Locally-trained triathlete Caleb Noble produced a top 10 finish in his first World Cup event at Mooloolaba last weekend.
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Noble exceeded all expectations to place ninth overall in the elite class and second in the under 23s.
He came out of the 1500m swim leading the second pack, seven seconds behind the first pack of 11 athletes.
In transition to the bike, he left the second pack to close in on the leaders.
At the start of the bike leg, Noble was just three seconds behind the first group and five seconds ahead of the chasing pack.
Noble fell back and started the run one minute and 20 seconds behind.
Coach Fabrizio Andreoni said Noble then produced “the run of his life”.
“All this mental and physical preparation paid dividends on race day,” he said.
“Caleb scored the fifth fastest run of the day with a time of 32 minutes and 36 seconds for 10 kilometres.”
By producing the incredible final leg, Noble was able to neutralise the gap and pass athletes from the first pack to finish ninth overall.
Noble is now back on the radar of Triathlon Australia for selection into the national under 23 team for the ITU World Triathlon Championships to be held in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, in September.
Noble heads to Devenport on Saturday for the Oceania Triathlon Championships.
He has also been selected to race in the ITU World Triathlon Cup event in New Zealand and the Asian Triathlon Cup in the Philippines, both in April.
In May, Noble will fly to Italy for six months to compete in the European triathlon season, starting in June with the Bardolino International Triathlon in Italy, an event he won in 2014 at under 20s level.