Aussies take 70.3 Muskoka
Craig Alexander showed that he is ready for the upcoming Ironman World Championships in Kona with a solid win at 70.3 Muskoka. Mirinda Carfrae captured the women's title in a time of 4:24:48.
The men
Paul Matthews led all the men out of Peninsula Lake but he had 6 other Pros hot on his heels. Among them were Craig Alexander and Richie Cunningham. After some early positioning battles on the bike, Alexander, Cunningham and Matthews eventually got away from the other Pros and rolled back into T2 a few seconds apart. Next into transition were Sean Bechtel and Maik Twelsiek.
Alexander then set a torrid pace on the run and it was clear quite fast who would be the winner today. Spectators were left to wonder if Alexander would run sub 1:10 on this very undulating 13.1 run course, and how the runner-u positions would ne filled. In the end Alexander clocked a very impressive 1:11:41 and an overall winning time of 3:58:04. Cunningham managed to take second place with a 1:15:37 run and Matthews held on for third and an Aussie sweep of the men's podium.
"I wanted to stick to my same schedule as last year. Muskoka is a pretty hilly course so it's a good test of your fitness. I was pretty happy with how it all went." stated Alexander.
The women
Just 13 seconds separated the first 7 women out of the water and most of the contenders were included in that group. But Magali Tisseyre and Lisa Bentley were already looking at an over 2.5 minute gap as they started the bike segment.
Rebeccah Wassner soon moved to the front of the field and managed to stay in the lead all the way to the bike-run transition. But her margin over the chasers wasn't very big. Just 20 seconds later Mirinda Carfrae hit T2 and the Aussie looked quite fast as she headed out onto the run.
Carfrae quickly reeled in Wassner and with a very fast 1:18:51 running time crossed the line first and almost 5 minutes ahead of Wassner who held on to second. Kelly Couch grabbed the final podium spot.
"Yeah was nice to have another win in the middle of my Kona prep… It's good to see the training we are doing is paying off," said Carfrae to slowtwitch after the race. "Muskoka is a tough little race – long bike that felt like a roller coaster & an equally challenging run course… All in all a really well run event & one I plan on returning to year after year."
Subaru Ironman 70.3 Muskoka
September 13, 2009
Top 10 men
1. Craig Alexander (AUS) 3:58:04
2. Richie Cunningham (AUS) 4:02:02
3. Paul Matthews (AUS) 4:03:52
4. Santiago Ascenco (BRA) 4:07:42
5. Maik Twelsiek (GER) 4:08:06
6. Sean Bechtel (CAN) 4:09:48
7. Kirk Nelson (USA) 4:16:14
8. Wolfgang Guembel (CAN) 4:17:28
9. Andrew Russell (CAN) 4:18:37
10. Justin Hurd (USA) 4:20:00
Top 10 women
1. Mirinda Carfrae (AUS) 4:24:48
2. Rebeccah Wassner (USA) 4:29:48
3. Kelly Couch (USA) 4:36:29
4. Magali Tisseyre (CAN) 4:41:15
5. Laurel Wassner (USA) 4:48:57
6. Paolina Allan (CAN) 4:51:16
7. Suzanne Zelazo (CAN) 4:51:57
8. Ayesha Rollinson (CAN) 4:55:29
9. Stacey Richardson (USA) 4:58:08
10. Claudia Johnston (CAN) 4:58:57 *AG F35-39
