2016 Reviewed – Men’s National Series

2016

Tom McEnery DCT 2016

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.

Donncha Kiely KOTH 2016

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.

Richard Doyle DCT 2016

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.

Tom McEnery CK Bike

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?
A. It felt like a season of two halves. I started out with a very disappointing performance in Nenagh. After identifying the bike as my major weakness and trying to work on that it was disheartening not to get any results. It felt like I went back to the drawing board then and changed my bike training, really focusing on that. Winning Ennis then gave me confidence that I was on the right track. The highlight for me was Caroline Kearney though. I had identified that as my A race at the beginning of the season. For the first time I felt I could hold my own on the bike after a strong swim. It was a big step up in terms of results.
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?
A. I didn’t really have points in mind until DCT. It’s tricky to predict how races will score so I just tended to ignore that. I did races that were near my family home (Kilrush and Ennis) and Caroline Kearney because it’s a great and meaningful club race that I had enjoyed before. Pulse Sprint was the Piranha club championship race. I signed up for DCT late once I realised I was in the mix at the top of the NS and points were becoming important.
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.

Read about the women’s National Series competition, including our interview with 2016 overall winner Lizanne Barnwall.

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