Croneborg, Li tops at Taiwan
Fredrik Croneborg of Sweden and Taiwan star Yu-Shiao Li prevailed with come-from-behind wins to earn the 8,000 Euro top prizes at the full distance Challenge Taiwan Sunday.
Men
Croneborg started the day 6:20 down to swim leader Dylan McNeice, then lost several minutes fixing a flat at 35 km. Whereupon he gathered himself with a second best 4:33:56 bike split that brought him to T2 4 minutes after McNeice, the defending 2014 Challenge Taiwan titleholder [the full distance Challenge Taiwan was not held in 2015].
Once into the run in steamy tropical temperatures, Croneborg passed McNeice at the 13 km mark and went on to run a race-best 2:59:09 marathon that brought him to the finish in 8:30:28 with am 18:08 margin of victory over McNeice and 25:27 over 3rd-place finisher Patrick Evoe of the U.S.
Croneborg, a winner at 2010 Ironman 70.3 China and 2014 Challenge Atlantic City, was 3rd at Challenge Taiwan in 2013 and 2nd in 2014, was happy with his breakthrough win. “It was nice to finally make the top placing,” said Croneborg. “The weather conditions were the warmest I had racing here and once I cut Dylan’s lead to 4 minutes at the end of the bike I was feeling my chance to win this race were still on.”
Women
Yu-Shiao Li started the day 5:28 behind swim leader Vanessa Murray of New Zealand’s women's-fastest 55:38 split and 4 minutes back of Kathryn Haesner’s 57:06 split and 16 seconds behind Australian Jessica Fleming’s 1:00:50 swim. By the time Li finished her women’s-best 5:00:43 bike split, she was 1:50 ahead of Fleming, 10 minutes ahead of Haesner and 12 minutes ahead of Murray.
After her women's 2nd-best 3:31:30 marathon, Li finished in 9:40:05 with am 8:42 margin of victory over Fleming (3:38:21 run) and 9:27 over 3rd-place Haesner (women's best 3:31:04 run).
Li thus added another jewel in her triathlon résumé to go with her 2013 and 2014 wins at Ironman Japan and at the 2015 edition of Ironman 70.3 Japan.
Challenge Taiwan
Taitung, Taiwan
May 8, 2016
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 ,i. / R 26.2 mi.
Results
Men
1. Fredrik Croneborg (SWE) 8:30:28
2. Dylan McNeice (NZL) 8:48:36
3. Patrick Evoe (USA) 8:55:55
4. Till Schramm (GER) 9:46:58
5. Petr Vabrousek (CZE) 10:02:39
Women
1. Shiao-Yu Li (TWN) 9:40:05
2. Jessica Fleming (AUS) 9:48:47
3. Kathryn Haesner (NZL) 9:49:32
4. Vanessa Murray (NZL) 9:54:56
5. Marina Jurjevic (AUS) 10:51:38
