Samuels Crushes Field At Pegasus While New Men’s Star Emerges

Wanaka’s Nicky Samuels smashed the field for the second race running in the Contact Tri Series while in the men’s race it was a new face on top of the podium in young Christchurch triathlete Tom Davison as the series raced at Pegasus North of Christchurch for the first time.The day dawned fine but a little chilly but temperatures were soon into the twenties as over 400 participants prepared for races ranging from the children’s Contact 1:2:1 to the 3:9:3 and the trophy sprint distance events (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run), all based at Lake Pegasus in the new township that will in March host the Contact National Schools. Samuels dominated from start to finish, leading out of the water and clearing away to win by over three minutes. Despite the ease of the win, Samuels says she is always looking to maintain high standards. “There is always a pressure to perform, so many people come out early to watch and do their best themselves in their own race and I want to perform as well as I can too. The run felt really good, this sort of course with a tail wind and a few turns and then into the wind is like a World Series event so this sort of course with the variety and need to maintain cadence into the wind and turning with the wind at your back with some tight turns is great.” Samuels does of course have bigger fish to fry later in the season but is pleased with her form and fitness. “I’ve just been told I have one more big bike week to do, so I need to hang in for one more week on the bike and then into the running. Once I start on the run training it will all come together. We are very much working on the theory that if you have the strength on the bike you can have fresh legs off the bike and into the run. The aim is to get the cycling strong and have a fresh start for the 10km.” In the men’s race it was young Christchurch triathlete Tom Davison who emerged from the pack to win at Pegasus today, in doing so confirming his potential in the sport with his first victory in elite company. Davison is a member of the Tri NZ Development Squad and led from start to finish, holding off James Elvery around the stunning new township with the race based in and around Lake Pegasus. “That is a great result for me and a real confidence booster for the rest of the season. I have come off a bit of an ankle injury and have been working really hard on the run so to hold off James like I did today is fantastic, I am stoked to run so well off a hard bike. I was looking over my shoulder at the end there as I knew James would be finishing quickly.” Davison was out of the water alongside Dylan McNeice and Elvery, with Martin Van Barneveld and Tony Dodds not far behind albeit the latter two were racing in teams with former All Blacks James Ryan and Dallas Seymour so weren’t a factor in the individual race. Davison enjoyed the swim but had to concentrate on his navigation around the main island of Lake Pegasus. “I found the swim tough, having to look up for where I was going in amongst the island coves and rocks. So yeah, it was a hard swim and wasn’t easy with the quality of the guys in the field. “The bike is my strength though, I have come off doing the Tour de Vineyards so have done some great work on the bike which is one of my strengths at the moment.” Elvery came home in second place with the former Aucklander not able to stay with Davison on the 20km bike while Harrison Dean was third ahead of McNeice. The event looks ot have a promising future thanks to the great support of the Christchurch City Council and Pegasus Township, both of whom have been instrumental in welcoming the event and the series to Christchurch, with Pegasus also due to host the Contact Schools Nationals in March this year. Contact Tri Series Trophy 750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run Elite Men 1 Tom Davison Christchurch 57:44 2 James Elvery Christchurch 58:41 3 Harrison Dean Christchurch 59:56 4 Dylan McNeice Christchurch 1:00:58 5 Zac Barber Christchurch 1:02:43 Elite Women 1 Nicky Samuels Wanaka 1:02:35 2 Julia Grant Christchurch 1:06:04 3 Janine Simpson Tauranga 1:06:48 4 Laura Wood Christchurch 1:08:02 5 Rebecca Grant Dunedin 1:08:13