09 Ultraman Day 2
Alexandre Ribeiro made his dozens of days riding 5 to 9 hours in the steep hills near his home in Rio de Janeiro pay off on November 28 on the second day of the 25th Ultraman World Championship. Ribeiro’s 7:30:35, 5th-best-ever split for the 171.4-mile ride from Volcanoes to Hawi, complete with 8,500 feet of climbing, gave him a lead of 23-minutes over rookie Mike LeRoux, 38 minutes over veteran Miro Kregar and 40 minutes over dangerous runner and 1997 Ultraman champion Peter Kotland. “That ride was the key,” said Ribeiro, who had learned from 2007 Ultraman winner Jonas Colting of Sweden to wait for the final climb up to Waimea and over the Kohalas to make his move.
Along the way, first day leader Richard Roll of Malibu and Miro Kregar of Slovenia crashed hard in separate incidents on the old Red Road, but got up, shrugged off the bruises and scraped skin to finish with the day’s 6th and 4th-best times. Australian-born Kona resident Rip Oldmeadow biked hard and led the first descent but incurred penalties which would later disqualify him. Jason Lester proved once again that the one-armed man isn’t the suspect The Fugitive is looking for, but rather an amazing athlete who posted the 16th fastest 9:21:22 split on the day. Mike LeRoux proved that a 6-day desert runner can post a 5th best 7:55:46 bike split, and Trix Zgraggen of Switzerland proved that the this two-time Swiss Gigathlon champion can set the second-fastest ever second day Ultraman women’s bike split of 8:39:58.
Related galleries
Photo Gallery ® Timothy Carlson
Alexandre Ribeiro increased his lead for the Day 2 bike to 16 minutes with a charge up and down the 3,600-foot peak of the Kohalas.
Giorgio Alessi used the 3-day, 320-mile Ultraman as the ultimate cool down after finishing the Deca-Ironman and its 1,406-miles just 10 days before.
Linda Bialla, the 1999 Ultraman champion, rode the bike on the first two day as part of Team Night Train with husband Vito Bialla (swimmer) and Matt Davie (runner).
The start of a 30-mile downhill at the beginning of Day 2 that takes the competitors on a bobsled-style cruise down from the cool rainforest climes of Volcanoes National Monument to the jungle temps of Pahoa.
Once the horn sounds at 6:30 AM, the pace of Day 2 is quick and the plunge downhill is a no-ticket zone.
After the no-stops-allowed downhill, Ultraman racers hook up with their support crews.
Gary Wang of Corte Madera California swiftly repairs a flat.
Rip Oldmeadow was the first man to arrive at the old Red Road which parallels the ocean for 12 miles. It’s called Red Road because it was originally paved with crushed red coral rock.
Nino Cokan of Slovenia charges up one of the Red Road’s frequent hills.
Jason Lester powers through the Red Road just ahead of Ultraman vet Uli Winkleman. Lester’s 9:21:22 bike split was faster than half the field.
Riding through one of the many beautiful canopies of trees on the Red Road.
Four leaders ride toward the end of the Red Road.
Peter Kotland leads Rip Oldmeadow, Nino Cokan and Alexandre Ribeiro near Pahoa.
The She-Devil haunts and taunts Ultraman competitors just past the Red Road.
Jason Lester’s Specialized bike shorts vow “Never Stop.”
Kathy Winkler rode a women’s third-best 9:04:14 bike split on Day 2.
Mike LeRoux of Cairns, Australia rode a 5th-best 7:55:46 that left him in 2nd place starting the Day 3 double marathon.
Richard Roll survived a jarring, bloody crash to finish Day 2 in 8:41:33, dropping him from first to sixth.
Trix Zgraggen rode with 6-time champion Shanna Armstrong nearly all day and finished 18 seconds behind the record-setting Texan. Enough to make anyone hungry.
Miro Kregar, incredibly fit at age 47, is one tough Slovenian after posting a 4th-best 7:55:08 Day 2 bike split after his jarring fall at 50 kmh.
