It may have been his first Julia Creek Dirt N Dust, but what Ingham’s Matt Hutchinson lacked in experience, he more than made up for in speed to take out the senior triathlon in a sizzling time of 01:12:42.
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The former New Zealander was one of the race favourites but even he found the conditions difficult.
“It was tough out there, it was a killer,” Hutchinson said.
“It was very hot with strong head winds, and even though this is just a sprint distance, the heat and the wind on that bike makes it tough.”
The win caps off a stellar 12 months for Hutchinson who now adds Julia Creek to his wins in the 2016 Townsville Triathlon, Bowen Triathlon, Port Douglas Triathlon and the Fiji International as he prepares for the Cairns Ironman.
“I’m really happy and looking forward to going to the races this afternoon and the bull riding tonight,” he said.
Matt’s training for the Cairns Ironman this year is paying off and his superb bike ride put him well clear of Ben Cooper from Townsville who finished six minutes later in second (after finishing third in 2016) and Emerald’s Lance Bennett in third.
“The bike ride was insanely tough, it didn’t leave me with much for the run,” Bennett said.
Mount Isa’s Mark Thinee finished a creditable fifth, one place behind Matt Schrodter.
The first female to cross the line was Fiona Lenz with a time of 01:30:31.
The Swiss native became an Australian citizen a week ago which lets her represent Australia in the Long Distance World Championships in Canada in August.
Now living in Cairns, Lenz said Julia Creek had been on her bucket list for a long time.
“This race certainly had some tough conditions,” Lenz said.
“But I’m expecting it to be tough in Canada as well, so it’s good preparation.”
Lenz won a great three way battle to the line ahead of Belinda Thompson from Charters Towers and former Mount Isa (now Townsville) Amanda Gowing in third for a fourth successive podium finish.
Gowing was second last year and won in 2015 and 2014.
The top three ladies finished within 45 seconds of each other.
Check out our photo gallery from the event.
Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
