TriFactor Series back with a bang for 10th anniversary
Blakie and Hill take top honours in CycleRun, Ng and Serene win 49km Bike
All action photos courtesy of Zan Ang/TriFactor
April 24, 2018
The TriFactor Series returned on Sunday for its 10th anniversary and kicked the special 2018 edition off with the TriFactor Bike and CycleRun Challenge in an exciting downtown Singapore location centred on the Nicoll Highway. From a race card jam-packed with events of different distances and formats, the main multisports winners were Alan Blackie (Integrated Riding) and Vicki Hill (APS) in the Long Distance CycleRun Challenge, while among the pure cyclists, it was Brian Ng (Matador Racing) and Serene Lee (Masslandster International Women’s Cycling Team) who prevailed in the 49km Bike Race.
The TriFactor Series began its life in 2009 as a four-race series aimed at Singapore’s triathlon community, which saw individual TriFactor Swim, TriFactor Bike and TriFactor Run events spread out over the first half the year, before culminating in the TriFactor Triathlon.
The popular series has evolved in recent years, with one of the main changes being the addition of a multisports element to the individual race dates. For the TriFactor Bike, this meant the inclusion of the CycleRun Challenge, a duathlon with two significant differences from the norm.
While duathlons traditionally adopt a run-bike-run format, with drafting forbidden in the cycling leg, the TriFactor CycleRun Challenge uses a bike-run-bike formula where drafting on the bike is permitted. This obviously brings a significant swing in favour of the stronger cyclists over the runners, especially those with experience in bike racing.
The TriFactor Series returned on Sunday for its 10th anniversary and kicked the special 2018 edition off with the TriFactor Bike and CycleRun Challenge in an exciting downtown Singapore location centred on the Nicoll Highway. From a race card jam-packed with events of different distances and formats, the main multisports winners were Alan Blackie (Integrated Riding) and Vicki Hill (APS) in the Long Distance CycleRun Challenge, while among the pure cyclists, it was Brian Ng (Matador Racing) and Serene Lee (Masslandster International Women’s Cycling Team) who prevailed in the 49km Bike Race.
The TriFactor Series began its life in 2009 as a four-race series aimed at Singapore’s triathlon community, which saw individual TriFactor Swim, TriFactor Bike and TriFactor Run events spread out over the first half the year, before culminating in the TriFactor Triathlon.
The popular series has evolved in recent years, with one of the main changes being the addition of a multisports element to the individual race dates. For the TriFactor Bike, this meant the inclusion of the CycleRun Challenge, a duathlon with two significant differences from the norm.
While duathlons traditionally adopt a run-bike-run format, with drafting forbidden in the cycling leg, the TriFactor CycleRun Challenge uses a bike-run-bike formula where drafting on the bike is permitted. This obviously brings a significant swing in favour of the stronger cyclists over the runners, especially those with experience in bike racing.
The men's Standard CycleRun race gets underway
The cycling course for the Bike and CycleRun elements of the event was the same, a 7km circuit taking in the Nicoll Highway and Republic Avenue. While the long, flat and wide-open straights of the Nichol made it a super-fast circuit, four U-turns on each lap added a technical challenge to proceedings.
The main 5km run course was also flat and featured a scenic out-and-back trip along the Kallang River … well at least it was scenic for those competing after daybreak; the first wave of competitors was flagged off at 4:30am!
The extra-early start was necessitated by the fact that the Nicoll Highway is the main arterial route linking the East Coast and downtown districts of Singapore. Its physical attributes make the Nicoll perfect for a cycling race, but getting permission to close it for an entire Sunday morning would have been a logistical step too far for race organisers Orange Room, not to mention cost-prohibitive.
Hence the early start. And there was a lot to fit in before the scheduled end of racing at 9am.
In addition to the Long CycleRun and the 49km Bike Race, Standard, Sprint and Freshman CycleRun contests were also on the race card, as well as the 35km Bike Race and a 5km Kids Bike Race. Including Men’s and Women’s, Open, Veterans and Relay categories, 18 waves of competitors were released at various intervals throughout the morning. This meant many groups were on the bike course at the same time, which inevitably led to some instances of inter-bunch merging, which in turn created some thrills and spills.
The main 5km run course was also flat and featured a scenic out-and-back trip along the Kallang River … well at least it was scenic for those competing after daybreak; the first wave of competitors was flagged off at 4:30am!
The extra-early start was necessitated by the fact that the Nicoll Highway is the main arterial route linking the East Coast and downtown districts of Singapore. Its physical attributes make the Nicoll perfect for a cycling race, but getting permission to close it for an entire Sunday morning would have been a logistical step too far for race organisers Orange Room, not to mention cost-prohibitive.
Hence the early start. And there was a lot to fit in before the scheduled end of racing at 9am.
In addition to the Long CycleRun and the 49km Bike Race, Standard, Sprint and Freshman CycleRun contests were also on the race card, as well as the 35km Bike Race and a 5km Kids Bike Race. Including Men’s and Women’s, Open, Veterans and Relay categories, 18 waves of competitors were released at various intervals throughout the morning. This meant many groups were on the bike course at the same time, which inevitably led to some instances of inter-bunch merging, which in turn created some thrills and spills.
Almost 100 women and girls participated in the TriFactor Bike and CycleRun
The men’s Long CycleRun Challenge kicked things off, with the competitors facing a 10km run sandwiched in between two 28km bike legs.
An attack from Blakie straight from the gun saw the combined men’s Open and Veterans field shattered to smithereens, with only four men able to get onto the Englishman’s wheel by the time he reached the first of the Nicoll Highway U-turns. Joining Blakie was fellow Open category racer Colin Mitchell (MatadorRacing), and three Veterans, Gordon Durnan (Anza Cycling), Jeremy Snoad (APS) and Alan Grant (Specialized Roval Mavericks). Swapping turns, the quintet worked well together on the completely empty roads, and had opened up a lead of about a minute after the first lap of four on the much bigger chase group.
Blakie, though, was putting pressure on the lead bunch at each of the 180-degree turns, and midway through Lap 2, this resulted in Snoad losing contact. The remaining four stuck together for the rest of the opening leg and came into T1 with an almost 2-minute lead on the next group, some of whom had been lucky enough to latch onto the Men’s 49km Bike Race field, which had been released onto the course a few minutes after Blakie and Co passed the start pen at the end of Lap 2.
Blakie tore through transition, hitting the run course first and soon opening up a gap that only got bigger as the race progressed. Mitchell and Durnan gamely gave chase, but Blakie was in a league of his own. He covered the two-lap run leg in a shade over 40 minutes, a lightening fast pace considering he’d just ridden an all-out 28km and had to keep something in the tank for another 28km on the bike.
An attack from Blakie straight from the gun saw the combined men’s Open and Veterans field shattered to smithereens, with only four men able to get onto the Englishman’s wheel by the time he reached the first of the Nicoll Highway U-turns. Joining Blakie was fellow Open category racer Colin Mitchell (MatadorRacing), and three Veterans, Gordon Durnan (Anza Cycling), Jeremy Snoad (APS) and Alan Grant (Specialized Roval Mavericks). Swapping turns, the quintet worked well together on the completely empty roads, and had opened up a lead of about a minute after the first lap of four on the much bigger chase group.
Blakie, though, was putting pressure on the lead bunch at each of the 180-degree turns, and midway through Lap 2, this resulted in Snoad losing contact. The remaining four stuck together for the rest of the opening leg and came into T1 with an almost 2-minute lead on the next group, some of whom had been lucky enough to latch onto the Men’s 49km Bike Race field, which had been released onto the course a few minutes after Blakie and Co passed the start pen at the end of Lap 2.
Blakie tore through transition, hitting the run course first and soon opening up a gap that only got bigger as the race progressed. Mitchell and Durnan gamely gave chase, but Blakie was in a league of his own. He covered the two-lap run leg in a shade over 40 minutes, a lightening fast pace considering he’d just ridden an all-out 28km and had to keep something in the tank for another 28km on the bike.
Top man Blakie
Mitchell hit T2 some 5 minutes later and he was joined by Clifford Scott, who had come storming through the field on the run, having been nearly 3 minutes off the pace on the bike.
But despite working together on the second bike leg, Mitchell and Scott (and later Durnan who hitched a ride on one of the bike race packs) couldn’t eat into the solo Blakie’s lead. Indeed, the Englishman covered that final leg some 60 seconds faster than the pursuants.
Blakie crossed the finish line 2 hours, 11 minutes and 32 seconds after he started for a resounding victory. Mitchell was the runner-up nearly 7 minutes back, with Scott just behind in third.
Durnan was fourth overall and first in the Veterans, followed by Grant and Snoad at significant gaps behind.
Post-race, a smiling Blakie was obviously delighted with his win and was effusive in his praise for the event.
“It was a good race, a hard race, and it’s nice to have a bike and then a run and then you get to go out on the bike again and give it another go,” he said. “The race organisation was really good, they do a good job the TriFactor guys.”
“It was a nice bike course, almost the same as the MetaSport City60 duathlon course, which I like. Nice and flat, lots of room and fast,” said Blakie, who also added that he didn’t mind running in the dark. “It’s nice when the sun’s not up, a bit cooler. It’s a good run course.”
Tactically, Blakie revealed that he wanted to make it hard as he was using the event as a warm-up for Ironman 70.3 Vietnam in three weeks time.
“My plan was to put the hurt in on the first bike leg, try to get away early with a few of the other guys and work together, which we did. Put the hurt in on the corners, make it hard on the run for the (breakaway) guys, build a gap, and then hold onto that for the second bike, which all worked to plan,” the new champion said. “I pushed the second bike as well. This was training for the Danang 70.3 so I wanted to make sure I gave it a good go on all three legs.”
That he certainly did. Blakie seems to like duathlons, as he also won the 2018 MetaSprint Series Duathlon in March.
But despite working together on the second bike leg, Mitchell and Scott (and later Durnan who hitched a ride on one of the bike race packs) couldn’t eat into the solo Blakie’s lead. Indeed, the Englishman covered that final leg some 60 seconds faster than the pursuants.
Blakie crossed the finish line 2 hours, 11 minutes and 32 seconds after he started for a resounding victory. Mitchell was the runner-up nearly 7 minutes back, with Scott just behind in third.
Durnan was fourth overall and first in the Veterans, followed by Grant and Snoad at significant gaps behind.
Post-race, a smiling Blakie was obviously delighted with his win and was effusive in his praise for the event.
“It was a good race, a hard race, and it’s nice to have a bike and then a run and then you get to go out on the bike again and give it another go,” he said. “The race organisation was really good, they do a good job the TriFactor guys.”
“It was a nice bike course, almost the same as the MetaSport City60 duathlon course, which I like. Nice and flat, lots of room and fast,” said Blakie, who also added that he didn’t mind running in the dark. “It’s nice when the sun’s not up, a bit cooler. It’s a good run course.”
Tactically, Blakie revealed that he wanted to make it hard as he was using the event as a warm-up for Ironman 70.3 Vietnam in three weeks time.
“My plan was to put the hurt in on the first bike leg, try to get away early with a few of the other guys and work together, which we did. Put the hurt in on the corners, make it hard on the run for the (breakaway) guys, build a gap, and then hold onto that for the second bike, which all worked to plan,” the new champion said. “I pushed the second bike as well. This was training for the Danang 70.3 so I wanted to make sure I gave it a good go on all three legs.”
That he certainly did. Blakie seems to like duathlons, as he also won the 2018 MetaSprint Series Duathlon in March.
The women's Long CycleRun podium
The women’s Long CycleRun Challenge played out in a similar fashion to the men’s race, with a group of five ladies separating themselves from the rest of the field early in the race. Joining Hill were Sarah Schneider (Matador Racing), Jenny Neuse, Socheata Ung and Heidi Groensedt, the last of who was the only Veteran in the quintet.
Like the lead men, they swapped turns and hit T1 well clear of the rest of the women. Going into the second leg, Hill, a renowned runner and former ITU Long Distance Triathlon world champion, was always likely to be the favourite, and she duly covered the 10km some 2 minutes faster than Schneider.
The Englishwoman couldn’t rest on her laurels on the second bike, though, as Schneider has been in scintillating form on the bike this year, winning races in such events as the Tour of Phuket and Tour de Bintan. And true to form, Schneider did cover the second bike about a minute quicker than Hill, but the champion was never really threatened and also scored a nice assist from her APS teammate Snoad when the fate of the TriFactor format brought them together on the course midway through the final leg.
Hill’s winning time was 2 hours, 29 minutes and 25 seconds, with Schneider just over a minute behind in second. Neuse took the final spot on the podium in third.
Like Blakie, Hill too was all smiles after the race.
“I’m delighted to have won, very pleased with myself. I had a good first bike and then I went hard out on the run. I started out hard again on the second bike and then luckily I came across a teammate, Jeremy Snoad, and he helped me round on that leg,” Hill said.
“It’s a good race, it’s exciting to do something a little bit different, I’ve never done a bike-run-bike before so it was good to mix it up and do something a little bit different,” she added.
Hill loves the TriFactor Series but with her sights aimed high at the Ironman World Champs in Kona, she revealed that she's unlikely to take any further part in the 2018 series.
“I’d like to do more of the TriFactor races, but probably not this year as unfortunately they all fall on dates on when I’m overseas. But I like them, it’s definitely good to have some diverse types of racing, so they’ve done well introducing different disciplines, different distances,” she said.
Like the lead men, they swapped turns and hit T1 well clear of the rest of the women. Going into the second leg, Hill, a renowned runner and former ITU Long Distance Triathlon world champion, was always likely to be the favourite, and she duly covered the 10km some 2 minutes faster than Schneider.
The Englishwoman couldn’t rest on her laurels on the second bike, though, as Schneider has been in scintillating form on the bike this year, winning races in such events as the Tour of Phuket and Tour de Bintan. And true to form, Schneider did cover the second bike about a minute quicker than Hill, but the champion was never really threatened and also scored a nice assist from her APS teammate Snoad when the fate of the TriFactor format brought them together on the course midway through the final leg.
Hill’s winning time was 2 hours, 29 minutes and 25 seconds, with Schneider just over a minute behind in second. Neuse took the final spot on the podium in third.
Like Blakie, Hill too was all smiles after the race.
“I’m delighted to have won, very pleased with myself. I had a good first bike and then I went hard out on the run. I started out hard again on the second bike and then luckily I came across a teammate, Jeremy Snoad, and he helped me round on that leg,” Hill said.
“It’s a good race, it’s exciting to do something a little bit different, I’ve never done a bike-run-bike before so it was good to mix it up and do something a little bit different,” she added.
Hill loves the TriFactor Series but with her sights aimed high at the Ironman World Champs in Kona, she revealed that she's unlikely to take any further part in the 2018 series.
“I’d like to do more of the TriFactor races, but probably not this year as unfortunately they all fall on dates on when I’m overseas. But I like them, it’s definitely good to have some diverse types of racing, so they’ve done well introducing different disciplines, different distances,” she said.
Many of Singapore's most promising young riders took part in the 35km Bike Race
Following the Long CycleRun Challenge athletes onto the course were the pure cyclists for the Men’s 49km Bike Race. A quality field including many Singapore national riders as well as some of the region’s best amateur roadies lined up in the start pen, and so it was no surprise that the race started at breakneck speed.
The U-turns were the main attacking points as a stream of riders dived in trying to build an advantage, but nothing got away from those initial attacks. As the 7-lap race developed, a few forays managed to break free, with one two-man move spending a significant time out front before being slowly reeled in. The decisive moment in the race came on Lap 5 when a vicious attack initiated by Boon Kiak Yeo (Berwick Cycles) resulted in a group of seven or eight riders separating themselves from the peloton. Among the riders to make the selection with Yeo were Bastian Dohling (Specialized Roval Mavericks), Ghaffari Krisna (Geylang Cycling Team), and Ng, David Cheam and Michael Naert of Matador Racing.
Rather than attack each other, this group worked together to maintain their advantage over the chase group until late in the last lap when the battle recommenced. The penultimate U-turn on the circuit where Republic Avenue goes under the Nichol Highway was the spot where it kicked off and the riders were strung out as they approached the final U-turn. With the finish line only 200 metres from the turn, getting into that corner first was crucial.
The U-turns were the main attacking points as a stream of riders dived in trying to build an advantage, but nothing got away from those initial attacks. As the 7-lap race developed, a few forays managed to break free, with one two-man move spending a significant time out front before being slowly reeled in. The decisive moment in the race came on Lap 5 when a vicious attack initiated by Boon Kiak Yeo (Berwick Cycles) resulted in a group of seven or eight riders separating themselves from the peloton. Among the riders to make the selection with Yeo were Bastian Dohling (Specialized Roval Mavericks), Ghaffari Krisna (Geylang Cycling Team), and Ng, David Cheam and Michael Naert of Matador Racing.
Rather than attack each other, this group worked together to maintain their advantage over the chase group until late in the last lap when the battle recommenced. The penultimate U-turn on the circuit where Republic Avenue goes under the Nichol Highway was the spot where it kicked off and the riders were strung out as they approached the final U-turn. With the finish line only 200 metres from the turn, getting into that corner first was crucial.
Brian Ng (right) outlasting Boon Kiak Yeo for the 49km Bike Race win
Unfortunately the leaders hit the vital turn at the same time as a group of slower riders from one of the other waves. As well as guts, skill and power, a bit of luck was now required as the leaders dived into the bend. It was Dohling who emerged from the melee with the slightest of leads, but the German couldn’t kick again and Ng came flying by him and shot for the line. The young Singaporean sprinter just held on from Yeo for the win, with Krisna pipping Dohling for third and the final spot on the podium. Ng’s winning time was 1 hour, 15 minutes and 37.1 seconds.
Starting a wave behind were the riders from the Men’s Veterans 49km Bike Race, and the winner Ben Arnott (Specialized Roval Mavericks) broke away early in the race and time-trialled his way to victory in a time only 7 seconds slower than the Men’s Open; another remarkable performance from a remarkable rider.
In the Women’s 49km Bike Race, Singapore national superstar Lee was happy to sit in for a few laps before breaking away almost at ease to go on and claim a solo victory. Her winning time was 1:24:12, with the runner up Chawaree Termtanah (Guerciotti Cycling Team) coming in 2 minutes later. Sarah Tan (NewMoon KHCycles) was third.
The 2018 TriFactor Bike and CycleRun Challenge was a big success, with some 650 people taking part in the many categories that were offered on the race card. For full results, click on this link.
Starting a wave behind were the riders from the Men’s Veterans 49km Bike Race, and the winner Ben Arnott (Specialized Roval Mavericks) broke away early in the race and time-trialled his way to victory in a time only 7 seconds slower than the Men’s Open; another remarkable performance from a remarkable rider.
In the Women’s 49km Bike Race, Singapore national superstar Lee was happy to sit in for a few laps before breaking away almost at ease to go on and claim a solo victory. Her winning time was 1:24:12, with the runner up Chawaree Termtanah (Guerciotti Cycling Team) coming in 2 minutes later. Sarah Tan (NewMoon KHCycles) was third.
The 2018 TriFactor Bike and CycleRun Challenge was a big success, with some 650 people taking part in the many categories that were offered on the race card. For full results, click on this link.
Serene Lee takes centre stage on the women's 49km Bike Race podium
Any event that gets over 600 people out racing bicycles in Singapore is to be lauded, but taking a little shine of the TriFactor Bike’s gleam is that format that sees riders of different speeds and abilities on a multi-lap course at the same time. Crashes are of course an integral part of bike racing, but there were quite a few on Sunday. Many were no doubt caused by cautious inexperience meeting daredevil experience at crucial moments. Maybe a tweak to the format, perhaps with the bike races finishing before allowing the CycleRun events to start, might help lessen the risks of crashes.
The local 2018 TriFactor Series moves onto the TriFactor Run and RunSwim Challenge on July 8, with the TriFactor 10 Challenge and Triathlon set for July 28. Visit www.trifactor.sg for full details and to register. Details can also be found on the TriFactor website about an exciting international element to the series this year.
All action photos courtesy of Zan Ang/TriFactor.
The local 2018 TriFactor Series moves onto the TriFactor Run and RunSwim Challenge on July 8, with the TriFactor 10 Challenge and Triathlon set for July 28. Visit www.trifactor.sg for full details and to register. Details can also be found on the TriFactor website about an exciting international element to the series this year.
All action photos courtesy of Zan Ang/TriFactor.
The 5km Kids Bike Race was an inspiring way to finish the racing action