Kris Gemmell and Michael Poole flew the Kiwi flag proudly at the 5i50 Triathlon in New Orleans, Gemmell finishing second and Poole fourth in a race that was turned into a duathlon as a result of high winds at Lake Pontrachain on race day.
The first run of approximately 3km was run very quickly by Ben Collins and Kris Gemmell who got a gap on the field. 19 year old Poole quickly rode through to second and held that spot until right near the end of the cycle when US triathlon legend Chris Leito came past. Poole rode the non drafting 40km in 55.24 on a windy and undulating course to come off the bike in 3rd place behind Collins and Leito.
Onto the run Gemmell charged through into second place but could not catch the flying Collins. Poole caught and passed Leito and ran in third until the last 800m before being caught by British athlete James Hadley and American James Burns. Australian Clayton Fettell (5th at Ishigaki World Cup 2010) was sixth.
Poole commented afterwards on a hard day's racing.
"The change to the duathlon format certainly made the last run seem hard. These races are so tough as it is all on your own and no possibility of a bunch to hide in. That, along with competing against the likes of Collins, Gemmell, Fettell and Leito means that you really dig deep for the entire race.”
The race is part of a new 5150 Series that will culminate in the rich finale at the Hy Vee ITU World Cup race at Des Moines with athletes qualifying to start at Des Moines throughout the 5150 Series of events.
Athletes can count their best three scoring results from throughout the 5150 Series to earn one of twenty starting spots at Des Moines, a race that carries a prize pool of in excess of one million dollars.
5i50 Triathlon (changed to duathlon format due to high winds)
New Orleans
3km run, 40km bike, 10km run (non drafting)
Elite Men
1. Benjamin Collins (USA) 1:39:30
2. Kris Gemmell (NZL) 1:40:37
3. James Hadley (GBR) 1:42:03
4. James Burns (USA) 1:42:18
5. Michael Poole (NZL) 1:42:39
