Italian, British triathletes top Yellow Cab Challenge

MANILA, Philippines - Italian Domenico Passuello and British Emma Pooley bucked the heat and the tough route to rule their respective sides in the second Yellow Cab Challenge Philippine in Subic-Bataan recently.

Passuello, racing in the country for the first time, bested an elite field to nail his first Yellow Cab crown with a 4:04:22 clocking while Pooley pooled a total of 4:41:51 to dominate the ladies side of the 1.9K-swim, 90K-bike, and 21K-run event.

“The race was really tough and the course was really really hot and windy… but there are a lot of trees and a lot of stations where you can always refresh,” said Passuello.

Danish Rasmus Petraeus, a two-time Challenge Phuket winner, took charge early but reeled back in the bike stage to settle for second in 4:09:04. 

“Rasmus was too strong until the half of the bike so I was pretty scared about that. But I knew I can beat him on the run. I didn’t know about my gap when I change here in transition (from biking to running) so I pushed a lot in the first 10km run,” said Passuello.

Pooley, on the other hand, struggled in the swim stage but struck back in the bike portion which she considered as her strongest suit in the race.

“It was tough but it’s a beautiful course. I came back to try and win and I really had a good day,” said Pooley, a former Olympic silver medalist who wound up third last year.

Passuello and Pooley pocketed Euros 5,000 each ( P250,000).

Australian Mitch Robbins came in third in the men’s pro event with a time of 4:13:11, while Swedish Fredrik Croenberg finished fourth in 4:14:11 followed by last year’s runner-up Michael Murphy, also from Down Under, who hobbled to wind up fifth in 4:33:13.

Rounding up the Top 10 were American Brian Fleischmann (4:38:58), German Till Schramm (4:41:42), Spanish Eneko Elosegui (4:43:28), Australian Eric Watson (4:51:56), and Hong Kong national Ivan Lo (4:55:46).

American Kelly Williamson placed second in the women’s pro field with a 4:52:14 clocking followed by Briton Parys Edwards (4:53:19), Thai Carole Fuchs (5:20:49), German Katja Rabe (5:24:40), and Swedish Louise Rundqvist (5:26:18).

The event drew around 700 athletes from different countries. The race will also be aired in almost 82 global markets that will show the Philippines as one of the most in-demand lifestyle and sporting destinations.

For details, visit the Yellow Cab Challenge Philippines website at http://challengephilippines.com.ph.