Ben Dijkstra made his return to international racing with a strong second-place finish at the 2021 Asia Triathlon Cup Doha with Iestyn Harrett, Marcus Dey and Oliver Turner also in action in Qatar.
Making his first race start since September 2020 following injury, Dijkstra crossed the line in a time of 1:43:08 - 20 seconds behind race winner Jawad Abdelmoula of Morocco.
Dijkstra exited the swim in the main chase group with Dey part of the leading group of three after the 1.5km swim in Lusail City marina. All four British athletes were in the top-11 as the 38-strong field headed into transition one as Turner led the chasers out of the water with Harrett and Dijkstra only a few seconds behind.
Strong bike legs from Harrett and Dijkstra put both athletes in strong positions heading into transition two with Harrett at the front of the race as he headed out onto the 10k run around the marina.
Dijkstra gave chase on the run, showing his strength and running ability as he made his move from eight into second place. Only Abdelmoula, the race winner, covered the 10k run quicker than Dijkstra’s 31:35, and the 23-year-old crossed the line 20 seconds after the Moroccan athlete.
Harrett crossed the line 21 seconds behind Dijkstra, finishing fourth in a time of 1:43:29, while Dey finished 16th in his first senior international triathlon outside of Europe (1:45:58). Oliver Turner’s finishing time was 1:47:25 as he finished 22nd.
Full results from the 2021 Asia Triathlon Cup Doha can be viewed here.
