Race Weekend Rewind: Cairns, Luxembourg 70.3, and More

There was a lot of racing going on this weekend. We're highlighting noteworthy performances from the various events that took place this weekend.

Currie, Simpson Victorious in Cairns in Course Records

Braden Currie and Kylie Simpson are both winners and course record holders in Cairns, taking this classic on the IRONMAN calendar.

Currie's 7:50:11 shattered Max Neumann's record, set in 2022, and took victory by more than ten minutes over Steve McKenna. Simpson's victory is her second in three years here in Cairns, and she too had a double-digit minute margin of victory: 18 minutes over Radka Kahlefeldt.

One other performance of note — the fourth place of 41-year-old Pete Jacobs. Yes, as in, former IRONMAN World Champion Pete Jacobs. After many years battling a variety of ailments, Jacobs was near the front of the race for a long period of time before settling into fourth on the run. It's his best result in an IRONMAN since 2016.

Men's Results
Braden Currie – 7:50:11
Steve McKenna – 8:01:00
Tim Van Berkel – 8:04:55
Peter Jacobs – 8:09:49
Mike Phillips – 8:17:14
Ben Phillips – 8:19:02
Matt Burton – 8:33:12
Tuan Chun Chang – 8:36:22
Matt Kerr – 8:39:03
Nathan Dortmann – 8:45:10

Women's Results
Kylie Simpson – 8:40:53
Radka Kahlefeldt – 8:58:49
Penny Slater – 9:05:50
Sarah Crowley – 9:25:00
Kate Gillespie-Jones – 9:29:01
Emily Donker – 9:34:52
Laura Brown – 9:46:30
Sarah Thomas – 10:00:59

Live Coverage Grade: B+ It's impressive how stable IRONMAN's own streaming platforms are. There's little of the lag or intermittent issues that are found on other systems. But overall, everything was easy to follow, and you didn't miss any of the main moves despite the ongoing changes to motorcycle access to courses. No real demerits to speak of.

Taagholt Triumphant in Luxembourg

Miki Taagholt earned his first IRONMAN 70.3 victory in Luxembourg, using a second-best 1:15 half marathon to gap Christophe De Keyser and Felipe Azevedo.

Taagholt, arguably the strongest cyclist in the field, instead stayed patient on the bike, content to arrive at T2 in a six man group which also included the podium runners, Rico Bogen, Jan Stratmann, and Youri Keulen. Taagholt then sprung away from the field on lap one of the run to establish a gap, and then continued onward to victory.

Miki Taagholt 3:49:20
Christophe De Keyser 3:50:47
Felipe Azevedo 3:51:43
Jan Stratmann 3:52:28
Youri Keulen 3:52:34

Live Coverage Grade: B The big downgrade this week for the Outside Watch event? Getting locked, again, into an endless loop of Outside Watch commercials on my MacBook. It doesn't matter what browser I use — if you get trapped in that loop, you're going to hear about the same few trips in the US. Otherwise, once in the race? It worked fine.

You get what you pay for, I suppose.

World Triathlon Watch: Jorgensen Takes Silver

David Castro and Anahi Alvarez earned wins at the sprint distance World Cup in Huatulco. It's Alvarez's first World Cup victory. Castro, meanwhile, had to outduel Tyler Mislawchuk in a sprint for the win.

In the all important battle for Olympic qualification, Gwen Jorgensen earned her first podium at the World Cup level since returning to triathlon, taking second comfortably and beating out fellow American women Gina Sereno (10th) and Katie Zafares (13th). Jorgensen remains on the outside looking in when it comes to qualification, needing to gather as many points to her name as she can.

“I am not sure what’s next, I don’t have many points at the moment so it’s just about taking what races I can get into and competing at my best. Next is the relay tomorrow and I am really excited about that,” said Jorgensen.

Photos:
IM Cairns – Korupt Vision for IRONMAN
Luxembourg – Nils Nilsen / IRONMAN

Tags: