A three-peat at the Riverhead Rocks Triathlon
For the third year in a row, Tim Steiskal of Brookhaven won the Riverhead Rocks Triathlon Sunday.
At exactly two hours, seven minutes, the 24-year-old dominated the field, winning by more than five minutes over second-place finisher Bradford Strater, 32, of New York City.
Steiskal said the Riverhead Rocks triathlon, which he’s won every year of its existence, is his favorite race on the calendar.
“This is my favorite course on Long Island, so I really prepare for it,” he said. “I pinpoint this event every single year because I love this race. I focus in on this as I do my speed work and I lock in on my bike work.”
Steiskal, who also won the Mighty North Fork Triathlon last month, said his final preparation for the bike portion was last Sunday in the Hamptons, where he and several other riders trained for Sunday’s race.
“I did a long ride with a fast group on a flat run just to get me honed in for this type of course,” he said. “It was tough today because of the wet roads – rain changes everything, whereas I would take some of these corners at full speed, I had to touch the brakes because of the wet conditions.”
Julia Acevedo, 28, of Astoria, Queens placed third in 2:12:40. Mike Merlo, 29, of Cutchogue was the top North Fork finisher, placing eighth in 2:14:44.
Carly Johnson, 36, of Yorktown Heights finished first in a close race for the women. She would end up crossing in 2:19:10, 11 seconds faster than second-place finisher Danielle Sullivan, 38, of West Islip.
“It was a fast bike portion and Carly had a really good bike, so she passed me towards the end,” said Sullivan, who due to staggered start times actually crossed the finish line first. Sullivan was three minutes slower on the bike than Johnson.
“I had a nice run, I settled in and I was able to cross the finish line first,” she said.
Annmarie Magliocco, 48, of Old Greenwich, Conn. finished third among women with a time of 2:31:12. Mary Kalich of Mattituck had the top time of any North Fork woman.
