2016 Reviewed – Men’s National Series
McEnery Wins 2016 Vodafone National Series
Thousands of women and men of all ages took part in this year’s Vodafone National Series – racing each other at 25 separate events in all corners of the country.
Five months of racing later, the overall men’s title came down to a mere 2.865 points or 0.99% of the 484.869 points that clinched victory for Piranha’s Tom McEnery.
A late season victory in the Age Group race at Dublin City Triathlon saw McEnery up to the very top of the rankings table but the result was in reality the culmination of a series of great performances with the Piranha athlete winning maximum points in four of the six National Series races he entered.
After leading the series for much of the season, Cork’s Donncha Kiely had to content himself with second place, finishing on 484.869 points. Consolation for Kiely however comes in the form of victory in the 30-34 Age Group for the National Series.
Third place went to Richard Doyle, who raced an incredible 10 National Series races in 2016 (a record?) to end up on 476.914 points and with it, victory in the 40-44 Age Group category.
Awards Night 2016
All the winners in each age category of the National Series will receive their medals at the Triathlon Ireland Awards Night 2016 in Dublin’s Marker Hotel on November 26th. Tickets for the non-race highlight of the year will be released through the events section of our website soon. In the meantime, you can read about the night here.
Tom McEnery’s 2016
We asked National Series winner Tom McEnery how he did it and what his plans are for the 2017 season…
Q: What does it mean to you to win the NS?
A. Winning NS means a huge deal to me. It wasn’t at all expected at the beginning of the season but it brings great confidence and motivation for 2017.
Q: How did you feel the season went for you/what was your highlight of 2016?
Q: You did six races in the NS – did you plan them out with a view to gaining maximum points or was it just happenstance?
Q: Any plans for the off-season?
A. After a week off I plan to focus on running mainly. I’ll do a couple of 5km and 10km races as motivation to try and set some PBs. Plenty of swimming and some strength work. I guess at some point I’ll have to get back on the turbo too but not looking forward to that!
Q: What are your race plans for 2017?
A. I’d like to sign up for the Cat 1 Super Series for 2017. I think the draft legal format will be an interesting challenge; much more tactical but perhaps suited to my strengths.
