Bathurst triathletes ready for a Cowra Interclub Series raid

THE Bathurst Wallabies Triathlon Club will be out in force at Cowra tomorrow for round three of the annual Central West Interclub Series and will once again be on the hunt for podium finishes.

The opening race of the series in Orange saw Bathurst’s Luke Gillmer lead home club-mate Nick North.

While that pair were absent for the second round in Bathurst, Mark Windsor and Josh Stapley finished second and third respectively in another strong showing from the Wallabies. 

Tomorrow the Bathurst club will be taking a strong squad to face the 22.4 kilometre course with North, Stapley and Gillmer all set to race.

With that trio contending for outright honours in the series, the Cowra round is a chance to earn valuable points.

The third round again changes from the traditional swim-bike-run format, instead putting competitors through six legs.

Competitors start and end the race with a 2km run and complete a pair of 9km cycle legs and two 200m swims in between.

Wallabies president Mick Stapley is happy to see North and Gillmer back for round three.

“It’s just the right weekend for us,” he said.

“Josh is back from Oceania Champs at Penrith, so he should be close to his peak for this one. Nick has had an injury, he’s tapered off for a while, but he should have a good race here on the road to recovery. And Luke, well he’s just a machine.

“The course is very similar to Bathurst which suits us. It’s a pool swim as well, a similar length bike leg and a flat run. Cowra’s got the one short, sharp hill after turning left out of the pool, but that’s nothing worse than what we have on Eleven Mile Drive.”

Where the clubs currently sit on the points table remains a mystery until towards the end of the month when member numbers are finalised and a weighted score can be calculated.

It is a change that Stapley believes makes the competition that bit more challenging for his club, but it is all the more reason to get as members to compete in Cowra as possible.

At the moment Orange has enjoyed the best results across all categories and the highest participation rates, but given their large membership, the title is not assured.

“Cowra will be one of those clubs that will benefit from the change the most being the ones with the smallest numbers. Bathurst is a lot stronger based on numbers, but we don’t travel well unfortunately,” he said.

“Numbers are up though this season compared to last when travelling away, which is good to see. 

“We’re hopeful of getting plenty down there, being only an hour away. It’s one we normally do well at.”