After a week of rain and clouds, a perfect sunny morning greeted our NSW Development Pathway athletes at Heffron Park for Race 2 of the Billigence Pathway Championship Series (BPCS) yesterday.

Proudly hosted by Bondi Running & Triathlon Club, the day began with Youth draft-legal and non-draft legal races over a duathlon format of 1.25km run/10km cycle/1.25km run.

The draft legal race was the first opportunity for many of our Youth athletes to compete in a drafting cycle leg since being endorsed as Draft Legal by their home and Academy coaches. While challenging, it was clear that the short and fact format gave the athletes a good chance to develop their skills in mounting, dismounting and working together as a pack on the cycle course with good communication.

As the sun started to beat down, our Elite, U23 and Junior athletes toed the line for their draft legal heats. With a spectator-friendly course on the Heffron cycling track, it was exciting to watch boys mix with girls and junior athletes mix with pro athletes like Sam Douglas in the same race. Clear packs formed on the bike legs, making the dismount before the run leg even more tight for the race leaders.

After a much-needed rest and refuel, the Youth athletes took part in a clinic hosted by Regional Academy of Sport coaches, focusing on race reflection, transition efficiency and observation of the more experienced Junior & U23 athletes. In the afternoon, the A and B finals took place for our older athletes, with fast and dynamic racing on show across the board.

Triathlon NSW extends their thanks to BRATs for executing a seamless event; particularly to Race Director Chris Choi for accommodating the BPCS and ensuring the entire race was COVID-safe. Thank you also to Billigence, our series sponsor; and to the Academy coaches who helped out with the Youth clinics and athlete support on the day. 

Official race results will be available soon. 

See the full album of event photos here.