Triathlon titles for Schlebusch, Riddle

Hundreds of fans lined the pavements along the starting chute to cheer on Jamie Riddle and Amber Schlebusch as the pair took the individual crowns at the Isuzu Corporate Triathlon Challenge in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

Both Riddle and Schlebusch, racing for Continental Tyre South Africa, put on dominant performances.

The race saw both teams and individuals form part of the spectacle which started at Hobie Beach and ended on the official Ironman red carpet.

In the team section, the trio of Ceejay Bosman, Slater Black and Amos Nyongo, racing under the Continental Tyre banner, took top honours in a time of 42.43.

Riddle, who finished in a time of 45 minutes, was followed home closely by Derron Thomson [46.14] and Conrad Viljoen [46.34]. He said he had felt relaxed throughout the race and was happy with his performance.

“There was not much wind, which is a first for PE. Everything was perfect, the sea was flat, the sun was out, crowds were cheering, so it was awesome,” he said.

Riddle said he had not taken much notice of the field as his only aim had been to do his best
“I tried to build a lead on the swim, and I thought I could hold it off on the bike, but there were some really strong cyclists and luckily I managed to hold it out until the run.”

Schlebusch defended her title for a second year. She finished in a time of 51.28, seven minutes ahead of Megan Hobson [58.39] and Ilze Williams [59.00]

“It was a great day out,” she said. “The swim was very short, the bike was tough as I had worked on my own for most of it, but there was a lot of support which made it a lot easier and then on the run I just tried to put the hammer down.”

Riddle and Schlebusch now turn their attention to the African Triathlon Union championships in Morocco next week.

Black, Bosman and Nyongo were elated to pick up the win, saying race conditions had contributed nicely to the overall outcome of their race.

“I never got much of a warm-up last year, so this year I did the swim a day before just to get a feel of it, and it really helped because I felt quite comfortable in the water,” Black said.

Bosman said: “If it wasn’t for Slater, I wouldn’t have got such a good start on the bike, and the field was quite strong, so I’m just glad to have taken this win with my team, and we look forward to next year.”

Nyongo said: “Knowing that my teammates had come in first, it was just extra motivation for me. I knew I would have to put in a strong run to bring it home.”