Birtwhistle, Gentle prevail at Noosa Triathlon
Jacob Birtwhistle and Ashleigh Gentle won the classic Noosa Triathlon on Sunday on the strength of race-best runs.
Men
As expected, Josh Amberger led the swim in 17:29 but unexpectedly he did not have much of a gap as Aaron Royle, Ben Shaw of Ireland (the only non-Aussie), Dan Wilson, Ryan Bailie, Jacob Birtwhistle, Luke Willian, and Matthew Roberts all followed within 10 seconds.
After a race-best 54:05 bike split, Amberger maintained his lead by a slender 10 seconds on Shaw, 11 seconds over Wilson, 13 seconds on Bailie, 14 seconds on Royle, 18 seconds on Willian, and 20 seconds on Birtwhistle.
After his bravura runs at Super League and the WTS circuit, Birtwhistle was expected to make a charge on the run and he didn’t disappoint. After a by-far race-best 31:47 10k run, Birtwhistle finished in 1:46:59 with a 12 seconds margin on Royle (32:00 run) and 16 seconds on 3rd place finisher Bailie (3rd-best 32:13 run).
Women
Gillian Backhouse led the swim in 19:37, which gave her a 3 seconds margin on Natalie Van Coevorden, 6 seconds on Tamsyn Moana-Veale, 11 seconds on Liz Blatchford, 19 seconds on Ashleigh Gentle, 33 seconds on Annabel White, 43 seconds on Brittany Dutton and Ellie Salthouse, and 1:32 on Kona 3rd place finisher Sarah Crowley.
After a women’s-best 59:42 bike split, Van Coevorden led the field into T2 by 52 seconds on Sheedy–Ryan and Gentle, 2:01 on Backhouse, 2:20 on Salthouse, 2:21 on Crowley, and 2:22 on Blatchford.
Once she began the run, Gentle took charge, posting a women’s-best 34:41 run which brought her to the finish in 1:59:11 with a 32 seconds margin of victory on Sheedy-Ryan (2nd-best 35:13 run) and 2:38 on 3rd place Van Coevorden (38:41 run).
Gentle’s victory was her 5th at Noosa, breaking a tie with Emma Snowsill at four wins.
Noosa Triathlon
Noosa, Australia
November 5, 2017
S 1.5k / B 40k / R 10k
Results
Men
1. Jacob Birtwhistle (AUS) 1:46:59 – $15,600 AUD
2. Aaron Royle (AUS) 1:47:11 – $9,100 AUD
3. Ryan Bailie (AUS) 1:47:15 – $5,200 AUD
4. Dan Wilson (AUS) 1:47:39 – $1,930 AUD
5. Luke Willian (AUS) 1:48:48 – $1,279 AUD
6. Ben Shaw (IRL) 1:49:40 – $1,140 AUD
7. Josh Amberger (AUS) 1:49:47 – $1,010 AUD
8. Max Neumann (AUS) 1:50:46 – $880 AUD
9. Jake Montgomery (AUS) 1:52:48 – $750 AUD
10. Sam Douglas (AUS) 1:53:50 – $620 AUD
Women
1. Ashleigh Gentle (AUS) 1:59:11 – $15,600 AUD
2. Felicity Sheedy-Ryan (AUS) 1:59:43 – $9,100 AUD
3. Natalie Van Coevorden (AUS) 2:01:49 – $5,200 AUD
4. Sarah Crowley (AUS) 2:03:20 – $1,930 AUD
5. Gillian Backhouse (AUS) 2:04:04 – $1,270 AUD
6. Tamsyn Moana-Veale (AUS) 2:04:49 – $1,140 AUS
7. Liz Blatchford (GBR) 2:05:09 – $1,010 AUD
8. Ellie Salthouse (AUS) 2:05:29 – $880 AUD
9. Annabel White (AUS) 2:09:14 – $750 AUD
10. Briana Silk (AUS) 2:10:44 – $620 AUD
