction to make the return leg back to Pui O, before all those rolling steep hills�, said Mandy laughing next to 2nd place finisher Daniel Brown.
“Yeh, if it wasn’t for all those bloody hills, maybe I could have caught Gary�, said Brown.
Women’s overall winner Japanese “Chippy� Kawasaki finishing in 2 hours 22 minutes and 13 seconds was all smiles after showing her training was paying dividends with a commanding lead over Emily Woodland who claimed 2nd in 2:40:49 and Catherine Hung in 3rd in 2:50:56.
Team Lo & Sin had a good winning relay combination finishing first overall in the Team relay event in 1:45:53 with Team Zero 2nd in 1:46:38 and Team Last Minute 1:55:50 topping the top 3, but all still not fast enough to catch Ironman Triathlete Gary Mandy.
Race organizers Action Asia Events were extremely happy with almost 95% of the 140 individuals competing the more difficult individual course compared to the relay format partly thanks to drink supplier Gatorade offering unlimited drinks to fill-up before the race as well as at the transitions, keeping all hydrated in the sweltering heat.
Mandy and many other competitors subsequently approached Action Asia and both came to an agreement to change next months November 20th first Hong Kong off-road triathlon from the original swim, run, bike to the International standard of swim, bike, run. The organizers were originally worried about bottlenecks, but with a wide 3 km road before the trail begins, plus low tide guaranteed on the beach, there is plenty of time for competitors to fight for their positions before the Chi Ma Wan single track mountain bike track begins.
The Gatorade AA Off-Road series are designed for those that like to push themselves in the individual events and those that like the idea of doing one discipline only in the team relay event, but at the same time preparing everyone for the gruelling Dec 11th Action Asia Challenge in Hong Kong.See All Event Posts
