For those of you who think you have to stay off your bike all winter, you should know that there’s a sport called winter triathlon. The national championships were held Sunday in Bend, Ore. After finishing second two consecutive years to Mike Kloser, Brian Smith of Gunnison, Colo., won the USA Triathlon Winter Triathlon on Sunday. But Smith had to wait until Kloser raced as a 50-year-old to get his win.
Smith, 34, finished the winter triathlon course, which consisted of running, mountain biking and cross country skiing legs (all on snow), in 59 minutes, 3 seconds. Kloser from Vail, Colo., placed second, finishing in 1:02:15. Placing third was Carl Deck, 33, of Bend, who finished the course in 1:03:24.
Rebecca Dussault, 29, of Gunnison, Colo., won the women’s race with a time of 1:05:39. Emma Garrard, 28, of Truckee, Calif., placed second (1:15:20), Heather Best, of Fairbanks, Alaska, took third (1:15:43).
Here’s the list of age-group champions:
M30-34: Kevin Cummisford, Brookline, Mass., 1:10:03
M35-39: Jason Jablonski, Wenatchee, Wash., 1:11:25
M40-44: Bill McCann, Ketchum, Idaho, 1:11:44
M45-49: Paul Parsons, Bend, Ore., 1:11:23
M50-54: Dave Skinkle, Bend, Ore., 1:28:35
M55-59; Jim West, Vancouver, Wash., 2:39:05
M60-64: Tad Hodgert, Bend, Ore., 1:33:19
W45-49: Carolyn Daubeny, Bend, Ore., 1:23:09
W55-59: Diane Proud, Irving, Texas, 3:26:46
The top three finishers qualify for the Winter Triathlon World Championship in Gaishorn, Austria, in February.
