A pair of local triathletes had great performances at an Alberta triathlon on Sunday.
Rossland’s Dallas Cain finished first overall while Fruitvale’s Carol Corbett finished second in her age group for women 50-54 in the 2011 Sylvan Lake Half Triathlon.
Cain won a decisive victory as he swam, biked and ran over a field of 140 participants finishing 14 minutes ahead of runner-up, brother Ryan Cain.
After a 1.9 kilometre swim Dallas emerged from the water in eighth place but a scorching 90-km bike ride put him comfortably in first.
“I knew there was some young guys in it that were going to be pretty fast and a few different guys but half way through the bike I knew I had a pretty good lead.”
Dallas caught the leaders by the 20-K mark and built up a substantial lead going into the run.
“My brother was racing and he’s a really good runner so I knew I needed a bit of a gap on him.”
Dallas finished the ride in just over two hours and 18 minutes. With a comfortable lead, he cruised to the finish in 4:17:11.
Ryan was in 11th after the swim but a strong bike put him in third place, and with a hard final kick, he finished the 21.1-km run in a sizzling 1:20:45 for second overall and first in his age group 35-39.
“I enjoyed seeing him do well almost as I enjoy doing well myself, it was great,” said Dallas. “We had a lot of fun after and during the race too, kind of cheering each other on.”
The Cains held a family reunion at the lake over the weekend so both brothers enjoyed a strong cheering section.
Corbett meanwhile had an excellent race. After a tough swim, she came out of the lake in 83rd position but moved up steadily in the bike and finished 43rd in the run to move her into 51st place overall.
With the Sylvan Lake race under his belt, Dallas Cain says he never felt better going into Penticton’s Ironman Triathlon next month.
“I’ve never felt so good racing, doing these last couple races and getting off the bike after a hard bike and still feeling fresh on the run,” said Cain.
“I really want to go after this nine-hour mark in Penticton and I really feel it’s within reach this year which is exciting for me for sure.”
Prior to the Penticton race, Cain will return to defend as three-time champion of Nelson’s Cyswog’n’Fun Triathlon.