ITU European Cup Race in Poznan, Poland

New Zealanders secured two top ten placings at the latest European Cup triathlon in Poznan, Poland overnight.

Leading the way were Dunedin’s Taryn McLeod and New Plymouth’s Clark Ellice, finishing 7th in the women’s and men’s elite races respectively.

McLeod reflects on a hard days work on minimal training due to a nagging back injury.

“I swam really well - which is weird considering I’ve actually been swimming just 2.5km a day to manage the back. It always seems the less I swim in training the better I swim in a race, I don’t know how that works.

“I was 3rd out of water, just a few seconds behind the first 2 girls. However, my lack of training then came into play on the bike and I couldn’t get on them so ended up in a pack which grew to around 15 girls.

“On the run I struggled on the first 2 laps in the heat. I was in a group of 4 running for 7-10th. I had to decide whether to pick it up and try get up to 6th or back myself for a sprint finish and avoid the risk of ‘carking’ it in the heat by trying to catch the next girl. I decided on the sprint finish which worked out great as I held out the others to get 7th.”

Of the other Kiwis, James Elvery was 13th, Tony Dodds 15th, Martin Van Barneveld 17th and Blair Jordan 25th. McLeod was the sole Kiwi woman in the field.