Watkinson, Van Berkel Take Challenge Shepparton
Geelong 70.3 runner-up Amelia Watkinson of New Zealand switched places with Geelong 70.3 winner Lotte Wilms of the Netherlands, while Geelong 70.3 5th-place finisher Tim Van Berkel got his game together to earn a dominating victory over Fraser Walsh at Challenge Shepparton.
Women
Watkinson emerged from the water in 4th place, trailing Wilms by 2:08. Watkinson minimized the gap with a women's best 2:15:44 bike split – 22 seconds faster than Wilms. Halfway through the run, though, Watkinson’s deficit remained at a minute and a half, which looked to leave the New Zealander a sixth straight runner-up at the long course distance.
However, from that point Wilms started to fade while Watkinson started to charge and passed Wilms 200 meters from the line. Watkinson finished in 4:08:38 with a 24 seconds margin on Wilms while Grace Thek finished 3rd, 4:59 behind the winner.
“I had settled on second to be honest," Watkinson told Challenge Family media. “It’s a pretty honest bike out there and it was windy and on the run I kept on pushing. Unfortunately, Lotte had a bit of a rough day at the end but it’s a competition so I made the most of it.”
Men
Defending champion Max Neumann led the swim with a 23:47 split that gave him a 19 second lead on Caleb Noble, 37 seconds on Mitchell Cunningham, 46 seconds on Fraser Walsh and 51 seconds on Josh Wooldridge.
Starting the bike leg, Fraser Walsh took the lead, Neumann tucked into third place and Van Berkel sliced away at his deficit while Neumann faded. Past halfway, Van Berkel cruised into the lead while Matt Burton charged into second place on his way to the fastest bike split of the day – 2:02:15. On the wings of a 2:02:28 second-best bike split, Van Berkel entered T2 with a 1:03 lead on Burton, 4:04 on Walsh, and 7:04 on Neumann.
On the run, Van Berkel poured on to his lead, while Walsh passed Burton at the 11k mark. On his way to a race-best 1:16:19 run split, Walsh finished in second place, 3:38 behind Van Berkel. Finishing with a third-fastest 1:17:47 run, Neumann took third place, 9:01 behind the winner.
“Today started off pretty rough with a bad swim for me but I got out on the bike and really got to work and took the lead by the turn around,” van Berkel told Challenge Family media. “On the run I was in survival mode.”
Challenge Shepparton
March 13, 2022
Shepparton, Australia
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Women
1. Amelia Watkinson (NZL) S 26:59 B 2:15:44 R 1:23:19 TOT 4:08:38
2. Lotte Wilms (NED) S 24:51 B 2:16:06 R 1:24:57 TOT 4:09:02
3. Grace Thek (AUS) S 26:55 B 2:20:50 R 1:23:34 TOT 4:13:37
4. Renee Kiley (AUS) S 28:52 B 2:17:35 R 1:33:10 TOT 4:22:26
5. Penny Slater (AUS) S 29:19 B 2:17:07 R 1:35:40 TOT 4:24:54
6. Stephanie Demestichas (AUS) S 26:56 B 2:31:55 R 1:28:42 TOT 4:30:17
7. Laura Armstrong (NZL) S 31:15 B 2:27:11 R 1:32:49 TOT 4:34:08
Men
1. Tim Van Berkel (AUS) S 25:14 B 2:02:28 R 1:16:25 TOT 3:46:19
2. Fraser Walsh (AUS) S 24:28 B 2:07:18 R 1:16:19 TOT 3:50:17
3. Max Neumann (AUS) S 23:47 B 2:10:59 R 1:17:47 TOT 3:55:20
4. Mitchell Cunningham (AUS) S 24:19 B 2:12:27 R 1:17:43 TOT 3:56:39
5. Matt Burton (AUS) S 26:30 B 2:02:15 R 1:28:12 TOT 3:59:17
6. Caleb Noble (AUS) S 24:01 B 2:16:05 R 1:18:42 R 1:18:42 TOT 4:01:16
7. Matt Lewis (AUS) S 26:39 B 2:14:49 R 1:22:04 TOT 4:06:00
8. Brodie Talbott (AUS) S 26:41 B 2:10:41 R 1:31:14 TOT 4:11:19
9. Josh Wooldridge (AUS) S 24:33 B 2:23:51 R 1:27:10 TOT 4:17:55
