The Weekend Box Apr 26 2015
There was plenty of triathletic racing this weekend in addition to our featured race stories. We bring accounts of far flung racing in Asia and Europe as well as across the United States from Nevada, South Carolina and Florida.
Daniela Ryf and Jonathan Ciavattella win Challenge Fuerteventura
Challenge Dubai winner and 2014 Ironman 70.3 World Champion Daniela Ryf of Switzerland dominated the women's field and Jonathan Ciavattella of Italy surprised a renowned men’s field to take a narrow victory at the Challenge Fuerteventura half.
Women
Ryf finished the swim in second behind Catherine Jameson of Great Britain. After a short while in 3rd place as Germany’s Anja Beranek took the lead, Ryf began her inevitable surge to the front. By the time Ryf finished in 4:20:33, she had a 12:35 lead on Beranek and 15:30 on 3rd-place finisher Eimear Mullan of Ireland.
Men
Ciavattella emerged from the swim in 24:06, 12 seconds behind swim leader Douglas Roberts of Great Britain and a minute ahead of Timo Bracht of Germany. Ciavattella quickly grabbed the lead on the bike and never looked back, finishing in 4:02:52. Ritchie Nicholls of Great Britain finished the bike leg in 8th place, then stormed the run to finish just 18 seconds back of the Italian. Patrik Nilsson of Sweden finished 3rd, and Timo Bracht of Germany took 4th, 1:10 back of the podium.
“I was excited to take this win,” said Ciavattella. “The tough slopes of the Subida al Cardón were certainly testing, although the effort required was made slightly easier by the absence of Fuerteventura’s infamous wind.”
Challenge Fuerteventura Half
Fuerteventura, Spain
April 25, 2015
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Women
1. Daniela Ryf (SUI) 4:20:33
2. Anja Beranek (GER) 4:33:08
3. Eimear Mullan (IRL) 4:36:03
4. Corinne Abraham (GBR) 4:36:49
5. Daniela Sämmler (GER) 4:39:48
Men
1. Jonathan Ciavettella (ITA) 4:02:52
2. Ritchie Nicholls (GBR) 4:03:10
3. Patrik Nilsson (SWE) 4:04:08
4. Timo Bracht (GER) 4:05:18
5. Ruedi Wild (SUI) 4:06:56
Terenzo Bozzone, and Eva Potuckova win Challenge Taiwan
Terenzo Bozzone led a Kiwi sweep of the podium and Eva Potuckova of the Czech Republic took the lead on the bike and held off Kiwi Kathryn Haesner by 90 seconds to win the elite titles at the Challenge Taiwan half.
Men
Dylan McNeice earned a 1 minute 10 seconds lead on the swim held in calm reservoir waters, ahead of a pack that included fellow New Zealanders Eric Watson, Bozzone, Hamish Hammond and Mike Phillips.
After 20 kilometers of the rolling hills on the bike leg, Bozzone and Phillips joined McNeice in the lead. Hammond led the chasers 2:40 down with Mitchell Kibby 4:40 back. The leading trio worked together and entered T2 within seconds of one another.
On the run, Bozzone quickly carved out a lead and finished the day in 3:52:31 with a 4:01 margin on Phillips and 4:12 on 3rd place Dylan McNeice.
Bozzone’s 1:19:00 run was 3:48 faster than Phillips and 4:08 faster than McNeice and accounted for most of his margin of victory.
“This was great,” said Bozzone, who earlier this year won a big payday at Challenge Dubai and took second at Ironman New Zealand. “It was a tough day. I started running backwards the last 3k – I was just thankful I had a bit of space on Mike and Dylan.”
Women
Brooke Langereis led the swim, a few seconds ahead of Potuckova, with Kathryn Haesner in her first professional race 3 minutes back. Potuckova broke into a minute lead on Langereis at the 20km mark. Halfway through the bike, Langereis regrouped and rejoined Potuckova at the front, while Kaesner reduced her deficit to 2 minutes. By the end of the bike leg., Potuckova regained momentum and entered T2 with a 1:26 lead on Langereis, with Haesner 28 seconds further behind.
Potuckova, feeling strong, ran 1:36:37 which gave up just 20 seconds to Haesner and gained 4:41 on Langereis and brought her to the finish in 4:41:04 with a 1:06 margin on Haesner and 6:07 on 3rd-place Langereis.
“I’ve been here for two weeks now recovering and getting ready for this race after Ironman Taiwan,” said Potuckova. “I really loved the bike course and [I’m] just very happy to hang on for the win today.”
Challenge Taiwan
Taitung, Taiwan
April 25, 2015
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Men
1. Terenzo Bozzone (NZL) 3:52:31
2. Mike Phillips (NZL) 3:56:32
3. Dylan McNeice (NZL) 3:56:43
4. Mitchell Kibby (AUS) 4:07:03
5. Mitchell Robins (AUS) 4:13:28
Women
1. Eva Potuckova (CZE) 4:41:14
2. Kathryn Haesner (NZL) 4:42:48
3. Brooke Langereis (AUS) 4:47:21
4. Monica Torres (PHI) 4:50:02
5. Jodie Scott (AUS) 5:15:58
Colorado Buffaloes von Berg, Lenz win Collegiate Nationals
Colorado Buffaloes triathletes Rodolph von Berg and Rachael Lenz took the individual crowns at the USA Triathlon Collegiate Club Nationals Olympic distance non-drafting event Saturday in Clemson, South Carolina.
Penn State triathletes Jason West and Bria Edwards took the individual runner-up honors in the headline event of the weekend.
Von Berg combined a 4th-best 18:23 swim, 5th-fastest 56:01 bike leg and 2nd-quickest 32:04 10k run to finish in 1:48:49 with an 8 seconds advantage over West and 1:39 over 3rd-place men’s finisher Tim Hendricks of William & Mary.
Von Berg essentially won it on the first leg and transitions. The defending individual men’s champion was 58 seconds faster in the swim and 10 seconds quicker in T1 and T2, then gave back 15 seconds on the bike leg and 46 seconds on the run to hold off his closest rival.
“I’m super stoked to win,” von Berg said. “Jason West, who’s a fast runner, caught me and I thought I was going to have to settle for second. I ran with him for a couple miles and in the last mile I just went all out. I’m very happy.”
In the women's race Lenz overcame a 45th-best 24:09 swim that gave away 2:56 to women's leader Bria Edwards, then gave another 23 seconds to Edwards with a slow T1. Lenz’s by-far women’s-best 1:01:58 bike leg took back 2:46 from Edwards, then the Colorado star erased the remaining 27 seconds deficit with a women's-best run of 37:01 that was 90 seconds better than her Penn State rival.
Lenz finished in 2:06:26 with a 52 seconds advantage on Edwards and 3:29 on 3rd place finisher Lauryn McFawn of Virginia Tech.
“I knew she [Edwards] was fast, so I was a little worried, but I like the bike and the run the most,” said Lenz. “After the swim was over, it’s more fun. I got 6th last year and my bike improved a lot.”
Jason West and Kelly Kosmo win Draft-Legal Sprint Individual titles
Jason West of Penn State and Kelly Kosmo of UCLA won the individual titles at the USA Triathlon National Championship Draft-Legal sprint distance event Friday.
West clocked 56 minutes and 33 seconds on the 750-meter swim, 20 kilometer bike and 5 kilometer run course. West posted a 14:37 5k run split to lead after trailing on the bike. William Jones of UC San Diego finished second and Andrew Nielsen of Wisconsin was third.
Kosmo, who finished third in 2014, made her move halfway through the 5k run to post the fastest women's run and finish first in in 1:06:33. Brittany Warly of Colorado finished second, 10 seconds behind Kosmo. Molly Supple of Arizona took third by 1 second over Emily Dingman Colorado State.
Colorado wins 6th straight USA Triathlon Collegiate overall team title
The University of Colorado Buffaloes won their 6th straight overall team title at the 2015 USA Triathlon Collegiate Club National Championship, while Navy won the men’s team title and UCLA won the women's team title for the second year in a row. Colorado placed second in the men’s and women's team title races to give them an overall score of 4,053, while Navy finished second overall with 4,006 points and UCLA placed third with a total of 3,912 points.
Navy won the men’s team race with a total of 2,030 points, snapping the Buffaloes’ 5-year win streak. Colorado men scored 2,011 points for second and Texas A&M was third with 1,950 points.
Kelly Kosmo’s Draft-Legal Collegiate Championship title Friday led the UCLA women to secure their second straight team victory with 2,050 points, eight points ahead of the runner-up Colorado women. The women of the Arizona TriCats finished third with 2,024 points.
Colorado’s team of Rachael Lenz, Nick Noone, Scarlet Kaplan and Rudy von Berg won the mixed team relay Saturday in a time of 1:20:32. Navy took 2nd in 1:20:55 and UCLA took 3rd in 1:21:53. ,
USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals
Clemson, South Carolina
April 24-25, 2015
USA Triathlon Collegiate Non-Drafting Individual
April 25, 2015
S 1.5k / B 40k / R 10k
Results
Men
1. Rudy von Berg (Colorado) 1:48:49
2. Jason West (Penn State) 1:48:57
3. Tim Hendricks (William & Mary) 1:50:28
4. Mike Meehan (Penn State) 1:50:54
5. William Jones (UC San Diego) 1:51:14
Women
1. Rachael Lenz (Colorado) 2:06:26
2. Bria Edwards (Penn State) 2:07:18
3. Lauryn McFawn (Virginia Tech) 2:09:55
4. Stephanie Murphy (Navy) 2:10:11
5. Molly Supple (Arizona) 2:10:46
USA Triathlon Individual Draft-Legal Collegiate Championships
April 24, 2015
S 750m / B 20k / R 5k
Results
Men
1. Jason West (Penn State) 56:33
2. William Jones (UC San Diego) 56:52
3. Andrew Nielsen (Wisconsin) 57:01
4. Mike Meehan (Penn State) 57:20
5. Brian Primeaux (Navy) 57:27
Women
1. Kelly Kosmo (UCLA) 1:06:33
2. Brittany Warly (Colorado) 1:06:43
3. Molly Supple (Arizona) 1:07:01
4. Emily Dingman (Colorado State) 1:07:02
5. Melanie Rabino (Minnesota) 1:07:56
Overall Team Standings
1. Colorado 4,053 points
2. Navy 4,006
3. UCLA 3,912
4. Arizona 3,898
5. Texas A&M 3,869
Women's Team Standings
1. UCLA 2,050
2. Colorado 2,042
3. Arizona 2,024
4. California 1,990
5. Navy 1,976
Men’s Team Standings
1. Navy 2,030
2. Colorado 2,011
3. Texas A&M 1,950
4. Arizona 1,874
5. West Point 1,872
Mixed Team Relay
1. Colorado 1:20:32
2. Navy 1:20:55
3. UCLA A 1:21:53
Armed Forces Team Champions
Navy
Team Spirit Award
UC Santa Barbara
Lesley Paterson and Francisco Serrano win XTERRA West Championship
Francisco Serrano of Mexico and Lesley Paterson of Scotland and San Diego won the 2015 XTERRA U.S. Pro Series debut race in Henderson, Nevada Saturday.
Women
After last season lost to illness and a topped off with a fractured shoulder early this year, Paterson was back to her old dominating self at Lake Las Vegas. The 2-time XTERRA World Champion had the fastest bike split by two minutes and the fastest run split by a minute to finish in 2:24:23 with a 3:03 margin over Emma Garrard and 7:10 over 3rd-place finisher Suzie Snyder.
After a year she spent dealing with ailments, this was Paterson’s second win of the year, coming after a strong win at XTERRA Costa Rica in which she outran Garrard with a shoulder she fractured days before the race.
“Just so exciting to be back racing after sitting out most of last year – I was in full depression,” she said. “Then when I crashed before Costa Rica I cried for two nights straight, but what can you do? You pick yourself up, get your Braveheart on, and think what you can do rather than what you can’t.”
Despite her brave finish at Costa Rica, Paterson didn’t know if she could get cleared to race until this week. “I’ve been doing every therapy I could think of for it, and I really couldn’t believe it this morning when I tried two-armed swimming and it didn’t feel that bad at all. As a result I didn’t come that far down out of the water and I felt food on the bike. On the first teep climb I passed Sara McLarty (who swam 3 minutes faster than all the women) and I had already passed Suzie Snyder, Emma and Melanie McQuaid."
Snyder, who won XTERRA New Zealand 14 days ago and placed 4th at the XTERRA Asia-Pacific Championships last week, was happy with her 3rd place finish. “”I had a decent swim and a fair bike but on the run my legs were cramping so bad. I’m excited to just chill out and stay in one place for more than a day.”
Men
Ben Allen led the swim but within the first mile of the mountain bike leg, Olympian Francisco (Paco) Serrano, a 4-time XTERRA Mexico champion, charged off the front and was never challenged again. “Ben was about 35 seconds ahead after the swim but I was able to catch him fast,” said Serrano. “He stayed close though and came back on the downhills. I know Josiah (Middaugh) was back there somewhere and as going to be really fast. I knew he might catch me but thought of I did everything perfect I’d have a shot at the win.”
Middaugh did post the fastest bike split (1:11:18) and gained almost two minutes on Serrano, but could not make up the 2:24 he lost on the swim.
“I didn't see that coming,” said Middaugh, who won this race the past two years. “I got into the second lap on the bike and thought Ben was in the lead. It wasn't until I caught him that that I realized Paco was still a minute and a half up front. So I poured it on hard the last half of the bike trying to play catch up, burnt some matches there and didn’t have a lot left on the run.”
Serrano had the fastest run of the day – 34:07 – and finished in 2:06:56, almost two minutes ahead of Middaugh. “I couldn’t be happier,” said Serrano. “I can’t remember ever beating Josiah before. But I knew this is like my perfect course with the climbing, dirt and fast running.”
Middaugh, who has come second in his last four XTERRA races, was gracious. “I just came up short,” he said. “Nothing went wrong… Francisco was strong all day.”
Chris Ganter of Boise Idaho had a career day, passing 10 guys on the bike to take 3rd – his first XTERRA podium.
XTERRA WEST Championship
Henderson, Nevada
April 25, 2015
S 1.5k / MTB 28.2k / TR 10k
Results
Women
1. Lesley Paterson (GBR) 2:24:23
2. Emma Garrard (USA) 2:27:26
3. Suzie Snyder (USA) 2:31:33
4. Melanie McQuaid (CAN) 2:35:20
5. Brittany Webster (CAN) 2:38:53
Men
1. Francisco Serrano (MEX) 2:06:56
2. Josiah Middaugh (USA) 2:08:44
3. Chris Ganter (USA) 2:13:48
4. Ben Allen (AUS) 2:14:53
5. Branden Rakita (USA) 2:14:56
Alicia Kaye and Cameron Dye win 32nd St. Anthony’s Triathlon
Alicia Kaye and Cameron Dye won the St. Anthony’s Triathlon in St. Petersburg, Florida Sunday. They both won their second St. Anthony’s pro titles at the 32nd edition of the Florida classic.
Dye of Boulder, Colorado finished the Olympic distance event in 1:47:59, 37 seconds ahead of Kaleb Vanort of Mishakawa, Indiana and 2:04 ahead of 3rd-place finisher Eric Lagerstrom of San Diego, California. As usual, Dye won it with a strong swim and a race-best bike split of 52:36, which was 2:35 better than his closest pursuer.
Kaye finished in 2:00:30, 2:33 ahead of Magali Tisseyre of Canada and 6:34 ahead of 3rd-place finisher Heather Lendway, a first year pro from St. Paul, Minnesota. Lendway led the swim in 21:38, 2 seconds faster than Kaye. Kaye then ran away from the field with a women’s-best 59:38 bike split and a women's-best 37:24 run.
St. Anthony’s Triathlon
St. Petersburg, Florida
April 26, 2015
S 1,5k / B 40k / R 10k
Results
Women
1. Alicia Kaye (USA) 2:00:30
2. Magali Tisseyre (CAN) 2:03:03
3. Heather Lendway (USA) 2:07:04
4. Carla Moreno (BRA) 2:09:21
5. Jillian Petersen (USA) 2:10:39
Men
1. Cameron Dye (USA) 1:47:59
2. Kaleb Vanort (USA) 1:48:36
3. Eric Lagerstrom (USA) 1:50:03
4. Stuart Hayes (GBR) 1:51:28
5. Ben Collins (USA) 1:51:42
