CLARK FREEPORT ZONE - National team mainstay Jarwyn Banatao and elite race debutant Rhia Stawicki of TriClark-Scania took top honors in the 2022 Clark Duathlon Classic on Sunday.
Banatao pulled away from a fading Joey Delos Reyes in the final 5 kilometers then held off John Patrick Ciron, beating the latter by 19 seconds with a time of two hours and four seconds.
Efraim Inigo, a 2019 Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist, placed third to complete podium, finishing with a time of 2:00:32.
Delos Reyes registered the best 40km bike split of 1:02:22, but Banatao was only a second behind in T2. The streaking Ciron had covered 5km in 18:01 but it was not enough to deny Banatao victory.
Stawicki faced an early deficit in T1, but made it up with a second-best bike split and a race-best 5km second run of 21:06.
Over 400 duathletes toed the startline to kick off the multisport race season in in Clark.
“We welcome the multisport athletes back again in Clark. It’s been over two years since we organized our last event, but the advocacy remains the same; we want you to have the best race experience possible and we want you to appreciate for what Clark is, a premiere training and racing destination," said Abe Tayag, GoClark Sports event director.
With the victories, Banatao and Stawicki grabbed maximum 8 points each in Clark’s Elite Duathlete of the Year Race Points Series - a 4-race points series organized by GoClark Sports and Events.
The races - which also included the TriFactor Philippines Run-Bike-Run (June 19), New Clark City Duathlon (July 17) and Titan 77.7 Philippines (September 11) - will determine the Elite Duathlete of the Year.
The 2022 Clark Duathlon Classic is presented by Cycles and Brew and supported by Clark Development Corporation, Ayala Land Premiere, The Daily Essencials, Pocari Philippines, Garmin Phiilippines, SYLBS Performance Wear and Velogicfit.
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