Gentle no to prestige Jersey tri

ASHLEIGH Gentle has rejected an offer to race in the inaugural Super League Triathlon women’s event this month.

Super League Triathlon officials confirmed they were working until the 11th hour to sign the Gold Coaster for the event, to be held in Jersey in the UK’s Channel Islands.

“We had discussions with her up until the last moment, but she was not ready to race,” an SPT spokesman said.

“We are very interested to have her and hopefully for our next race she will be ready.”

Super League Jersey will be held between September 23-24 following the success of the inaugural event at Hamilton Island in Queensland in March.

South African Richard Murray was crowned champion in the maiden event, which only featured a men’s field.

Gentle has had a busy racing schedule so far this year, competing in six World Triathlon Series races, the mixed relay world championships, a World Cup event and multiple other races.

The 26-year-old is ranked second in the WTS heading into the grand final, to be held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, a week before Super League Jersey begins.

It would leave Gentle little time to recover before Super League’s high-intensity short form of racing over multiple days.

Gentle is also likely to return to compete at the Noosa Triathlon, a race she has won four times, in November, while she will also compete at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April.