Big numbers turn out in Bathurst as the Central West ICL heats up

The Bathurst Triathlon Club Australia Day triathlon is a special tradition loved by many in the Central West triathlon community, and this year it also doubled up as Round 2 of the Forager Central West Triathlon League. With almost 130 athletes toeing the line across both the short and long course races, it was a mammoth turn out for a Forager Interclub race, well deserving of the TV coverage from Prime 7 Central West.

ICL02 winners the Orange Piranhas came across with a strong contingent of some of the state’s best athletes, with Sophie Martin and the Dean sisters, Molly & Jessie, taking out the women’s long course podium; and Rory Thornhill and Tom Tudor taking gold and silver in the men’s. The Piranhas should be thrilled with a Max Out finish, propelling them to the top of the league table for the Central West.

Meanwhile, hometown hosts the Bathurst Wallabies also earnt a Max Out, with Kirsten Howard in 4^th overall for the women and Luke Gillmer in 5^th for the men. It wasn’t quite enough to close the gap on the Mudgee Red Devils, who still lead by 2.5 points after a strong start in Round 1. The Red Devils had another strong showing at the Bathurst race and have a chance to further extend their grip on second place with Round 3 just days away.

Dubbo again came out fighting, with a top 10 overall finish from Melissa Mertens in the women’s a performance of note. The Dubbo based club earning 15 points for the round and maintain their 4^th place position on the ladder.

Cowra didn’t feature on the day and remain at 0 points on the ladder.

All eyes will be on the Piranhas this weekend for their hometown round on Sunday at Gosling Creek Reservoir – will they continue to carve out a definitive lead, or can Mudgee make up the gap?