Vineman wins for Lieto and Carfrae
Chris Lieto distanced himself from all his competitors with a 2:08:53 bike split and then closed out his day with a 1:16:44 run to win the 2010 Vineman 70.3 event with a comfortable margin. Mirinda Carfrae had a tough battle with Leanda Cave but in the end took the women's title.
The men
John Dahlz and Graham O'Grady pulled away during the swim and gained about 75 secons on a pack that contained Kieran Doe, James Cotter and Chris Lieto.
O'Grady rode away from Dahlz and behind him Lieto put down the hammer in pursuit of the leaders, with Doe and Cotter hanging on for dear life. Cotter was the first to drop off the pace and 20 miles into the ride Lieto and Doe had caught O'Grady. About 10 miles later Lieto and Doe were alone again as O'Grady found the pace too hard. Doe too would eventually let the American go.
"I was starting to feel the bite at 70km and after a long powering turn by Chris in the front I decided to back off a little so I could still run," said Doe.
Lieto arrived in T2 alone with a 3.5 minute lead and looked very fast and efficient during the run too. His 1:16:44 run was not the fastest of the day but certainly one of the faster runs and gave him a comfortable margin of victory. Doe finished second and Cotter rounded out the podium.
The women
Dede Griesbauer had a great swim and led Meredith Kessler and Leanda Cave out of the water. Mirinda Carfrae was next, but was about 2 minutes down.
Carfrae caught Kessler and gained more than a minute back on Cave and Griesbauer, but a bit further back XTERRA Pro Melanie McQuaid was rolling through the field and with a 2:25:09 bike split managed to be first back in T2. Right behind her were Cave and Angela Naeth, who also had ridden a very fast bike split. Griesbauer and Carfrae were next into T2.
Carfrae's 1:16:52 run split was only bested by a few of the Pro men and no other Pro woman was even in the same area code. When it was all said and done, Carfrae crossed the line first in 4:15:51 and more than 6 minutes ahead of Cave who finished second. Tyler Stewart earned third place after with the fastest bike split among the women and a very solid run. McQuaid held on to fourth.
Ironman 70.3 Vineman
Guerneville, CA / July 18, 2010
1.2m swim / 56m bike / 13.1m run
Top men
1. Chris Lieto (USA) 3:54:05
2. Kieran Doe (NZL) 4:00:23
3. James Cotter (USA) 4:02:39
4. Jamie Whyte (NZL) 4:04:21
5. Paul Attard (AUs) 4:05:01
6. Nicholas Thompson (USA) 4:08:30
7. Graham O'Grady (NZL) 4:09:02
8. Chris Boudreaux (USA) 4:10:06
9. Philippe Kozub (USA) 4:12:50
10. Tim Sheeper (USA) 4:14:47 * AG M45-49
Top women
1. Mirinda Carfrae (AUS) 4:15:51
2. Leanda Cave (GBR) 4:22:03
3. Tyler Stewart (USA) 4:25:11
4. Melanie McQuaid (CAN) 4:27:02
5. Angela Naeth (CAN) 4:27:17
6. Dede Griesbauer (USA) 4:27:23
7. Meredith Kessler (USA) 4:29:16
8. Michelle Bremer (NZL) 4:35:47
9. Rachel Challis (USA) 4:39:50
10. Deanna Newman (USA) 4:43:20
