Challenge Dubai – race images
The inaugural Challenge Dubai is in the books now and as expected the racing was very exciting. Please enjoy the images below from this $300,000 event, plus we have more race images on our Facebook page.
Javier Gomez looked very tense before the start this morning.
The pro women lined up for their start 5 minutes after the men.
Andy Potts led the pro men out of the very choppy water after the first of two laps.
Lauren Brandon swam well as expected, but she also swam the most direct line. Several front runners swam of course and had to run back along the beach
Martin Jensen rode very hard in Dubai and ended up with a 2:02:41 bike split.
Javier Gomez had apparently been sick recently and hoped to be full on today. But his day did not go well and he dropped out after 11km on the run.
Some insiders expected the talented Maurice Clavel to smack one out of the park, but he ended up well outside the top spots.
Terenzo Bozzone led the pro men late on the bike, with Manuel Küng not far behind. Both ended up with a 4 minute time adjustment for missing a section of the course.
Michael Raelert was riding in third position as the men headed back towards downtown Dubai.
Lauren Brandon also rode well and stayed near the front during the whole bike leg.
Jodie Swallow also rode a very strong race and she ended up in fourth place.
Daniela Ryf in her very fancy carbon ballet slippers pushed ahead during the second half of the bike.
German Svenja Bazlen finished 9th after a hard windy day.
Terenzo Bozzone on the run along the Dubai coast well ahead of Michael Raelert who ran in second position.
Jodie Swallow started the run in second place, but she had Heather Wurtele closing in.
Tim Reed had a very solid day and ended up crossing the line in fourth position, but ended up in the runner-up spot after Bozzone, Raelert, Küng, Potts and Collins all got penalized for an unintentional shortcut.
A clearly happy Terenzo Bozzone celebrated the very bright red finish chute.
Michael Raelert acknowledged the crowd as he ran towards the finish. He ended up on third place with the 4 minutes added to his time.
Daniela Ryf did not go sub 4, but it was not an easy day for fast times. She however did take the win.
Heather Wurtele was also very excited to cross the line in second place.
