Amy Gagnon and Mike Vine proved to be the fastest triathletes on snow at the second annual Winter Meltdown triathlon, Saturday (March 31).
The expert event combined a 10 kilometre cross-country ski, five km run and 10 km mountain bike ride on Canmore Nordic Centre trails. It also acted as a fundraiser for Cross Country Canada.
Vine, an Xterra triathlon champ, won the expert men’s category with a time of 1:18:21, two minutes and twenty-three seconds ahead of Alaric Fish. Vine isn’t an experienced skier, however, he managed to hang in and make his move at the end for the win.
“I was jittery on the skis, and wasn’t digging in at first, but this was a fun event and a good challenge,” Vine said.
His performance on the bike was also improved from last year.
“This year, I was on my new Rocky Mountain bike and managed to keep upright. Last year I had three headplants.”
The event acted as a warm-up for his season, which will include several off-road Xterra triathlons around the world.
“I have races in Brazil and Mexico I’d like to do.”
Fish said the winter triathlon suits his athletic taste.
“It was a really good race today. I’m a generalist and it’s rare to find a race that combines three sports I like,” Fish said.
Fish spent a week riding in Utah before the triathlon, and the added fitness paid dividends. The weather co-operated to keep the bike track frozen, much to the delight of the competitors.
“Because it was frozen, it was an easy bike.”
Jon Arne Enevoldsen finished third. He would have liked to have pushed harder on his skis, but was happy with his result.
Gagnon was the only woman entered in the sport 25 km category and posted a strong time of 1:47:06.5. The result allows her to claim the provincial winter triathlon title, and slingshot into a summer season of mountain bike racing.
Other winners included Alan Bunn (duathlon men), Leigh Monaghan (triathlon women), Darren Barber (men’s sport), Team Winsport (team relay men’s), and Team Ascent Physio (team relay mixed).
