Zamora and Macel survive Embrunman
Spaniard Marcel Zamora continued his strong season in his adopted homeland of France, adding a win at the grueling Embrunman iron-distance race. Canadian Tereza Macel lead out of the water and never looked back as she came off the bike with a commanding lead; she gave back a few minutes on the run, but still crossed the line almost 30 minutes ahead of second place.
The Men
The lithe Zamora, the clear favorite going into the race, came out of the water in a lead group of three in 46:44. The Spaniard was joined by TBB's Brandon Marsh of the USA and Stephen Bayliss of Great Britain, though both could just as easily call Brett Sutton's training camps "home." Trailing the trio were several other TBB athletes including South Africa's James Cunamama in 49:05 and the USA's Scott Defilippis, who was quite far down in 56:01.
Out on the bike course, it became a two man show as Zamora broke away on the hilly course, and Cunamama was the only one strong enough to give chase. The duo were the only two men to break 6 hours for the ride, a testament to the punishing nature of the course. Cunamama's 5:52:50, the fastest of the day, was enough to bring him into T2 with Zamora, but the fleet footed Spaniard ran away with the fastest run split of the day, and the only time under 3 hours, in 2:53:59.
Victor Del Corral Morales of Spain rounded out the podium, but he was never really part of the race at the front and had to be content to fight against the clock with almost twenty minutes ahead to second and more than ten minutes back to fourth. The rest of the men waged a war of attrition and survival, with over an hour separating the top ten.
The Women
It was really a one woman show from the gun as Canadian Tereza Macel, out of the water in 48:15, put over eight minutes on the quartet of Bella Bayliss, Alexandra Louison, Isabelle Ferrer, and Marie Protat, who were all out in about 56:30. From there, she extended her lead as the only woman under 7 hours on the bike, smashing the race apart with a 6:45:20 ride. The race exploded behind, with many of the pro women clocking rides over eight hours.
Out on the run, Macel's 3:42:01 gave back less than three minutes to Isabelle Ferrer, who crossed the line 29:07 behind. Alexandre Louison rounded out the podium with the fastest run of the day in 3:31:10. As with the men's race, it was a race of survival, with over two hours separating the top ten women.
Embrunman
Embrun, France
Aug 15, 2010
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.
Results
Men
1. Marcel Zamora Perez (SPA) 09:38:49
2. James Cunamama (RSA) 09:45:46
3. Victor Del Corral Morales (SPA) 10:03:22
4. Benoit Auguex (FRA) 10:13:17
5. Stephen Bayliss (GBR) 10:22:40
6. Simon Billeau (FRA) 10:23:21
7. Scott Defilippis (USA) 10:26:17
8. Cedric Jacquot (FRA) 10:38:32
9. Julien Coudert (FRA) 10:45:06
10. Gilles Reboul (FRA) 10:46:03
Women
1. Teresa Macel (CAN) 11:20:10
2. Isabelle Ferrer (FRA) 11:49:17
3. Alexandra Louison (FRA) 11:51:06
4. Bella Bayliss (GBR) 11:58:17
5. Esther de Vries (NED) 12:00:05
6. Laura Mazzucco (ITA) 12:39:14
7. Simone Schwarz (GER) 12:42:44
8. Marie Protat (FRA) 13:01:42
9. Christine Liot (FRA) 13:15:07
10. Petra Schwegler (GER) 13:26:59
