Team Riptide traveled to St. Petersburg, FL to start their racing season and get back into the swing of racing.
The race was marked by the cancellation of the swim for age group competitors due to dangerous water conditions in Tampa Bay. Winds caused significant chop and waves that professionals were tasked with battling before setting off on the bike.
Jocelyn Petrella had the highest team finish of the day in 16th place. Petrella exited the water in 19th, lost a few spots with the 20th fastest bike of the day, but rallied to a 38:45 run.
On the mens side, Matt Balzer and Dan MacKenzie were the first Riptide athletes out of the water with Jordan Jones following one minute behind after a tough swim. On the bike, Jones pulled through the field and got off the bike seconds behind Balzer. Jones hit the pavement running and recorded the 7th fastest run of the day, covering the 10k run in 32:53 at 5:18 pace. This placed him in 19th at 1:55:02. Mackenzie was next to finish after a solid 33:42 placing him in 28th. Balzer finished in 33rd place.
On the elite amateur side, Bethany Handley, Amy Dannwolf, and Cyrus Severance raced. After dedicating her off season to improving her run, former University of Tennessee swimmer Handley rode solidly and posted the 3rd fastest amateur women’s run. Handley finished in 16th and looks forward to getting in the water for her next race, where she will be a formidable opponent to any amateur woman in the country.
Less than 2 minutes back was Dannwolf in 24th place, a solid placing in the competitive elite amateur women’s field of 62. Riptide’s emerging women’s program is off to a strong start to the season and hopes to finish much better when the race includes a swim.
Severance finished 33rd out of 69 elite amateur males. The lack of a swim was a slight disappointment to Severance who worked extensively on his stroke throughout the winter. Watch for him to place well in his next race at CapTexTri.
