Max Neumann, Sarah Crowley win Hell of the West
Twenty-two year-old Neumann combined a second-best 2 kilometer swim, second-fastest 80 kilometer bike split and second-fastest 20 kilometer run to finish in 3:31:28. Neumann led a 1-2-3 Aussie sweep with a 48 seconds margin of victory over Jake Montgomery and 5:57 over 3rd place Josh Amberger.
Neumann's previous best results include a win at the 2017 Australian Cross Triathlon Championship, 6th at the Devenport OTU Oceania Championship and 31st at the New Plymouth World Cup.
Crowley, who had a career year in 2017 including wins at the Asia-Pacific and European Ironman Championships, a win at the ITU Long Course Worlds and a 3rd at the Ironman World Championship, opened her 2018 season in similar form. Crowley combined a tied-for-women’s-best swim, a dominating bike split and a women’s third-best run to finish in 3:58:09 with an 8:45 margin of victory over Skye Moench of the U.S. and 12:30 over 3rd place finisher Fawn Whiting of Canada.
Men
Josh Amberger led the 2 kilometer swim with a 26:39 split which gave him 16 seconds lead on Neumann, 23 seconds on Lindsey Lawry of Australia, 26 seconds on Brock Millard of Australia, 1:14 on Montgomery, 2:03 on Fraser Walsh, and 2:16 on Kiwi Callum Millward.
After a race-best 1:51:23 split on the 80 kilometer bike leg, Montgomery led the field into T2 with a 2:21 lead on Neumann (1:54:42 ride), 3:02 on Amberger (1:55:29 ride), 3:06 on Lawry, and 7:31 on Mark Bowstead.
With a race-best 1:09:51 split, Neumann passed Montgomery late in the 20 kilometer run and finished in 3:31:28 with a 48 seconds margin over his fellow Aussie (1:12:59 run) and 5:57 over Amberger (1:15:16 run). Lawry took 4th, 10:03 after the winner, while Millward made up for a 2:01:39 bike split with a 2nd-fastest 1:12:01 run to finish 5th, 1:04 behind Lawry.
Women
Crowley, Nina Derron of Switzerland and Alise Selsmark of Australia tied for the women’s best swim with 30:50 splits, which gave them a 5 seconds lead on Kerry Morris of Australia and 2:43 on Skye Moench of the U.S.
Crowley then seized control of the women’s race with a 2:06:04 bike split which was precisely 5 minutes better than the next best effort by Moench, 5:29 better than Kerry Morris, and 10:15 better than Fawn Whiting.
Crowley ran home on cruise control with a women’s 3rd-fastest 1:21:14 run split to cross the line in 3:58:09 with an 8:44 margin over Moench (1:22:17 run). Whiting charged hard to a women’s-best 1:18:04 for the 20 kilometer run which brought her home in 3rd place, 12:29 behind the winner.
Hell of the West Triathlon
Goondiwindi, Queensland, Australia
February 4, 2018
S 2k / B 80 km / R 20k
Results
Men
1. Max Neumann (AUS) 3:31:28 S 26:55 B 1:54:42 R 1:09:51 – $2500
2. Jake Montgomery (AUS) 3:32:16 S 27:53 B 1:51:23 R 1:12:59 – $1000
3. Josh Amberger (AUS) 3:37:25 S 26:39 B 1:55:29 R 1:15:16 – $500
4. Lindsey Lawry (AUS) 3:41:31 S 27:02 B 1:55:20 R 1:19:08
5. Callum Millward (NZL) 3:42:36 S 28:55 B 2:01:39 R 1:12:01
6. Mark Bowstead (NZL) 3:43:41 S 28:58 B 1:57:49 R 1:16:54
7. Fraser Walsh (AUS) 3:46:27 S 28:42 B 2:02:22 R 1:15:23
8. Brock Millard (AUS) 3:49:18 S 27:05 B 2:04:54 R 1:17:18
9. Jarrod Harvey (AUS) 3:51:07 S 29:28 B 2:02:35 R 1:19:03
10. Jarrod Owen (AUS) 3:58:04 S 34:39 B 207:37 R 1:15:37 * M35-39
Women
1. Sarah Crowley (AUS) 3:58:09 S 30:50 B 2:06:04 R 1:21:14 – $2500
2. Skye Moench (USA ) 4:06:54 S 33:33 B 2:11:04 R 1:22:17 – $1000
3. Fawn Whiting (CAN) 4:10:39 S 35:16 B 2:16:19 R 1:18:04 – $500
4. Nina Derron (SUI) 4:11:04 S 30:50 B 2:20:14 R 1:20:00
5. Emily Donker (AUS) 4:14:59 S 33:29 B 2:14:18 * F25:29
6. Alise Selsmark (AUS) 4:15:31 S 30:50 S 2:21:07 R 1:23:34
7. Kim McKinney (AUS) 4:17:32 S 35:35 B 2:12:34 R 1:29:22 * F25-29
8. Kerry Morris (AUS) 4:18:34 S 30:55 B 2L11L33 R 1:36:04
9. Anne Alford (AUS) 4:24:00 S 33:19 B 2:17:05 R 1:33:35 * F35-39
10. Isobel Chisholm (AUS) 4:27:53 S 36:14 B 2:22:22 R 1:29:17 * F20-24
