Despite a difficult physiological adaptation to altitude and the lack of competition in their legs, the five Mauritian triathletes who were competing in the Sprint Triathlon (750m swim-20km bike-5km run) in Zimbabwe last Saturday, April 2, fought hard on the slopes of Troutbeck. Of course, there was no podium but the times recorded by Laurent L’Entêté, Julie Staub and Adrien Toulet are very encouraging.
Competing in the junior category, Adrien Toulet took sixth place in a time of 01:16:35. Although he was not brilliant in swimming and cycling, Adrien Toulet was equal to the best in the 5 km run. As for Raphaël Gérard, he finished in eleventh place with a time of 01:33:51. The winner of the race was none other than Shaun Wolfaardt from South Africa with a time of 01:06:21.
Mauritius also had a representative in the junior girls in the person of Riya Dhurma. She placed sixth in 01:41:43. The victory in this category went to Kadence Ribbink in 01:21:15.
In the elite category, Julie Staub did not perform at her best in the swim and bike. She made up some ground on the leaders in the run, but it was not enough to claim a podium. She finished in sixth place in 01:21:35. Ivana Kuriackova from Slovakia won in 01:09:45.
Laurent L’Entêté recorded a very encouraging time for the rest of the season. He took the eighth place in 01:06:36. South Africa’s Jamie Riddle took first place in 01:00:26.
If the elites return to the country this Tuesday on the other hand the juniors will stay in Zimbabwe for another week to participate in a training camp organized by the African Triathlon Union in Zimbabwe.
