26 July 2016

Jeep Team Tri-Athletes, Lord and Jonsson, scoop Gold this weekend

Submitted by: Viv Quann
Jeep Team Tri-Athletes, Lord and Jonsson, scoop Gold this weekend

KWAZULU-NATAL, 26 JULY 2016 - The weekend saw Jeep Team Multisport athletes, Michael Lord, winning gold in the Standard Bank Duo and Trail Challenge in Boschendal, and Mikaela Jonsson (19) winning her first Olympic Distance Triathlon at the Tinman Tri-series in Durban. On Saturday, 23 July 2016, Michael Lord competed in the Standard Bank Duo Challenge – the Duo Challenge Long, which consisted of a 25 km MTB and a 10 km trail run. During the bike leg, he had a quick start and managed to break away from the rest of the field with fellow competitor, Andrew Houston. Completing the bike leg together, Lord was then able to put some distance between him and Houston during the run, finishing in a winning time of 02h04m26s.

Says Lord of his weekend win: “The two of us rode the whole of the bike course together. I have never ridden Boschendal before. There are some absolutely stunning trails and awesome little nooks and areas on route. At one stage we were riding just below the cliff faces with huge views of the whole of the Franschoek Valley. I definitely want to ride here again. We finished the bike together and then I managed to get away on the run. Super fun race, thanks Andrew.” The TinMan Tri-series took place in Durban at the Suncoast Sundeck on Sunday, 24 July.

The TinMan Triathlon is a fast-paced, action-packed Triathlon and Running event. From the 4 different races offered, junior triathlon superstar, Mikaela Jonsson, competed in the tough, highly contested Ultra Tri Challenge - the Olympic Distance Triathlon - a 1km swim, a 30km cycle and a 10km run. Despite only being back in training for 3 weeks, Jonsson’s performance was impressive in all 3 stages, coming out of the water in a close 3rd in 13m27s, she gave it everything in the cycle leg, finishing in a close 2nd in 59m21s, and again ran hard to finish 2nd in 43m46s, winning in an overall time of 01h58m34, ahead of 2nd placed Teneal Featherby in 01h58s42, and 3rd placed Hayley Mee in 02h02m14.

Jonnson won women overall and her age category, but interestingly, as in all triathlons, the transition time taken between legs can mean the difference between winning and losing, as in this race. Jonnson’s race-time against Featherby was slower overall by 8 seconds, but 1m03s faster than Featherby in transition time.

Says Jonsson of her experience: “I'm so happy to have taken the win overall in my first-ever Olympic Distance Tri at the Tinman Triathlon in Durban. I had such a fantastic race. Thanks to some incredibly strong ladies for pushing me all the way, especially on the bike course. Finally feeling like myself again, after only being back at training for 3 weeks after battling with illness for over a month, and my first swim race after doing shoulder rehab for more than 2 months. I'm so grateful to everyone who has helped me with such patience and wisdom over the last few months. Onwards and upwards.”

RESULTS

Standard Bank Duo and Trail Challenge

Men

  1. Michael Lord (Jeep Team) 02:04:26
  2. Andrew Houston 02:05:48
  3. Dylan Janos 02:09:37

Women

  1. Carla Beyers 02:36:46
  2. Esther Lategan 02:45:00
  3. Hanlie Booyens 02:48:06

Tinman Tri-series

Women

  1. Mikaela Jonsson (Jeep Team) 01:58:34
  2. Teneal Featherby 01:58:42
  3. Hayley Mee 02:02:14

Men

  1. Rudolf Naude 01:38:14
  2. Gareth Marquiss 01:38:52
  3. Brad Venter 01:39:32

Other Jeep Team results MTB
The Ashburton Investments’ National MTB Series consists of seven events spanning across six provinces. The fifth in the series was hosted at Holla Trails, Collisheen on 23 July. Jeep Team’s Thinus Redelinghuys took part in the 102km Ultra Marathon Event achieving a Top 20 position overall, coming in 19th place, in a time of 04h10m24s. Most of the country’s top mountain bikers completed this event, which ultimately saw Max Knox (3h45), Gert Heyns (3h46), Nico Bell (3h46) take the podium respectively.

Editor’s Notes Standard Bank Duo and Trail Challenge photo of Michael Lord by Govan Basson (Totalkaos Studio).

Have a look at the following platforms to keep up to date with Jeep Team SA: Website: www.jeepteam.co.za Facebook: www.facebook.com/jeepteamsa Twitter: @jeepteamsa Instagram: @jeepteamsa

For more information, please contact:

  • Bronwen Blunden - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • Viv Quann - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Published in Sports Range

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