Kelly & Madden lead the field in Sligo
One of the most scenic swim spots on the triathlon calendar was the venue for Round 8 of the BMW Triathlon National Series, Half Moon Bay in Hazelwood Forest.
130 triathletes lined out for the standard distance event – a two lap 1.5km lake swim, a challenging 40km bike course and a three loop 10k trail run lay ahead.
Madden Ahead from the Start
Longford Triathlon Club’s Ciaran Madden laid down the gauntlet from the start with a dominating swim. Even with the rolling swim Madden had a significant lead out of the water.
Keeping the pedal down out on the bike course, Ciaran’s lead never looked in doubt. His pace never lifted though, and he finished his effort with the quickest run of the men’s field at 36:55 to take his first win of this year’s BMW Triathlon National Series.
The battle for the remaining podium spots was between Kyle Duncan and Stephen Loughnane throughout, finishing second and third respectively. Patrick Quinn worked hard to close the gap after the swim with a strong bike and quick run to finish fourth just four seconds off the podium.
Two Races, Two Days and Two Wins for Shannon Kelly
Shannon Kelly is in top form, and showed that on both Saturday and Sunday this weekend. Kelly made the journey to Sligo after being part of the winning GoTri Mixed Team Relay Team in Lough Cutra on Saturday. The trip paid off, with Shannon producing a winning performance at Hazelwood.
Starting her race with a swim that was second quickest overall and coming out of the water just behind men’s leader Ciaran Madden, Shannon built her race from there. Shannon Kelly finished in 2:13:30 to win one of her first Olympic distance triathlons, an impressive performance all round.
Piranha Triathlon Club’s Danielle O’Riordan biked her way into second place and ran 46:57 for the challenging 10k trail run to hold her position on the podium.
In third, Cathy Cunningham from Omagh Triathlon Club followed up her top ten finish at the Middle Distance National Champs at TriTyrone with her first BMW Triathlon National Series podium of 2021.
Galleries and Results
Full results are on Core Timing here.
To view all of James Wright’s images from this scenic race, visit our Facebook Gallery.
