Laguna Phuket Triathlon December 2005
Absolute beauty and luxury, treated like Royalty and truly spectacular surroundings. Race start and after a reasonable swim that was it, I just could not get things going and then ...puncture...!!! No problem I will quickly put my spare on, it should only take me a minute. Well that was not the case, the tubular was stuck on all around the rim and so hard I could not get a grip to get it off. Finally after 10 minutes or who knows how long, I find something sharp and cut the tire off. It just wasn't to be my day I could not stop thinking how beautiful the place was and how I had let these people down who had expected to see me do a little better than this. Results : Greg Bennett 1st Craig Alexander 2nd Richie Cunningham3rd whilst Samantha McGlone was 6th and Laura Bennett 8th Terenzo 11th overall All that is left for me to say is I hope that I will be lucky enough to return to this magnificent place someday.
ITU World Cup Rookie of the Year 2005.
What an honor the ITU have given me. As a result of my World Cup performances this year I have been awarded the very prestigious accolade of being the 2005 ITU World Cup Rookie of the Year. Thanks to the ITU team for putting on a great 2005 season. After my 1st. year as a senior Elite Professional I am ranked 31 in World Cup Ranking and 36 on the ITU World Ranking. Not bad especially if you look at the strength of the other Triathletes on the World Circuit. almost every country have athletes that are capable of being number one in the world. Yeah! not so easy, but satisfied with 36 in the world, for now.
November 2005
Hi Everyone,
Well I am back to my base training after a well deserved rest.
Recently I was at the Auckland marathon helping out a sponsor by taking their employees for warm downs and stretches. I was there with many other athletes including Sarah Ulmer, Ben Fouhey, Beatrice Faumuina and Erika Takacs. Congratulations to all the people that took part on the day.
I attended the Secondary Schools Sports Awards in Manawatu with Kate McIlroy, the World Mountain running champion. It was great to see all the up and coming athletes.
On 5th November I participated in the Harbour Crossing Swim Race. What an experience!! There were hundreds of people and the weather was everything but ideal. The water was choppy and the waves were pretty high. I managed to finish, losing my way a bit. Congrats to Moss Burmester for taking it out on the day.
As you all know New Plymouth hosted the last ITU World Cup of the season last weekend. It was such exiting race – unfortunately I did not take part in it, but fellow Kiwis Bevan Doherty and Kris Gemmel had the most amazing race finishing 1st and 2nd respectively.
At the end of November I will be heading off to Phuket to race in the Laguna Phuket Triathlon. This will be the start of my racing for the summer. Craig Alexander and Greg Bennett from Australia are both on the start list which should prove to be an interesting race.
Cheers
Terenzo
Well I am back to my base training after a well deserved rest.
Recently I was at the Auckland marathon helping out a sponsor by taking their employees for warm downs and stretches. I was there with many other athletes including Sarah Ulmer, Ben Fouhey, Beatrice Faumuina and Erika Takacs. Congratulations to all the people that took part on the day.
I attended the Secondary Schools Sports Awards in Manawatu with Kate McIlroy, the World Mountain running champion. It was great to see all the up and coming athletes.
On 5th November I participated in the Harbour Crossing Swim Race. What an experience!! There were hundreds of people and the weather was everything but ideal. The water was choppy and the waves were pretty high. I managed to finish, losing my way a bit. Congrats to Moss Burmester for taking it out on the day.
As you all know New Plymouth hosted the last ITU World Cup of the season last weekend. It was such exiting race – unfortunately I did not take part in it, but fellow Kiwis Bevan Doherty and Kris Gemmel had the most amazing race finishing 1st and 2nd respectively.
At the end of November I will be heading off to Phuket to race in the Laguna Phuket Triathlon. This will be the start of my racing for the summer. Craig Alexander and Greg Bennett from Australia are both on the start list which should prove to be an interesting race.
Cheers
Terenzo
Hi Everyone,
Well now, I’m back in New Zealand for the summer. Last weekend in St. Kilda Melbourne there was a selection race for the final 2 spots for our commonwealth games team. Most of the kiwis where really on form this weekend. The day started off with the girls’ race at 7am. They were also racing for the final 2 spots as Samatha Warriner along with Hamish Carter’s performance’s at world championships secured their selection into the team. It came down to the run for the girls with 4 of them off the bike together. Andrea Hewitt was the top NZ girl followed by Debbie Tanner and Evelyn Williams, just missing out.
The guys were off next. The swim had a lot of turns and really made it challenging to avoid being pushed around. There was a bunch of about 15 of us heading out onto the bike and after having the worst transition of my life I managed to get back onto the pack. Nathan Richmond was really pushing the pace on the bike trying to spread out the field along with Craig Walton, one of the strongest cyclists in our sport. The bike was a mixture of turns and small hills but we all managed to make it to the end together. Heading out onto the run, is where the real race would start, with some of the best triathletes around, Bevan Docherty, Tim Don and Greg Bennet. The start was dangerously fast and I knew that I would have to hang on for as long as I could to make it onto the team. Instead of the pace toning down it seemed to get faster and faster as the race went on. There were 15 of us at the start, including fellow New Zealanders Bevan and Kris Gemmel, but with the pace so hot the leaders pack got smaller and smaller until about half way through the run, when struggling to hang on I started to drop off. I lost the leaders and the race started to go downhill, with my running getting slower as it was much harder to run by myself with the wind blowing towards me. I kept giving everything I had as I knew anything could happen on the second half, but unfortunately everyone was on form and kept up the pace. Well done Bevan and Kris.
Also, congratulations to Cameron Brown and Jo Lawn for an outstanding performance at Hawaii Iron man. As well as the many age groupers who performed very well.
Cheers
Well now, I’m back in New Zealand for the summer. Last weekend in St. Kilda Melbourne there was a selection race for the final 2 spots for our commonwealth games team. Most of the kiwis where really on form this weekend. The day started off with the girls’ race at 7am. They were also racing for the final 2 spots as Samatha Warriner along with Hamish Carter’s performance’s at world championships secured their selection into the team. It came down to the run for the girls with 4 of them off the bike together. Andrea Hewitt was the top NZ girl followed by Debbie Tanner and Evelyn Williams, just missing out.
The guys were off next. The swim had a lot of turns and really made it challenging to avoid being pushed around. There was a bunch of about 15 of us heading out onto the bike and after having the worst transition of my life I managed to get back onto the pack. Nathan Richmond was really pushing the pace on the bike trying to spread out the field along with Craig Walton, one of the strongest cyclists in our sport. The bike was a mixture of turns and small hills but we all managed to make it to the end together. Heading out onto the run, is where the real race would start, with some of the best triathletes around, Bevan Docherty, Tim Don and Greg Bennet. The start was dangerously fast and I knew that I would have to hang on for as long as I could to make it onto the team. Instead of the pace toning down it seemed to get faster and faster as the race went on. There were 15 of us at the start, including fellow New Zealanders Bevan and Kris Gemmel, but with the pace so hot the leaders pack got smaller and smaller until about half way through the run, when struggling to hang on I started to drop off. I lost the leaders and the race started to go downhill, with my running getting slower as it was much harder to run by myself with the wind blowing towards me. I kept giving everything I had as I knew anything could happen on the second half, but unfortunately everyone was on form and kept up the pace. Well done Bevan and Kris.
Also, congratulations to Cameron Brown and Jo Lawn for an outstanding performance at Hawaii Iron man. As well as the many age groupers who performed very well.
Cheers
Home Sweet Home!!
It sure is good to be back in Auckland – even the long white cloud was welcoming.
I have been away for almost 6 months. It was a great experience and I learnt heaps that will help my future as a triathlete be more successful. Since my last update I put my head down and started my grueling build up for World Champs. Having to pack up all my belongings from Canada proved a bit stressful, but with my brother Dino and my girlfriend Kelly there we managed to get through it.
What's Next
Back home and trying to focus on getting back into a steady routine. My next event will be in Melbourne on 15th October. This is a selection race for the Commonwealth Games. Hamish Carter has already got one of the spots from his great race at the World Champs, and there are 2 more spots available. It would be a great honor to represent New Zealand with Hamish Carter and all the other top New Zealand athletes.
Cheers
Terenzo
I have been away for almost 6 months. It was a great experience and I learnt heaps that will help my future as a triathlete be more successful. Since my last update I put my head down and started my grueling build up for World Champs. Having to pack up all my belongings from Canada proved a bit stressful, but with my brother Dino and my girlfriend Kelly there we managed to get through it.
What's Next
Back home and trying to focus on getting back into a steady routine. My next event will be in Melbourne on 15th October. This is a selection race for the Commonwealth Games. Hamish Carter has already got one of the spots from his great race at the World Champs, and there are 2 more spots available. It would be a great honor to represent New Zealand with Hamish Carter and all the other top New Zealand athletes.
Cheers
Terenzo
Beijing 17 September 2005
One stop down one to go as we headed off to Beijing to compete on the course for the 2008 Olympics. We stayed in a great place near the course in a town called Changping. It was close to the Great Wall of China and the Ming Tombs. The course was very different to the week before with a few more hills but not so many tight corners. Unfortunately I did not have as good a swim as the week before and missed the front bunch which I never caught – not through lack of trying. Bevan Doherty who was with me out the water managed to bridge the gap to the front bunch where team mate Kris Gemmel was. I started on the run with a couple of the top athletes in the sport, Shane Reed and Tim Don. My legs felt good and I was happy with my run finishing in 14th place. We managed to see a few of the sites and do some shopping at the markets which really proved to be a cultural experience in the great part of the world. We were treated exceptionally well by the Chinese and I know that the 2008 Olympic games will go down in the history books for years as being one of the greatest Games.
September arrived and with it came my first Elite World Championships and racing in the heat and humidity of Japan made it even tougher. I felt good, but very nervous on race day. I came out in the top pack at the end of the swim, there was a bunch of 10, but before we knew it, our pack had grown to just about the whole field, which was not ideal as it was a very technical course with a few serious crashes and a lot more near calls. All the kiwis were in the front bunch and unfortunately Nathan had mechanical problems. I came in first to transition off the bike and had an awesome first 400 meters and then realized that the lottery was not mine for the taking this time. I managed to finish the race in 27th place. Hamish finished 5th with Shane Reed finishing 11th. A lot of the top athletes found it very tough, not only because of the course and the heat but also because of trying to find a routine in such a different culture, where it was hard to find food that we were used to, which I am sure it is the same way the Japanese feel when they compete elsewhere.
HI FROM CANADA
Just back to Victoria from the round trip to Corner Brook and Edmonton World Cup Triathlon races.
Edmonton 23 July 2005
Left the next day for Edmonton with sore legs. Arrived in Edmonton but my bike didn’t…..until the next day. I was there for the week which gave me some time to see a bit of Edmonton which was manly the West Edmonton Mall, the largest shopping centre in the world.
Race morning came along and the weather wasn’t looking to good, thinking it could be a repeat of last year, where the race was cancelled due to hail storms.
It was a top quality field with the likes of Hamish Carter, Simon Whitfield, Bevan Docherty and many more top elite athletes.
Again I managed to have a good start which really set me up for the race. It was a 2 lap course and at the end of the laps I found myself running hard to transition to catch on to the leading few athletes. With Andy Potts and Craig Walton bolting from the start to gain a 2 minute lead by the end of the bike. First half of the race unfolded a lot like Corner Brook for me as there was a bunch of 10 of us on the bike. Although unlike Corner Brook managed to stay away from the chase bunch for the whole duration of the bike.
Heading onto the run in 3rd place again I knew I had to pace myself better than the week before. Unfortunately there were no gears for me to change on the run as there are on the bike. Instead of picking up the pace for the second half of the run I found myself stuck in the same gear and not being able to go any faster. It was still a good day for me as it was a top class field. Finishing in 13th place was still a great achievement for me and I really enjoyed the event.
I am going to have a well deserved easy week traveling around British Columbia seeing the sights before I start my build up to world champs, which are in September in Japan.
Hope everyone is well and keeping healthy.
Cheers
Terenzo
Race morning came along and the weather wasn’t looking to good, thinking it could be a repeat of last year, where the race was cancelled due to hail storms.
It was a top quality field with the likes of Hamish Carter, Simon Whitfield, Bevan Docherty and many more top elite athletes.
Again I managed to have a good start which really set me up for the race. It was a 2 lap course and at the end of the laps I found myself running hard to transition to catch on to the leading few athletes. With Andy Potts and Craig Walton bolting from the start to gain a 2 minute lead by the end of the bike. First half of the race unfolded a lot like Corner Brook for me as there was a bunch of 10 of us on the bike. Although unlike Corner Brook managed to stay away from the chase bunch for the whole duration of the bike.
Heading onto the run in 3rd place again I knew I had to pace myself better than the week before. Unfortunately there were no gears for me to change on the run as there are on the bike. Instead of picking up the pace for the second half of the run I found myself stuck in the same gear and not being able to go any faster. It was still a good day for me as it was a top class field. Finishing in 13th place was still a great achievement for me and I really enjoyed the event.
I am going to have a well deserved easy week traveling around British Columbia seeing the sights before I start my build up to world champs, which are in September in Japan.
Hope everyone is well and keeping healthy.
Cheers
Terenzo
Corner Brook 17 July 2005
1st stop, Newfoundland, Corner Brook, which is North-east of Canada, so far in the middle of nowhere that they have a 30 minute time difference, from the nearest mainland, but the people were very hospitable. The country side was very much like New Zealand.
I arrived there a couple of days earlier, to go over the course, to discover it was going to a tough and grueling course.
Race day came along and the sun was shinning.
Off to a great start in the swim and tried to set myself up for what was going to be a tough swim bike transition as we had to run up a steep 400m hill to get to our bikes. I was out of the water in about 5th place but had to give everything to get onto the top few guys, like Tim Don, Victor Plata and our very own Nathan Richmond. There was a break away of about 10 elite athletes for the first 30km of the race, but we just couldn’t seem to get working and the bunch increased as the chasing pack caught us. 2 cyclists got away and made a 1 min gap on the rest of the field. I was 3rd into transition and ran out with Tim Don at an extremely fast pace, which was probably not the best idea as after the first couple of kilometers my legs realised this wasn’t the pace for me and I spent the next 6 km battling over the strenuous hills trying to find my legs. At this stage I was probably in about 17th place. At this stage I had to push the red button that reads “do not push” and managed to run myself into 11th place. It is still early in the season for me and this was a great stepping stone as I learnt a lot which will hopefully benefit me at World Champs later in the year.
I arrived there a couple of days earlier, to go over the course, to discover it was going to a tough and grueling course.
Race day came along and the sun was shinning.
Off to a great start in the swim and tried to set myself up for what was going to be a tough swim bike transition as we had to run up a steep 400m hill to get to our bikes. I was out of the water in about 5th place but had to give everything to get onto the top few guys, like Tim Don, Victor Plata and our very own Nathan Richmond. There was a break away of about 10 elite athletes for the first 30km of the race, but we just couldn’t seem to get working and the bunch increased as the chasing pack caught us. 2 cyclists got away and made a 1 min gap on the rest of the field. I was 3rd into transition and ran out with Tim Don at an extremely fast pace, which was probably not the best idea as after the first couple of kilometers my legs realised this wasn’t the pace for me and I spent the next 6 km battling over the strenuous hills trying to find my legs. At this stage I was probably in about 17th place. At this stage I had to push the red button that reads “do not push” and managed to run myself into 11th place. It is still early in the season for me and this was a great stepping stone as I learnt a lot which will hopefully benefit me at World Champs later in the year.
Specialized May 2005
Terenzo finds a company with the right attitude and signsup with Specialized for: bike frame, helmet, cycle shoes, and cycling clothes.
Hey everyone - Hope you're all well back home in NZ.I've just finished the 2nd race of my adventure, the Wildflower Half Ironman. We arrived on Sunday night to a place that was in the middle of nowhere, then spent the week going over what would be the hardest and toughest course of my life. It was a huge shock to see the course and to know that the strongest athletes in the sport will be competing for the one spot as well. Took it all on board and turned it into positives, and knew I could learn a lot by racing on this course with these athletes.
Race morning came and at 8am we were off for our 1.9km swim. Managed to stick with the top guys in the water and got out of transition in 4th spot. I knew I was going to have to pace myself carefully on the ride and that the race would only start 60km into it. I was leading the ride for the first 40km with Simon Lessing, Bjorn Andersonn and Andrew Johns. All of sudden Norman Stadler the world ironman champion and Torbjorn Sindballe, the "Great Dane" came flying past, which immediately picked up the pace. Trying to stick to my own plan which must of been similar to Simon Lessing's, I backed off the pace a bit to save my legs for the run, which was going to be the deciding factor. And as I had been warned the 60km came, along with the steepest up hill section of the course. Trying to keep the pace on till end of the bike, I found myself passing Bjorn Andersonn and riding in 4th place. I could feel my legs starting to cramp but managed to make it to the end of the bike in 4th place, 2 and a half minute's behind the leader. Off into the run with Simon Lessing, probably one of the most renowned names of the sport, I tried to hang with him as long as I could but found my legs started to give way on the hilly course at 5km. I found the best rhythm I could that would get me to the finish line, as now it was just a matter of surviving as the heat was kicking in. The spectators were amazing and kept my spirits up. Coming down to the turning point at 17km, I had a chance to see what Normann Stadler had left. I wasn't going to settle for 4th place, I wanted to get on the podium this time, so I started to pick up the pace on the last uphill section of the race. Giving everything I had left, I could see I was getting closer and closer to Normann. The unthinkable happened and I past the world's greatest with 3km to go.
At the end of the day, although I wasn't standing on the top of the podium I was so overwhelmed to have finished 3rd in such a top quality field, 4 minutes behind the winner Simon Lessing in a time of 4hrs, 4min.
My girlfriend Kelly and I have just started our trip around the Western States area, with our final destination Victoria, Canada on about 9th May. Thanks everyone for the ongoing support, without your help I wouldn't be able to achieve these results.
Have a great winter, I'll catch the sun for you all. I'll keep in touch.
Best wishes
Race morning came and at 8am we were off for our 1.9km swim. Managed to stick with the top guys in the water and got out of transition in 4th spot. I knew I was going to have to pace myself carefully on the ride and that the race would only start 60km into it. I was leading the ride for the first 40km with Simon Lessing, Bjorn Andersonn and Andrew Johns. All of sudden Norman Stadler the world ironman champion and Torbjorn Sindballe, the "Great Dane" came flying past, which immediately picked up the pace. Trying to stick to my own plan which must of been similar to Simon Lessing's, I backed off the pace a bit to save my legs for the run, which was going to be the deciding factor. And as I had been warned the 60km came, along with the steepest up hill section of the course. Trying to keep the pace on till end of the bike, I found myself passing Bjorn Andersonn and riding in 4th place. I could feel my legs starting to cramp but managed to make it to the end of the bike in 4th place, 2 and a half minute's behind the leader. Off into the run with Simon Lessing, probably one of the most renowned names of the sport, I tried to hang with him as long as I could but found my legs started to give way on the hilly course at 5km. I found the best rhythm I could that would get me to the finish line, as now it was just a matter of surviving as the heat was kicking in. The spectators were amazing and kept my spirits up. Coming down to the turning point at 17km, I had a chance to see what Normann Stadler had left. I wasn't going to settle for 4th place, I wanted to get on the podium this time, so I started to pick up the pace on the last uphill section of the race. Giving everything I had left, I could see I was getting closer and closer to Normann. The unthinkable happened and I past the world's greatest with 3km to go.
At the end of the day, although I wasn't standing on the top of the podium I was so overwhelmed to have finished 3rd in such a top quality field, 4 minutes behind the winner Simon Lessing in a time of 4hrs, 4min.
My girlfriend Kelly and I have just started our trip around the Western States area, with our final destination Victoria, Canada on about 9th May. Thanks everyone for the ongoing support, without your help I wouldn't be able to achieve these results.
Have a great winter, I'll catch the sun for you all. I'll keep in touch.
Best wishes
Terenzo
Honolulu 17 April 2005
Hey everyone,
Hope all is well and sunny in NZ. I have just finished the first world cup of the season in Hawaii. Had a bit of a slow start and struggled through the swim but once I got going on the bike I started to come right. The pace was a bit slow as it was hot and windy and nobody wanted to do any work. A few guys got up the road in a break away including Matt Reed a former New Zealander and got up to over a 1 minute lead. I came into transition near the front of the bunch and headed off into the heat. I started off really strong and tried to hold the pace as long as I could. Tim Don from Great Britain and Hunter Kemper from America and I were chasing down the leaders and the gap was closing quickly. I managed to hold on until the third lap were I started to loose them slowly. Half way through the last lap Courtney Atkinson from Australia came flying past and I had nothing left to try and hang onto him. I finished in forth place, a great result for me. Also had the second fastest bike time and ran 31minutes for the run.
Will keep you posted with my progress
Terenzo
Hope all is well and sunny in NZ. I have just finished the first world cup of the season in Hawaii. Had a bit of a slow start and struggled through the swim but once I got going on the bike I started to come right. The pace was a bit slow as it was hot and windy and nobody wanted to do any work. A few guys got up the road in a break away including Matt Reed a former New Zealander and got up to over a 1 minute lead. I came into transition near the front of the bunch and headed off into the heat. I started off really strong and tried to hold the pace as long as I could. Tim Don from Great Britain and Hunter Kemper from America and I were chasing down the leaders and the gap was closing quickly. I managed to hold on until the third lap were I started to loose them slowly. Half way through the last lap Courtney Atkinson from Australia came flying past and I had nothing left to try and hang onto him. I finished in forth place, a great result for me. Also had the second fastest bike time and ran 31minutes for the run.
Will keep you posted with my progress
Terenzo
Port of Tauranga Half Ironman January 2005
Just completed the Tauranga Half Ironman and after having had a puncture which set me back over 3 minutes I managed to finish in 6th position. I completed the course in 3:52:34 The winner of the race was Australian Craig Alexander with Kieran Doe 2nd and Levi Maxwell 3rd.
Tauranga has got to be one of my favorite places. it has great surf and beautiful beaches and this year in particular the race seemed to be run really well. I think I was one of very few people who punctured, because the course was quite clean.
