This past Saturday, the Hawaii Cycling Club held a 22.2-mile cycling time trial at West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery.
From Queen Kaahumanu Highway, cyclists headed to Waikoloa Road, then made a U-turn to get back to the finish in front of the Four Season’s Resort Hualalai. This month’s time trial had two special guests: six-time Ironman world champion Natascha Badmann and Matt Burton, the 2011 Ford Ironman World Championship 18-24 age group winner.
The first competitor started at 8 a.m. with the other 27 following in 30-second intervals. The element of surprise is what makes time trails so exciting. Competitors do not know where they stand until the official results come out.
Local athlete Michael DeCarli held off the two Ironman competitors for the overall win with a time of 51 minutes, 50 seconds. DeCarli raced at an average speed of 25.9 mph.
Burton finished second, just 18 seconds behind DeCarli, with a time of 52:08.
Third place overall and first for the women went to Badmann, who finished with a time of 53:21. Third for the men and fourth overall went to Kris Kiser (55:11).
Kym Kiser placed second for the women, completing the time trial in 1:00:01. The third-place female finisher, Shirley Pratt, finished with a total time of 1:04:06.
Congratulations to all who competed in the HCC time trial.
With the Ironman world championship right around the corner, athletes are in the final stages of their training for the big day. Hours of training will soon pay off as they compete on Oct. 13. For some, it is a race against time. For others, it’s a race to prove that mind over matter can get you to accomplish the goals you never believed possible.
Good luck to all those training for the big race. You are all an inspiration to keep working toward our goals.
Coming up this Saturday is a run/bike/run challenge at the Kua Bay park entrance. Athletes will begin with a three-mile run, grab their bikes to cycle 40 miles and finish with an eight-mile run. This free event starts at 7 a.m.
On Sept. 30, Team Mango will hold its Pre-Ironman Triathlon Challenge. This race includes a 1.2-mile swim, a hilly 15-mile bike and a hilly six-mile run. This race will begin at 7 a.m. at the Kailua Pier. For more information about this race, please visit teammangoraces.com.
Hope to see everyone out there this weekend. Until next time, happy training.
