Dan Atkins Training Racing
Brisbane Triathlon Club
DAT Racing Australia Junior Triathletes head to Canberra this weekend
Round 2 of the Australian Junior Championships Triathlon series is on this weekend with seven of Brisbane’s best junior triathletes heading to the nation’s capital to race this Saturday afternoon.
The Canberra Capital triathlon is the second race for 2011-12 and this popular venue is on target for another big field as competitors get their chance to race for Australia later in the year.
Race 2 will be held over the internationally recognised sprint distance format (750m swim, 20km cycle, 5km run).
In the women’s field North Brisbane’s Holly Grice and Emily Bevan will be out to continue their impressive season form and will be the ones to watch in the star-studded line-up. The other outsider will be young veteran Bonnie Atherton who is returning from injury.
Grice spent the latter part of 2011 training hard and she has raced the local races at Bribie and won the inaugural Toorbul Triathlon. All three have had a solid preparation with a tough camp on the Sunshine Coast with coach Dan Atkins.
“I am really pleased with where the three junior athletes are and their progression over the past fortnight. We should see some tough and hard racing this weekend in Canberra against the main opposition from down south” said Atkins.
Grice said, “There is very little between the group of girls this year and there is nothing better than close competition to improve standards.”
Grice, who placed 4th after Race 1 of the series at Runaway Bay, will be eager to improve her performance and snare a podium finish on the day.
Meanwhile, the men’s field is also stacked with talent from Brisbane’s DAT Racing Team, which is led by Junior Team Captain Tom Ryan and 2011 World Champion Luke Farrell. DAT Racing’s new kid on the block, Corey St John, and local Grange boy, Angus Gibson, will also be vying for the top spot over the sprint distance course. Corey will be working hard to claim a podium finish after relocating from Victoria to Brisbane to be coached by world-class coach Atkins.
“After only being coached by Dan (Atkins) for a short time, I feel like I am ready to race and I feel good heading into Canberra,” said St John.
It’s not all about this weekend in Canberra though, with race 3 in Devonport, Tasmania, only 6 weeks away. This is where the series will be decided and it is where the main focus for the Brisbane team is, according to Atkins.
The Australian Junior Series is for junior members who hold an ITU Junior licence, meaning they have reached certain skill and performance levels allowing them to race in draft legal races.
This series is comprised of 3 key events held at various locations whereby competitors race against their peers, battling for series points with Canberra’s race this Saturday.
Venue Canberra
Race: http://res.au.eventdirector.net/TACT/SITES/1717/default.asp?PageID=22053
Location: Rond Terraces, Parkes Way (at the bottom of Anzac Parade) Canberra ACT