Nicole van der Kaay has won her 7th Oceania title, cashing in on her bike-run strengths and big race experience to capture the continental sprint triathlon championship which was reduced to a duathlon due to unsafe water conditions in Mooloolaba.
The Taupo 29-year-old eased to a 13 second win over Aussie Ellie Hoitink, winning the 2.5km run, 20km bike, 5km run in 57:26 to continue her steady return to form after claiming bronze at the Oceania standard distance championships a fortnight ago.
Van der Kaay was the standout Kiwi on Sunday with Ainsley Thorpe the next best in 8th, a position matched by Canterbury’s Henry McMecking in the men’s race. Paris Olympian Matthew Hauser won the latter comfortably, finishing a tick shy of 45 secs ahead of the Luke Schofield who in turn edged his twin Jayden by a further six seconds.
Sam Parry and Gus Marfell went down in crashes at a tightly coned and ultimately treacherous roundabout just 200m into the bike leg. Both have scrapes and bumps but are reportedly okay; Marfell was unable to carry on due to mechanical issues while Parry finished 20th. Lulu Johnson also crashed out of the women’s race but not at the same point on the race track.
Three days of stormy weather, including heavy rain, in Queensland left a big swell and an unpleasant foam residue on the swim course. That, and the treat of Bluebottle jellyfish meant all the racing at the Mooloolaba Triathlon Festival was reduced to duathlons.
Van der Kaay made her title clinch winning break roughly halfway into the final 5km run after being part of an early break in the initial run, before three packs came back together on the bike, leading to a group of about 20 starting the final leg. Brea Roderick came back from at least 45sec down after the initial to eventually finish 12th.
It’s van der Kaay’s first win since she won the Oceania standard distance title in Port Douglas in May 2023, capping a perfect 5 from 5 continental run at the time. The Kiwi No.1’s form held to mid 2023 with two top 8s at WTCS level in Hamburg and Sunderland sealing her spot at the Paris Olympics but a change of coach at the start of 2024 saw form and confidence dip en-route to 31st at the XXXIII Olympiad.
Van der Kaay can expect her current world ranking of 39 to rise again when the recalculations are done overnight Monday NZT, further vindication for her new relationship with German coach Ben Rezsel.
Rezsel, coach to long distance Kiwis Braden Currie and Hannah Berry, also has van der Kaay’s partner, Tayler Reid, on his books and was delighted with the Gisborne scrapper’s bronze at 70.3 Geelong last weekend.
More: Reid buzzing after qualifying for 70.3 worlds in dream debut half at Geelong
The podium on debut at the half iron distance in what doubled as the Ironman Pro Series season-opener. saw Reid punch his ticket to November’s Ironman 70.3 worlds in Marbella in the process.
Oceania Triathlon Sprint Championships
Mooloolaba, Australia
* Race reduced to 2.5km run, 20km bike, 5km run duathlon due to water conditions
Women
🥇Nicole van der Kaay (NZL) – 57:26
🥈Ellie Hoitink (AUS) – 57:39
🥉Sophie Malowiecki (AUS) – 57:47
Also NZL
8. Ainsley Thorpe – 58:54
12. Brea Roderick – 59:21
14. Amara Rae – 59:36
15. Phoebe Carter – 1:00:58
20. Sophie Webber – 1:04:52
22. Charlotte Brown – 1:06:13
DNF: Lulu Johnson
Men
🥇Matthew Hauser (AUS) – 49:51
🥈Luke Schofield (AUS) – 50:35
🥉Jayden Schofield (AUS) – 50:41
Also NZL
8. Henry McMecking – 51:24
14. James Corbett – 51:54
18. Robbie White – 52:28
19. Saxon Morgan – 52:36
20. Sam Parry – 52:39
22. Finnley Oliver – 52:59
24. Joel Lange – 53:38
28. Reeve Dooney – 55:12
34: Jett Curteis – 57:19
DNF: Gus Marfell
Top photo: @nicolevdkaay
