Bike mechanic joins league of elites
IN THE past two editions of the Xterra Off-Road Series, Joseph Miller, a bike mechanic, was ironically downed by technical problems—flat tires.
This time, he was determined to win it and finally, on his third try, secured the Filipino elite male division title yesterday at the Seafront Liloan.
Miller, a bike mechanic at the store of former Filipino elite champion Noy Jopson and his wife Amale, credits his success to his boss, Noy, who opened this opportunity for him to become a triathlete.
Miller, who grew up being a mountain biker, came down to Cebu from Zamboanga, to work as a bike mechanic for Brick Multisport Store. Three years after, he now joins the elites in this taxing sport.
“He is really good in mountainbike. So what he we did was teach him the basics in swim- ming and running and in return, Miller taught me about mountainbike,” Jopson said.
Jopson was there from the start of Miller’s career and he saw how Miller transitioned from a mechanic, to mountainbiker to becoming one of the country’s top triathletes.
“He used to come out from the water clocking 30 to 40 minutes. But when he came out from the swim leg (yesterday) in 25:33, I already had a feeling that he will win this race, especially since his strength is in the mountainbike leg,” Jopson said.
Miller finished the mountainbike discipline in an impressive 1:46.10. It was 40 kilometers of a punishing and demanding bike course.
“It was a great feeling that I was racing closely with the world’s top triathletes. Winning this race is very memorable for me. All my sacrifices have paid off,” said Miller, who added that he never expected the victory because some of the country’s more well-known racers were there. This division was participated by 13 other seasoned triathletes in the country including his second runner-up Benjamin Rana, who was part of the Philippine contingent to the 2011 Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii.
“I am proud that he has won. He has gone through a lot of sacrifices. It’s his time to shine,” Jopson said.
Meanwhile, two pro triathletes, Matt O’Halloran of Canada and Carina Wasle, did not finish the race. O’Halloran had a swollen hand and decided not to go through the bike leg as he gripping is important to control the bike.
Wasle, who was running third, burst into tears after her back wheel gave up on her with still 6K left before the transition area.
“I broke my back wheel while doing the downhill. It hit a big rock so hard,” said Wasle, who was fourth last year.