Bockel, Steffen strike in OZ
Dirk Bockel ran a smart race and took the win at the Ironman Asia-Pacific Championships in Melbourne, Australia in 8:01:02. Caroline Steffen was solid all day and went sub-9 to capture the women's title for the second time.
The men
After 2.4 miles in the water at Frankston it was Ben Sanson who not surprisingly came out first of the water in 45:22. Axel Zeebroek was next in 45:25 and he led a large group out of the water that contained Harry Wiltshire, Courtney Atkinson, Paul Matthews, Chris Kemp and Dirk Bockel. Some navigation issues though caused a few folks to miss that front group.
Wiltshire was first onto the bike, but Zeebroek moved to the front of the race and set the pace with David Dellow. Matthews, Atkinson, Sanson, Daniel Halksworth, Casey Munro and Peter Robertson were also there and Kemp, Dirk Bockel and Philip Graves were not too far behind him. Eventually the front group included these 11 men and Jimmy Johnsen, but some shedding started in the second half of the bike. Halksworth, Johnsen and Graves were dropped, and at 125k Zeebroek and Dellow who had worked hard up front pulled away from the bunch. Marino Vanhoenacker was at 4:45 at that time with Michael Weiss at 5:30 and Craig Alexander at 6 minutes. Bockel then also pulled away from the group and soon after the lead of the top 3 started to look promising. By the time Dellow and Zeebroek reached the bike-run transition they were 1:35 up on Bockel and almost 4 minutes on what was left from the leading group.
Zeebroek was faster in transition and first out on the run and he quickly gained some time on Dellow, but this was just the beginning of a big back and forth game. Dellow was tenacious and slowly pulled closer to the race leader and at 15k managed to pull away from Zeebroek. At that time he had just about 2 minutes over Bockel and a bit over 3 minutes on Matthews. Weiss was running in 5th position about 4 minutes adrift and Vanhoenacker next at 5:30. Crowie was running in 9th position at that time 8:20 behind fellow Aussie Dellow. Paul Matthews though started to reel in the leader and eventually caught Dellow at the 28k mark. But soon after paid for that effort and started to walk. Dellow then took the lead again but he had Bockel lurking not too far behind. Bockel moved past Dellow around 35k and shortly after pulled away. From there Bockel cruised to the finish and took this first big win for his new sponsor Uplace-BMC in 8:01:02. Matthews dug deep at the end and managed to go past Dellow to grab second place, and Dellow held on to the final podium spot. Weiss finished fourth and Alexander ran well to finish fifth. But after the race a very emotional Alexander told media that this was his left full distance race.
Race champion Dirk Bockel was also emotional, but for slightly different reasons.
"Today was unbelievable. I thought to get in the top three would be great. There were so many top athletes here. To come to Australia from Europe is a big journey. I came good on the run and it was a perfect day and a perfect race. I am so very happy," said Dirk Bockel. "When you come to race the Aussies in their own backyard you play with fire, so I knew what I was in for, it was a brutal race."
The women
The Pro women started 3 minutes after the Pro men and it was Mary Beth Ellis who was first out of the water in 49:59 with a 2-minute advantage over Caroline Steffen and almost 3 minutes on Rebekah Keat.
Steffen though quickly went to work on the bike and cut that advantage in half after just 20k in the saddle. At 40k Ellis and Steffen were riding together and they stayed reasonably close after that. The big mover behind them though was Angela Naeth. The fast Canadian was still at 7 minutes at 75k, but the advantage of the leaders only shrank after that point of the bike segment. At 115k it was down to 4:10 and at 145k the lead had gone down to 2:10 and that was still not all. After 180k Steffen, Ellis and Naeth came off the bike less than a minute apart and now it was time to test the running legs. Keat reached T2 about 6 minutes later but everyone else was 10 minutes plus behind Steffen.
Steffen pulled away on the run and steadily pulled away from Ellis and Naeth, but we all know it is not over until it is over. But today Steffen was not going to be denied, the fast Swiss Pro who resides in Australia and is now coached by Macca took the win for the second time in three years and managed to do so in sub-9 hours. Ellis finished strong in second place and fellow American Kim Schwabenbauer charged past Rebekah Keat to take third place. Naeth dropped all the way back to 6th place as Asa Lundstrom also managed to move past her.
"I can't believe it. It has been tough the last few months with so many changes. It is great to be back on top – this is my race and my win," said Steffen. "I am happy to get the trophy back. I am just so happy to be back on top again – this place feels like home. I can't say thanks enough – it's a great race."
Ironman Asia-Pacific Championships
Melbourne, Australia / March 23, 2014
2.4m swim / 112m bike / 26.2m run
Top men
1. Dirk Bockel (LUX) 8:01:02
2. Paul Matthews (AUS) 8:02:14
3. David Dellow (AUS) 8:03:07
4. Michael Weiss (AUT) 8:03:46
5. Craig Alexander (AUS) 8:05:47
6. Marino Vanhoenacker (BEL) 8:08:25
7. Axel Zeebroek (BEL) 8:12:35
8. Christian Kemp (AUS) 8:14:09
9. Christian Kramer (GER) 8:15:09
10. Peter Robertson (AUS) 8:16:29
Top women
1. Caroline Steffen (SUI) 8:57:57
2. Mary Beth Ellis (USA) 9:02:15
3. Kim Schwabenbauer (USA) 9:10:06
4. Rebekah Keat (AUS) 9:11:06
5. Asa Lundstrom (DEN) 9:16:06
6. Angela Naeth (CAN) 9:21:11
7. Mareen Hufe (GER) 9:21:40
8. Simone Boag (AUS) 9:31:20 *AG 40-44
9. Rosie Oldham (AUS) 9:32:34 *AG 30-34
10. Jessica Simpson (AUS) 9:34:08 *AG 25-29
