LAUNCESTON triathlete Jake Birtwhistle continued his winning form by taking out the ITU Triathlon Oceania Cup at Mooloolaba, in Queensland today.
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One of Triathlon Australia's rising stars, Birtwhistle paced himself well during the race before unleashing his powerful running leg on the way to a convincing victory.
The former track and field star who is now a full-time triathlete based in Wollongong under international coach Jamie Turner.
``I was feeling good today and I had to keep reminding myself not to go too hard too early,'' said the Australian Youth Olympic champion and OTU Oceania champion.
``I tried to stay away from the front, which is hard for me but I was able to sit in the pack for a bit and put the pressure on in the second lap.''
Birtwhistle was able to time his run to perfection over the back end of the 1500-metre swim, 40km bike and 10km run and powered away to win it in 1 hour and 52.07 seconds.
The race victory sets Birtwhistle up for his first major international escapade, starting with the Chengdu World Cup in China on March 23.
