Canadian, Aussie rule triathlon in scenic Pico de Loro Beach CC

NASUGBU, BATANGAS, Philippines  – Canadian Mat O’Halloran and Australian Ali Fitch showed hot forms on a rainy and cold Saturday afternoon as they romped off with the pro men’s and women’s title in the second Pico Tri Invitational at the scenic Pico de Loro Beach and Country Club.

O’Halloran and Fitch came out of the water ahead of everybody else and never let go of the pace the rest of the way to rule the 1.2 km-swim, 35-km bike and 8-km run races in similar record fashions.

A regular Manila visitor in the last five years, O’Halloran covered the wet course in 1:45:25 for the elite men’s diadem, besting the 1:58:55 submitted by 2011 champ Peter Gonzales in last year’s inaugural edition of the event held amid Pico de Loro’s breathtaking terrains and sceneries.

Swiss Fredrik Croneborg captured runner-up honors in 1:46:07 while American Dan Brown, Pico de Loro’s in-house sports and recreation consultant, took advantage of his familiarity with the course to cop third (1:56:12).

Fitch finished the race in 1:54:15 to cruise to the tiara in the distaff side at the expense of lone pro competitor German Katja Rabe (2:05:05). The Aussie ace also set a new tournament mark vice 2011 queen Camilla Brooks’ 2:23:28.

“I’m pretty much happy with my overall finish and effort,” said O’Halloran, getting a big kiss and a pair of Gatorade from his girlfriend and fellow triathlete Joyette Jopson upon breasting the tape.

O’Halloran swam by his lonesome from the second lap of the swim phase onwards.

“I leapt out of the water, it was just me against myself there. I had a very strong bike, was moving very well. But I struggled a bit in the second part of the run and I started to fear that Fredrik will catch up to me so I was looking back a lot and accelerating and my legs were tightening up. In the end, I was able to hold him off,” he said.

It was a morale-boosting win for O’Halloran, who had suffered misfortunes the last time he raced. In the recent XTERRA triathlon in Cebu, he had flat tires a couple of times, dooming his bid.

Although heavy rains and streaks of lightning at the start and stray dogs on the bike course gave him a bit of apprehension, O’Halloran basically ran a hassle-free race.

Fitch, for her part, said she couldn’t get her rhythm immediately.

“I led out of the water and I felt really bad. I thought I had to push it in the first part of the bike. I didn’t seem to be gaining until about the end of the run phase. I just hammered it in the first two laps and ran really hard and then just survived the last phase,” she said.

Overall, she was satisfied with her time, especially given her bum stomach prior to race day.

“I’m not really worried about time. I’ve had a bad stomach since I came over and I only got out of bed the last few days and I just wanted to get around feeling okay and have a good race,” said Fitch.

A record 208 triathletes took part in the event, more than double the count (96) last year.