Reigning champion Lana Rogers has vowed to stay “switched on” in the Ironwoman Series, after taking a commanding halfway lead.
The 23-year-old, who competes for Alexandra Headland SLSC, won the first two rounds and was runner-up in the third, during a hectic three-day schedule at Kingscliff.
Rogers has 59 points and boasts a 5-point advantage over Newport’s Lizzie Welborn with three rounds to be contested at the same venue from February 26-28.
“It was a lot of fun, with three days of different conditions,” she said.
“The toughest and fittest ironwomen were going to come out on top because Kingscliff is a flat (surf) beach, where it is a grind.
“I’ve definitely put myself in a very good position (for the title) but this year they are counting points for all the rounds, so the job’s not done, and I’ve got to be switched on and be on my A game for the last three rounds.”
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She’s wary of her rivals.
“There’s still three massive rounds to go and some of the girls are now comfortable racing, so it will be interesting to see who is going to come up the points-score in the next few rounds.
“I’ve got to be a bit cautious of those top four girls.”
But she won’t be preoccupied with them.
“I have to stay consistent and focus on myself,” she said.
“I need to focus on the round and the format I need to do that day.”
Rogers produced imposing performances to claim the series lead, but she is a perfectionist.
“I made a silly mistake in the last race and Georgia (Miller) was able to get the win,” she said.
Rogers was further north of Miller as they looked for runners during the board leg, and the latter caught a vital wave to the beach.
“I think I can work on coming in (to the beach) a bit more and focus on a landmark to stick with when I’m coming in.
“I’d like to flow with the ocean a bit better.”
It was the first time the series had three rounds in three days.
Rogers said she feels good after the busy weekend there.
She is prepared to race in the lucrative Shannon Eckstein Classic at Northcliffe this weekend, before finishing the series with another three-round blitz a week later.
“My best friend now is going to be recovery, with ice baths” she said.
“I’ll do what I need to do in training and just feel good the next couple of weeks and I’ll be ready to race when we need to race and switch off when we need to switch off.”
Rogers has emerged as a genuine heavyweight during the past few years, winning a national ironwoman title in 2018, the Coolangatta Gold in 2019 and the elite series in 2019/2020.
She switched from Noosa Heads Surf Life Saving Club to Alexandra Headland Surf Life Saving Club during the off-season and is relishing training with the large group of elite athletes there.
Club-mates Emma Woods and Tayla Halliday, in their first full-time campaigns, are 9th and 13th amid the 20-strong field. Woods snared third place in the opening round.
Maroochydore’s Tiarnee Massie, also a series rookie, is 8th overall while Noosa Heads’ Electra Outram is 18th.
Alexandra Headland’s Cooper Williams is 20th among the men.
