More than 600 hundred triathletes turned out for the 2019 Odlo Snowman Weekend, held at Plas Y Brenin, Capel Curig which also included the 4th stage of the Welsh Super Series.

Widely believed to be one of the toughest triathlons in the UK, the Snowman is not for the faint hearted. Consisting of a swim in the stunning Llyn Mymbyr, a bike section in the challenging climbs of Snowdonia and a run up Moel Siabod, it is understandable that many of the series front runners struggled with the terrain.

A lead group consisting of Beau Smith, Chris Silver, Kieran John, Josh Lewis and Alex Matchett exited the water together and left for the 70km bike course through Beddgelert, Blaenau Ffestiniog and Betws y Coed. As the gents left T1, the ladies entered with very little time to separate the front three of Rhiannon Middleton, Florence Swan and Rhian Roxburgh.

Both lead groups were the first to return to T2, with Silver using his strength on the bike to his advantage over the extended course, opening a 5-minute lead on Smith in seconds and further time into Matchett and Lewis. As the lead men returned and began the climb of Moel Siabod, it was clear that the bike course and what lay ahead had begun to take it toll. As the ladies returned, the lead three were joined by Laura Clements and Jazmin Rogers.

With a comprehensive lead up the top of Moel Siabod, Chris Silver took his time on the decent allowing Smith to close the gap. However, once they were within the final 2km of the run, Silver opened his stride to take his first victory in the Welsh Triathlon Super Series. Smith followed closely in second to solidify his position in the series, but the mountain had the better of some big names, with last years winner Matchett failing to take advantage of Liam Lloyds absence and pulled out on Moel Siabod. He was joined by Caerphilly’s Kieran John who was one of the first out of the water and both Josh Lewis and Will Munday provided company for each other up and down the mountain. This allowed a number of athletes to leapfrog on the tricky slopes which eventually saw GOG Tri’s Jack Smith-Keegin take third overall and contribute to GOGs impressive team points total across the stage.

Swann was the first female back into T2 and once she hit the slopes of Moel Siabod, there was no stopping her. An impressive run saw her take her first Super Series victory, closely followed by local favourite Rhian Roxburgh in second place. Roxburgh’s performance now see’s her sit on the top spot of the series table which lays down the challenge to previous leader Hannah Munday. Roxburgh was followed by Ufit’s Laura Clements who finished one minute behind.

The male table still see’s Liam Lloyd in the top spot, and victory at one of the final two stages will surely secure his position. Munday’s absence from the final two races sees her slip outside of the top 5 in the female series, but with the top four scores from six going towards the total scores, the female series is certain to go to the wire at the Sandman in September.

Overall Male Table

Overall Female Table

A full update of the Welsh Super Series results and categories can be found here for men and here for females

Full Snowman Results can be found here - https://www.tdleventservices.co.uk/event-results/events?event=3350#