Ben Allen retains title Cebu-Based Miller rules all-Filipino elite category in Xterra triathlon

CEBU, Philippines - Defending champion Ben Allen of Australia got lost while negotiating the first loop of the highly technical bike course, but a fast swim and run paved his way to back-to- back titles in the men's pro open division of the Vaseline Men XTerra Philippines Off-Road Triathlon Championships yesterday at the Seafront Resort in Liloan, Cebu.

So determined Allen was to defend his crown that he got out of the water first, finishing the 1.5-kilometer swim in only 16 minutes and 53 seconds.

As he tried to pull ahead of his challengers, Allen got confused a bit with the direction while going for the first loop of the 36km bike course.

“I had to figure out what to do and go as fast as I can to catch up with those ahead of me. I keep on going and pushing myself to the best that I can,” said Allen.

Although he got lost for a while, Allen still posted a decent time of one hour, 38 minutes and 37 seconds in the bike.  He still got the lead going into the 10K run and never looked back enroute to keeping his crown with an aggregate time of 2:37:40.

“I had high hopes of defending my title. I was also pressured, but my preparations for this event paid off. This is one of the toughest Xterra that I have been into. This victory is a good start for me this year,” said Allen.

South Africa’s Daniel Hugo settled for another second place with a 2:38:31 clocking, while United Kingdom’s Sam Gardner wound up third in 2:48:46.

In the distaff side, two-time world champion American Lesley Paterson dethroned Renata Bucher of Switzerland. Paterson timed 2:45:41, while Bucher was a far second in 3:00:03. Darrelle “Daz” Parker of UK ended up third in 3:55:21.

Allen’s girlfriend Jacqui Slack could only make it to fourth place, but was thankful enough she did not suffer the same fate as Carina Wasle of Austria, who broke her bike’s rear wheel and had no choice but to stop the race.

“This is amazing. The race course is very interesting. It's technical, hard and challenging. The heat was oppressive. I’d say this is the most challenging and the hardest and I’m happy to be going back to the US with this win,” said Paterson after her victrious debut race on the Philippine soil.

Cebuana Rochelle Tan was as unfortunate as Bucher as she missed to defend her Filipino elite women’s title to the more seasoned Alexandra Ganzon.

Tan was just happy to know that she was not so far behind from Ganzon’s as Joyette Jopson came a distant third. Ganzon finished the race in 4:15:03. Tan clocked in 4:24:53, while Jopson posted 4:45:58.

In the all-Filipino men's elite category, Cebu-based Zamboangeño Joseph Miller caught everyone by surprise after crossing the finish line first in three hours, five minutes and 51 seconds. Benjamin Rana placed second in 3:10:13 followed by Jefferson Tabacon with the time of 3:11:20.

“I was not expecting this. Tanang mga kusog sa Ironman (Philippines) naa diri. Nada gyud sa training. Karon, makabawi na gyud kog time sa ako pamilya,” said Miller.

On the other hand, former top Cebuano karter turned actor Matteo Guidicelli did not disappoint his fans who patiently waited for him by lording it over in the 20-24 class.

The rest of the age-group winners were Felipe Sajulga III (30-34), Emmanuel Comendador (25-29), Miguel Antonio Lopez (35-39), John Thomas Gonzales (45-49), Oostra Nienke (35-39) and Anne Salve Leenly (30-34).

In the Xterra Lite, the top performers were Jezam Baldomar (25-29), Jezryl Villarete (20-24), David Bucad (45-49), Sidney Maderazo (40-44), Edward Cubal (30-34), Gerald Asiado, and Sixto Abeth Lalanto (15-19). (FREEMAN)