Kyle Smith and Els Visser share their thoughts following Challenge Wanaka wins
With races now coming thick and fast as we enter the start of the season, Challenge Family kicked off their calendar in New Zealand with Challenge Wanaka.
On the South Island, home star Kyle Smith and Dutch pro Els Visser took home the titles after two commanding victories over the middle distance.
Sharing their thoughts after the race, both athletes were delighted to have a great day and look forward to even more success throughout the rest of the season.
âIâm super stoked to take the win hereâ
For Visser, the win was made even sweeter by the fact that she had just fell short last year, where she finished second behind Australian Grace Thek.
âIâm super stoked to take the win here, especially after taking second last year, so itâs great to be back and to take the win is extra special.
âI knew I had some work to do after the swim, Rebecca [Clarke] is just an incredible swimmer so I had some work to do and I had to close at least four minutes.
âI knew with the challenging bike course, which was super hard and the run as well, that I could be patient and race my own race.
âI was a little surprised I closed the gap so well on the bike, at about 40km I had already closed four minutes and I just kept pushing and pushing and felt really good.
âLuckily once I got on to the run I was able to enjoy it a little bit. The environment here is amazing and it was just an incredible day.âÂ
âIt was one of those magical daysâ
For Smith, the race win marked a strong return to training and racing after falling sick a month and a half ago with Covid-19.
[Photo Credit â Challenge Family]
âIt was one of those magical days really, you donât get many of them in your career and that was probably the best Iâve ever had in three years, since the start of 2021.
âIt was a complete performance for me which I havenât put together in a while and I felt really good today coming out of the water with a small lead.
âI wasnât sure what to expect after having Covid six weeks ago, but Iâve had a really good training camp down here in Wanaka with Braden [Currie] and today I was able to put it all together.âÂ
Written by
Tomos Land
Tomos Land is a triathlon & running journalist whose expertise lies in the professional world of short course & long distance triathlon, though he also boasts an extensive knowledge of ultra-running.
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