Bozzone back in action - win for Pulham
Monday 7 May 2007, 9:37AM
By Fraser Mills
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Terenzo Bozzone Credit:
www.terenzo.com
Terrenzo Bozzone has returned to the International Triathlon Union World Cup with a creditably 22nd place at a hotly contested race in Lisbon overnight. Bozzone was the only Kiwi racing at the third round of the ITU World Cup circuit.
The North Shore athlete has been out of action for some months recovering from an accident that required surgery to repair knee damage but made an impressive return to racing on the back of just four weeks of training.
The ultimate goal for Bozzone is to earn qualification for the Beijing Olympics next year but to do that he must first pick up sufficient points to gain a start in the qualification races later this year.
Typically the determined Bozzone was hoping for more.
“Today could have been better I guess but when you think I have only had four weeks of preparation it wasn’t so bad. The swim was good, I was pretty much in touch with the leaders out of the water and a quick transition had me inside the top ten heading out onto the bike. It was kind of a weird course though with a lot of cobblestones and the transition was indoors. A few guys pushed quite hard on the bike through a lot of turns on what was effectively a very technical criterium style course which left little in the tank for the run but I managed to maintain reasonable form and finished pretty well.â€Â
More importantly for the 22 year old was the relative ease with which his body and in particular his troublesome knee coped with the race. The multiple junior world champion came through reasonably unscathed.
“There was a little discomfort in the knee on the run but nothing too bad, certainly nothing like it was before I had the surgery a month or so back. I still have to manage the rehabilitation carefully and not push too hard but today was a sign I am on the right track.â€Â
The race was won by Spain’s Javier Gomez from Filip Ospaly of the Czech Republic and current world number one Brad Kahlefeldt of Australia.
The points earned by Bozzone move him up 35 places to 103rd on the ITU points rankings.
VICTORY IN ASIA
It was a great weekend for Ben Pulham with victory at Subic Bay in the Phillipines, the second round of the Asian Triathlon Championship.
The Auckland athlete was almost 30 seconds clear of two Japanese athletes in a race that saw all six New Zealand males finish inside the top twelve. The win sees Pulham climb 27 places to 57th on the overall ITU points rankings and further establishes him as the fourth ranked New Zealand athlete.
Kelly Bruce finished 6th overall in the women’s field.
The North Shore athlete has been out of action for some months recovering from an accident that required surgery to repair knee damage but made an impressive return to racing on the back of just four weeks of training.
The ultimate goal for Bozzone is to earn qualification for the Beijing Olympics next year but to do that he must first pick up sufficient points to gain a start in the qualification races later this year.
Typically the determined Bozzone was hoping for more.
“Today could have been better I guess but when you think I have only had four weeks of preparation it wasn’t so bad. The swim was good, I was pretty much in touch with the leaders out of the water and a quick transition had me inside the top ten heading out onto the bike. It was kind of a weird course though with a lot of cobblestones and the transition was indoors. A few guys pushed quite hard on the bike through a lot of turns on what was effectively a very technical criterium style course which left little in the tank for the run but I managed to maintain reasonable form and finished pretty well.â€Â
More importantly for the 22 year old was the relative ease with which his body and in particular his troublesome knee coped with the race. The multiple junior world champion came through reasonably unscathed.
“There was a little discomfort in the knee on the run but nothing too bad, certainly nothing like it was before I had the surgery a month or so back. I still have to manage the rehabilitation carefully and not push too hard but today was a sign I am on the right track.â€Â
The race was won by Spain’s Javier Gomez from Filip Ospaly of the Czech Republic and current world number one Brad Kahlefeldt of Australia.
The points earned by Bozzone move him up 35 places to 103rd on the ITU points rankings.
VICTORY IN ASIA
It was a great weekend for Ben Pulham with victory at Subic Bay in the Phillipines, the second round of the Asian Triathlon Championship.
The Auckland athlete was almost 30 seconds clear of two Japanese athletes in a race that saw all six New Zealand males finish inside the top twelve. The win sees Pulham climb 27 places to 57th on the overall ITU points rankings and further establishes him as the fourth ranked New Zealand athlete.
Kelly Bruce finished 6th overall in the women’s field.