Carr and Edgar Kick Off Season with a Bang
CARR ON TOP IN TROUTBECK
After a prolonged battle with injury Carr returned to domestic racing last September, with a strong showing in Youghal at the Moby Dick Triathlon. Shortly afterwards, only last November, she made her debut at continental cup. Two weeks later she secured her first international podium with a 2nd place finish over a draft legal Olympic Distance in Agadir.
The result secured her international funding support from Sport Ireland for the 2024 season, which she got underway in dominant fashion last weekend in Troutbeck reaching the top spot of the podium.
Carr began the race with a strong performance, emerging second from the water behind Japan’s Minori Ikeno. The swim leg, spanning 750 meters, commenced with a deep water start, and competitors faced water temperatures of 22.3°C, rendering it a non-wetsuit swim.
On the bike leg, Carr showcased her strength, building a lead over her competitors across the three-lap course characterised by hills and technical sections. With gradients peaking at 16%, Carr completed the bike section more than 90 seconds ahead of her closest rivals.
Transitioning to the run with a comfortable lead, Carr maintained her pace, posting the fastest run split of the day and securing her first victory at Continental Cup level. The run course, comprising two laps of 2.5km each, featured challenging terrain with gradients as steep as 19%.
Marit Van Den Berg of the Netherlands finished second, more than two minutes behind Carr, while Antoanela Manac of Romania took third place.
She now travels to Cuba for the 2024 Americas Triathlon Cup La Habana, on February 25th, where she will be joined by James Edgar as he kicks off his 2024 season.
Edgar golden in la habana
James Edgar made his return to international racing and the top spot of the podium at the 2024 Americas Triathlon Cup La Habana over the weekend.
After back to back wins at the end of the 2023 season, Edgar was back with a bang to edge out USA’s Darr Smith for the gold medal.
A strong swim saw Edgar exit the 1500m swim in the front group of athletes in just under 18 minutes. The lead group worked well together on the bike, completing the four lap bike course over a minute faster than the next chase pack. The fastest run split of the day over the 10km course sealed Edgar’s victory in his first international outing of the 2024 season.
Speaking after the race, Edgar said, “It was a great start to the season and a hard race with very windy conditions. A small group with an uphill sprint finish made it hard right to the end, but great to get the win and secure some valuable points.”
Elizabeth Carr was also in action in La Habana, with tough competition in the women’s field to test her after last weekend’s Olympic distance success in Troutbeck.
With 20 athletes exiting the water within as many seconds, the swim stayed quite close together in the women’s race. Carr posted the joint fastest bike split of the race, however the race became even closer between the 20 athletes as they exited T2 for four laps of the run course.
Carr crossed the line in 7th position overall, less than a minute from the podium in a strong field, with valuable experience gained and another boost to her World Ranking. Former Olympic Champion Gwen Jorgensen was the eventual winner of the women’s race, followed by Poland’s Roksana Slupek and Mexico’s Ana Maria Valentina Torres Gomez.
Carr’s initial reaction post race was that it was “a really great, tough day out in Cuba. 7th in a really strong field with a lot of high ranked athletes including Gwen Jorgensen, is a result I’m definitely happy to come away with for where I’m at now. A race like that tests you in all three disciplines and lets you really see where you’re at in each. Already looking forward to another Continental Cup in Mexico in three weeks.”
Edgar is back in action on the 23rd of March at 2024 Europe Triathlon Cup Quarteira Portugal, while Carr will race the Americas Triathlon Cup La Paz in Mexico on the 16th of March.
Author: Emma Porter
