Organisers are hoping for another big turnout to this weekend’s Cowes Classic. Competitors pictured at the end of the 2020 race (from left) Tarquin McMillan, Virginia Baxter, Jim Corbett and Melina Van Der Weerd-Arceo.
The Phillip Island Football Club’s coach Beau Vernon was accompanied by his daughter Leyla for the last 100-metres to the finish line in the 2020 event.
Waiting for the start at the 2020 event. This year, the 29th Cowes Classic will start from Mussell Rock at 2.15pm and head around the pier to Erehwon Point and transition at the jetty triangle.
Callum McCluskey who won the San Remo Channel Challenge will be competing again, hoping to take out the double. With Ron Nicholson at the Channel Challenge presentation. Photo: Nici Cahill, Snapshot Photography
After a great day recently at San Remo with the very successful running of the 36th Channel Challenge, the Bass Coast Series organisers are hoping for another big turn out at this weekend’s events.
The organisers, made up of members of the Woolamai Beach Surf Life Saving Club (WBSLSC) and the Phillip Island Football Netball Club (PIFNC) are hoping the Little Penguin Dash and the Cowes
Classic Aquathons to be held on the Cowes Foreshore will be equally successful.
Plenty of interest has been created with the Cowes Classic entries of several elite national triathletes who are revisiting the island after their top rate performances at San Remo.
Once again we will see Callum McClusky competing, the Channel Challenge winner with a world ranking of 116, who is attempting to take out the double.
Tristan Price, the former No.1 Aussie Junior who is now 18 and taking on the seniors will again be there to push him out.
In the women’s section at least two of the four elite standard triathletes who competed at San Remo, have entered for Cowes already – runner-up Chloe Bateup and Tokyo Olympian, Rebecca Henderson.
This year will see the run leg reduced to a 2.7k run because of construction works in a section of the usual course (see map).
At 10.30am the Little Penguin Dash for seven to 14-year-olds will kick off in two divisions: a 200m swim and 200m run for the seven to 10-year-olds and a 400m swim and 400m run for the 11 to 14-year-old category.
There are more than sixty entries in already for the kids, as this event keeps increasing in popularity.
At 2.15 the 29th Cowes Classic will start from Mussell Rock and head around the pier to Erehwon Point and transition at the jetty triangle.
Once again, competitors are reminded that they need to register online and this year the race centre will be in front of the North Pier Hotel, not inside.
Presentations will take place at 4pm for both the Cowes Classic and the Bass Coast Series on the North Pier deck.
Bass Coast Series
The Cowes Classic will now be the second and final leg of the Bass Coast Series.
There will a total of $3400 in prizemoney handed out to the sixteen winners of the male and female winners of the junior, senior, masters and veteran categories.
Both open and local winners will receive prizemoney in each category.
In the senior male category, we should once again see the aspiring Olympians, Callum McClusky and Tristan Price fight out the open section while locals, Hamish Harrison, Mark Rowe and Nathan Hicks are favourites for their section.
Chloe Bateup and Rebecca Henderson will definitely figure in the finish of the senior female category, while it will be interesting to see if Olympian Emma Jeffcoat will again be competing at Cowes.
In the local section we should see Zoe Adams, Carina Royce and Lucy Monahan up near the lead.
The elite open junior male who won at San Remo, Ryan McKenzie, is competing at Cowes and will again face stiff opposition from local lads, Luke Muir, Kuga Heenan and Toby Challinor, who will fight out the local prize.
The open junior females from Melbourne will probably prevail and have Remy Kenyon in the lead, while in the local section there was a large number of competitors led by Abbey Clarke, McKenzie Wain and Elle Douglas.
The numbers of competitors in the Masters (O/40) categories have continued to increase and their performances are also improving with locals Justin Tilley, Kris Harris and Marcus Bond leading both the Open and Local Male sections.
In the Masters’ Female section we also have locals Debbie Mahon, Sarah Smith and Emma Moore, fighting out the open and local categories.
The Open Male Veterans (O/50) again sees a very close contest between local, Rob Fleisner, and visitor, Aurel Wachter, who were only separated by seconds at San Remo. Another local, Jim Corbett, is also in the mix along with Andy Chisholm.
An Open Female Veteran Jo-Anne Elvish, posted a very fast time in the Channel Challenge but local girls, Virginia Baxter, Rebeka Fincher and Suzie Herrington will all be trying to catch her while competing for the local prize.
Course change due to rock wall works
The course for this year’s Cowes Classic has been amended, due to works on the foreshore at Cowes East.
The run leg has been reduced to a 2.7k run because of construction works in a section of the usual course.
