Atkinson on song early in 2012
The tough Enduro race saw the elite competitors tackle a 400m swim, 7km cycle and 1.8km, followed by another 200m swim, 7km cycle and 1.8km run in warm, steamy conditions.
Emma Jackson took line honours and the $500 bonus up for grabs after the female field was given a 4 minute and 50 second head start on the men's field.
However Atkinson clocked the fastest time, showing his class and experience at this type of racing.
He emerged from the first swim leg in a large pack of eight including Kenmore Hill's Ryan Fisher and Kallangur's Drew Box. The tight pack stuck together early on in the first cycle leg, before Atkinson, Fisher and Box broke away from the group and headed into the first run leg where Atkinson really started to show his form.
Atkinson continued to extend his lead in the second swim leg, before making the tactical move to drop back to the chasing two, before amping back up for the final run leg.
"I used to love racing this format when I was younger, where I used to try and get away to race the whole second half of the race by myself, but I'm a bit of a different athlete to that now and the sprinting doesn't come as easy," said Atkinson.
Following a tough 2011, he is looking forward to showing his form ahead of Olympic selection races coming up. "I just love racing, but last year, for the first time in 13 years, I had a really bad year and it was really hard but today has proved that it is the first step for me, in an Olympic year to show that my form is here and I'm looking forward towards London come August.
"Training over summer is back to normal, I hate making excuses, so put simply last year was a shocker, but I haven't lost it, it's still there and I've got a few big months coming up in regards to selection.
"It's not just the Australian Team I'm looking at, the reality is, if you want to go to London and do something you've got to be ready to race the rest of the world, not just Australia. So it's baby steps at the moment, I've showed that I'm back in form, next step is to do Olympic Distance and show I've got form and then it's heads down for London," he added.
Ryan Fisher took second place ahead of third place getter, Drew Box.. "It was tough out there. To be honest we don't really do a lot of this type of racing and it's very different to the Olympic distance which is what I am used to. It might be shorter but it can definitely be harder, doing the format twice, especially doing the swim the second time, it never feels great.
"I didn't expect to see Courtney (Atkinson) here today, but that's who you want to be racing, someone who will push you so you can see where you are. I'll be racing Devenport Oceania Championships in early March then hopefully off to Mooloolaba ITU World Cup 3 weeks later," said Fisher.
20-year-old Jackson established herself in the small but quality women's field from the outset and set her win up in the second half of the race.
Jackson exited the first swim to cycle transition with Victorian, Erin Densham and Liz Blatchford from Great Britain. The three remained tight during the first half of the race, before Jackson established a lead in the second swim. It was the second cycle and run where Jackson broke away from Densham and Blatchford, establishing a strong lead that could not be matched.
"I was really happy with my second cycle and run, I was surprised I managed to get ahead of the other girls. I'm very happy with my result," said Jackson.
"This race is definitely different to the Olympic distance that I am used to, I did this event two years ago and loved it - it's great fun out there.
"I'm very happy with how my preparations for Olympic selection are going. I'll do Devenport (Oceania Championship) next month and then Sydney to hopefully get selection into the Australian Olympic team," she added.
Densham has worked hard over the past three years to restore her body to good health and fitness.
"I really just wanted to see how I was racing and to have a little bit of fun. I love the idea of this format. It's always fun, it's always fast, it's always hard and basically it's anyone's game when it's this short.
"It's harder in the sense that you need to make quick decisions and little errors can make a big difference in the result, but you learn from them and capitalize on them next time," said Densham
Densham will head to Geelong next weekend to contest the Australian Sprint Championships.
Seven Sunshine Coast Enduro - Elite Male
1. Courtney Atkinson Mermaid Waters 40:10
2. Ryan Fisher Kenmore Hills 40:14
3. Drew Box Kallangur 40:28
4. Cameron Good Fairlight 40:51
5. Joshua Amberger Everton Hills 41:04
Seven Sunshine Coast Enduro - Elite Female
1. Emma Jackson Joyner 44:52
2. Erin Densham VIC 45:29
3. Liz Blatchford Great Britain 45:38
4. Chloe Turner Buderim 46:55
5. Kirralee Seidel Buderim 48:23
Comments (1)
by eastdillon, 06 February 2012A dissapointing performance from Atkinson. He did enough to beat the other boys and collect the money. While he was sitting solo on the bike was the time to go after Jackson, but he took the easy option and dropped back to Fisher and Box, who then both let Box take tempo.
Box's girlfriend? Jackson. Possibly no impetus for him to chase.
Atkinson then got a quick and sizable gap straight from transition over Fisher, but put the handbrake right on so much so he looked as though he was pulling out. He turned and laughed something to Fisher once he caught up and the surged him almost immediately.
Unless he was cramping it was the sort of display you'd expect from a tennis player earning more money from appearance fees than they would get from winning: turn up and collect the cheque.
He never really seemed to go after Jackson, who was out there cycling alone. He is the Kris Gemmell of Australian triathlon at the moment, just doing enough to stay near the front. This guy is not going to be the one person who pulls out more than anyone else in their Olympic preparation and their race.