Port Elizabeth triathlete Keegan Cooke is gunning for top step on the podium when he takes to the Standard Bank 5150 Nelson Mandela Bay course on Sunday.
Coming off the back of a win at the Nelson Mandela Bay Triathlon Championships two weeks ago, and following it up with a fourth place alongside his brother Jarryd at the Torpedo SwimRun in Cape Town on Saturday, Cooke will be eager to claim former Bay resident and two-time 5150 champion Jeren Seegers’s crown.
“It’s been a couple of weeks of racing on the trot but I feel my body has been handling it quite well,” he said.
“We train for our bodies to cope with the pressures of constant competition.
“You are tired the day of and after the event, but it usually decreases after a day or two.”
Cooke, who finished second behind Johannesburg-based Seegers last year, said he was feeling confident ahead of this weekend’s race.
“I hadn’t really changed much of my training leading up to the Torpedo,” he said.
“I didn’t do much biking, but this week was back to normal training. It did take some time getting used to racing on a time-trial bike as I usually race a road bike.
“I raced with it at the NMB Championships and also did some additional training on it and could feel that I needed to get more used to the bike.
“Hopefully by Sunday, I will feel a bit more comfortable.”
Cooke believes that his fate will be determined by how his body feels going into the run leg of the event and whether or not everything comes together on the day.
“I wanted to win it last year but came away with second. That was okay but I am looking to go one better and try to take the win,” he said.
“Being a race in PE and a shorter distance, it attracts quite a big field.
“I’ll be racing hard from the gun and see how it plays out.”
Cooke believes that, despite the run course being relatively flat, it is still a challenge because maintaining a steady pace can be the difference between winning and losing.
Seegers will not be defending his title as he is committed to competing at the Coronation Double Century Cycle Race, while another contender, Jamie Riddle, is in the middle of his matric final exams and will also miss the event.
The race, which features a one lap 1.5km swim, a 40km bike ride and a 10km run, is a great introduction for first-time athletes, but also challenging enough for seasoned athletes.