*** Wet And Wild Wenatchee Duathlon ***

Wenatchee, Washington -- 04/04/2006
For the second year in a row, the sunshine took
a rain check at the Wenatchee Valley Duathlon.

And for the second year in a row, Wenatchee’s Jason
Jablonski had to battle the elements to win the 23-mile,
run-bike-run event.

“I was hoping for sunshine but no luck,” said Jablonski,
whom in the midst of a pouring rain and gusty winds,
clocked in at 1 hour, 23 minutes and 40 seconds.

Leavenworth’s Kevin Rieke came in second place, at
1:28:37, four minutes and 56 seconds behind Jablonski.
This was Rieke’s third consecutive runner-up finish.

Julie Pittsinger led all the women, coming in at
1:35:25. She came in tenth place overall.

“I’m happy to be done,” she said.
“It was horrible conditions.”

Jablonski, said that he was “really happy” with his
performance, although the weather kept him from
fully testing himself.

“You can only go so hard because of the cold weather,”
he said, sitting in his car after the race, with his hands
trembling and the heater on.

Rieke said he was not disappointed with his
third straight second-place finish.

“I knew Jason was like five minutes ahead of me,”
he said. “He’s good.”

Last year Jablonski beat Rieke by 14 seconds.

Jablonski said that despite two years of one-two
finishes, there is no rivalry between them.

“We’re friends,” he said. “People build it up.”

Rieke, the defending four-time Ridge to River Relay
champion, said the duathlon was a good tune-up for
the event he has dominated in the last few years.

Jablonski said the top finish at the duathlon makes
him feel optimistic about his upcoming triathlon season.

“I trained really hard, so I am really excited with my future,”
he said. “This season is going to be better than ever.”

His next event is a triathlon in Mesa, Ariz.,
at the end of April.

Jablonski said he won’t participate in Ridge to River.

“I don’t paddle,” he said. “If I paddled and
injured myself, my whole season could be shot.”

Jablonski, vice president of the Wenatchee Valley Velo Club
that organizes the Wenatchee Valley Duathlon, lamented that
the weather has kept the event from growing. Athletes from
Seattle had hoped to participate but “packed up and left”
when they saw the bad weather, he said.

“We were hoping for good weather to turn the race around,”
he said.

Pittsinger, who used Saturday’s duathlon as part of her
training for June’s Coeur d’Alene Ironman Triathlon, said
the weather conditions and gusty winds made it hard to
control her bicycle.

Wenatchee Valley Duathlon

Saturday

Wenatchee Confluence State Park

TOP FIVE MEN FINISHERS

Jason Jablonski Wenatchee 1:23:41

Kevin Rieke Leavenworth 1:28:37

Brandon Hoglund Wenatchee 1:29:31

Craig Elsner Chelan 1:30:40

Butch Lane E. Wenatchee 1:32:38

TOP FIVE WOMEN FINISHERS

Julie Pittsinger Chelan 1:35:25

Sonia Tonnemaker Wenatchee 1:46:19

Nicki Stewart Wenatchee 1:52:45

Cora Sturzl Malaga 1:56:25

Cindi Noyd Wenatchee 1:58:16

WOMEN 30-39

Pamela Clasen Moses Lake 1:59:07

Stacia McInnes Bellevue 1:59:37

WOMEN 40-49

Julie Pittsinger Chelan 1:35:25

Sonia Tonnemaker Wenatchee 1:46:19

Nicki Stewart Wenatchee 1:52:45

Cora Sturzl Malaga 1:56:25

Cindi Noyd Wenatchee 1:58:16

Jolene Gosselin Rock Island 1:59:51

Susan Valdez E. Wenatchee 2:05:39

MEN 20-29

Brandon Hoglund Wenatchee 1:29:31

Trevor Griffith Issaquah 1:35:17

Brandon Bartell E. Wenatchee 1:55:45

MEN 30-39

Jason Jablonski Wenatchee 1:23:41

Kevin Rieke Leavenworth 1:28:37

Craig Elsner Chelan 1:30:40

Brian McInnes Bellevue 1:33:25

Todd Strahm Wenatchee 1:37:07

Corey Stephens Wenatchee 1:38:45

Greg Carmichael Bothell 1:40:43

Mark Hall Pasco 1:46:12

Brian Carpenter Enumclaw 1:48:05

Brian Travis Wenatchee 1:52:24

Jason Vandersluis E. Wenatchee 1:58:09

Chad Atkins Wenatchee 1:58:33

MEN 40-49

Butch Lane E. Wenatchee 1:32:38

Cass Gebbers Brewster 1:37:30

Larry Campbell Rock Island 1:42:23

Bret Pittsinger Chelan 1:47:25

Doug Milner Wenatchee 1:54:13

MEN 50-59

Tom Feil E. Wenatchee 1:38:36

Bill Travis Spokane 1:46:44

Patrick Miller Yakima 1:56:45

Lee Plourde Wenatchee 1:58:42

Bruce Simpson Yakima 2:02:37

Brad Demond Selah 2:16:24

WOMEN’S TEAMS

Cora/Gretha Eifert Wenatchee 2:02:21

MEN’S TEAMS

Team McGlynn Wenatchee 1:31:31

Jeffery/Christan Eifert Wenatchee 1:31:46

Team Dunnell E. Wenatchee 1:38:01

Team Cook Wenatchee 1:51:03

MIXED TEAMS

Greg/Angie Brown Wenatchee 2:19:31

ACC - http://www.genesbmx.com/WenatcheeBikingInfo.html

Geneb...Wenatchee,Washington-USA
All Things Northwest in BMX!
***** Gene`s BMX *****
http://www.genesbmx.com