Race Director Paul McGreal reports from the third edition of the epic Celtman! Extreme Scottish Triathlon, which took place on Saturday.

(All images ©Steve Carter, www.stevecarter.com).

Hasselmark and Meldrum win 3rd edition of Celtman! Extreme Scottish Triathlon

The 3rd edition of the Celtman! Extreme Scottish Triathlon has been won by Johan Hasselmark (Sweden), and Marie Meldrum (Scotland). The iconic triathlon race was held in the Torridon, Shieldaig and Wester Ross areas of Scotland on Saturday June 28th.

Over 150 athletes from across the word took to the start line at 0500hrs near Shieldaig. Countries represented included USA, Canada, Singapore, China, Germany, Poland and Russia.

Celtman! is part of the AllXtri ‘Extreme’ family of races, alongside Norseman (Norway) and Swissman (Switzerland).

Celtman! begins with a spectacular 3km open water swim in Loch Sheildaig – this segment of the race is an adventure in itself, cold water temperatures, jellyfish, inquisitive seals, and an A to B course designed so that the finish is not visible from the start – a journey into the unknown…

First man out of the water was Marc-Yvan de Kaenel of Switzerland in 49:03, closely followed by Keith MacLure of Scotland. First woman out of the water was Victoria Knott (England) in 52:03.

The bike course is a tough and long 202km on some of the most dramatic roads in the Scottish Highlands, and takes in a mix of mountains, swooping coastal roads, lochside, and lonely moorland. It ends at transition two in the middle of Achnashellach Forest. As expected, it was all change on the bike course – leader in to T2 was Stuart MacLeod, closely followed by Chris Stirling and Johan Hasselmark. Johan was beginning to make his charge, and posted the fastest bike time of the day – an incredible 5:57:04. Marie Meldrum had worked through the field, and had built what would become a commanding lead – her bike time was 6:41 – almost half an hour quicker than any other woman.

The ‘signature’ leg of Celtman! is the off-road run. It begins with 20km on relatively good, if not flat, surfaces through Coulin Pass before a long steady drop into Glen Torridon. Then the real work begins – an exceptionally steep ascent of two ‘Munros’ (Scottish Hills over 3000 feet high), with a very rough and indistinct path at best. Johan executed his race plan to perfection, working his way to the race lead, and then disappearing into the distance. Marie was meanwhile extending her lead by a further 10 minutes over Bonnie van Wilgenburg.

Johan finished in an amazing 11:41 – a new course record by an incredible 28 minutes.

FULL RESULTS

Other links to images are being regularly posted at the Celtman! Facebook page: www.facebook.com/cxtri

Celtman! 2015 entries will open in Autumn 2014 – details will be posted on the website and Facebook pages.