The Weekend Box Aug 16 2015
On the third weekend in August, triathlon offers many men – an Embrunman in France, a Timberman in New Hampshire, an Ironman in Kalmar and an XTERRA man-to-man duel in Germany.
Andy Potts and Angela Naeth prevail at Ironman 70.3 Timberman
Andy Potts outdueled U.S. rival Tim O’Donnell on the run, and Canadian Angela Naeth won the women's title with a superior bike split, at Ironman 70.3 Timberman.
Men
Dylan McNeice of New Zealand led the swim in 23:24, gaining a 29 seconds lead on Cam Dye, 39 seconds on O’Donnell, 44 seconds on Potts, 1:07 on Australian Paul Matthews, 1:50 on Drew Scott of the U.S., and 1:53 on Aussie Leon Griffin.
Embracing the longer distance 70.3 races since the end of the non-drafting Olympic distance Life Time Fitness series, Cam Dye charged to a race-best 2:06:06 bike split that gave him a 3:00 lead on Potts, 3:05 on O’Donnell and 3:08 on Jake Montgomery of Australia. Further back were several fast-running podium threats, including Trevor Wurtele (+6:50), Leon Griffin (+6:52), and Canadian Taylor Reid (+6:55).
Potts and O’Donnell passed Dye by the halfway point and settled in to a duel. Nearing the finish, Potts drew away to a race-best 1:15:30 half marathon that brought him to the line in 3:50:24, with a 1:05 margin of victory over O’Donnell. Dye held on with a 1:21:33 run which gave him the final spot on the podium, 2:10 back of O’Donnell. Trevor Wurtele charged from 6th to 4th place with a 2nd-best 1:16:31 run, 1:30 back of Dye.
Women
Still riding high on her confidence boosting, sub-9 hour win at Ironman Texas, Angela Naeth took on top rivals Rachel Joyce and Heather Jackson at this New England 70.3 classic. While typically slow swimmer Naeth was 7th out of the water, her hard work in the pool is making a difference as she was just 1:25 behind leader Joyce and, as a bonus, was 1:03 ahead of bike-run rival Jackson.
Halfway through the bike leg, Naeth seized a 1:40 lead on Joyce and 2:59 on Jackson. By the end of the 56-mile ride, Naeth posted a women's-best 2:18:26 bike split which was 4:18 better than Jackson and 8:52 better than Joyce. Starting the run with a 5:12 lead on Jackson, 8:14 and 8:55 on Beth Shutt and Jeanni Seymour, and 10:14 on Joyce, Naeth closed with a 3rd-best 1:26:34 run. This brought her to the line in 4:16:14 with a 4:27 margin of victory over Jackson and an 8:52 advantage over 3rd-place finisher Joyce, who finished with a women's best 1:25:22 run.
Ironman 70.3 Timberman
Gilford, New Hampshire
August 16, 2015
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Men
1. Andy Potts (USA) 3:50:24
2. Tim O’Donnell (USA) 3:51:29
3. Cam Dye (USA) 3:53:39
4. Trevor Wurtele (CAN) 3:55:09
5. Leon Griffin (AUS) 3:56:18
Women
1. Angela Naeth (CAN) 4:16:14
2. Heather Jackson (USA) 4:20:41
3. Rachel Joyce (GBR) 4:25:06
4. Beth Shutt (USA) 4:29:49
5. Jeanni Seymour (RSA) 4:30:46
Patrik Nilsson and Astrid Stienen win Ironman Kalmar
Fighting a choppy swim and windy bike conditions, Patrik Nilsson became the first Swedish men’s champion, and Astrid Stienen of Germany edged out home country favorite Camilla Lindholm Borg at the fourth edition of Ironman Kalmar.
Men
Karl-Johan Danielsson led the swim in 52:08, earning a 3 seconds lead on countryman Nilsson and a whopping 10 minutes-plus on eventual challengers Dougal Allan of New Zealand and Andreas Lindén of Sweden.
After exchanging the lead on the bike leg, Danielsson posted the 2nd-fastest bike split of 4:26:55 which increased his lead to 15 seconds over Nilsson, 10:49 over Allan (4:27:16 bike split) and 11:11 over Lindén who set the top bike mark of 4:25:36.
Nilsson caught Danielsson at the 4k mark of the run and never looked back on his way to a race-best 2:45:48 marathon that brought him to the finish in 8:08:05. Allan, who ran a 2nd-best 2:52:46 split, passed Danielsson one quarter of the way through the marathon and held on for a runner-up finish, 17:28 behind the winner. Danielsson’s 3:16:05 run held on for the final spot on the podium, 30:02 behind Nilsson and 2:33 ahead of 4th-place finisher Lindén.
Women
Mette Moe of Norway led the swim in 56:02, and kept the lead through 30 kilometers of the bike until Astrid Stienen of Germany took over. Stienen rode a women's-best 4:55:07 bike split which gave her a 6:25 lead on Moe and 11:25 on Camille Lindholm Borg of Sweden starting the run. After a women's second-best 3:12:15 run, Stienen finished in 9:12:27 with a 5:38 margin of victory over Lindholm Borg (3:06:14 run) and 15:49 over 3rd-place finisher Moe.
Stienen calls herself a late bloomer because she only started to train for triathlon at age 32. Since then, she won the 30-34 age group at Kona, finished 5th at Ironman South Africa, and was 3rd at Ironman 70.3 Mallorca.
Ironman Kalmar
Kalmar, Sweden
August 15, 2015
S 2.4mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.
Results
Men
1. Patrik Nilsson (SWE) 8:08:05
2. Dougal Allan (NZL) 8:25:33
3. Karl-Johan Danielsson (SWE) 8:38:07
4. Andreas Lindén (SWE) 8:40:40
5. David Näsvik (SWE) 8:43:06
Women
1. Astrid Stienen (GER) 9:12:27
2. Camilla Lindholm Borg (SWE) 9:18:05
3. Mette Moe (NOR) 9:28:16
4. Erika Csomor (HUN) 9:41:53
5. Esther Haller (SUI) 9:58:51
Andrej Vistica and Emma Pooley win Embrunman
Andrej Vistica of Croatia won it on the bike and the run, and Emma Pooley of Great Britain dominated the women's field to take the top laurels at the ultra tough Embrunman Long Course Triathlon.
Vistica avenged his 4th place finish last year – and ended Marcel Zamora’s 5-time reign – with a 9:44:45 finish that gave him a 12:04 margin of victory over Victor Del Corral of Spain, and 12:54 over 3rd place finisher James Cunnama of South Africa.
Pooley proved once again that she is at home on the sport's toughest courses. Today's victory comes after a 3rd place finish at Ironman France on Nice's hilly bike course and a win at the Alpe d'Huez Triathlon.
Men
Herve Banti of France led the swim in 48:52, 53 seconds ahead of Cunnama, 55 seconds ahead of Zamora, 1:08 ahead of Guillaume Jeannin of France, and 1:10 ahead of Marek Jaskolka of Poland, while Vistica emerged from the swim with a 3:53 deficit.
Vistica then attacked the 11,811 feet of climbing like a mountain goat, posting a 5:53:35 split that was 8:45 better than the next best mark of Cunnama, 9:14 better than Del Corral, 14:33 better than Marek Jaskolka, and 17:59 better than an obviously off-form Zamora.
With a 5:45 lead on Cunnama and 9:40 on Del Corral, Vistica could have cruised but instead put the pedal to the metal over the 1,312 feet of climbing on the run course with a race-best 2:53:38 split. Vistica's split was 3:09 faster than the next best effort of Del Corral and 7:36 better than Cunnama’s marathon.
Jaskolka took 4th, 25:26 behind the winner and Zamora was 5th, 31:25 arrears.
Women
While Vistica dominated the men, Emma Pooley crushed the women's field. Pooley trailed swim leader Pauline Chagnon by 6 minutes and two-time Embrunman winner Jeanne Collonge by 3 minutes, but once the two-wheel climbing began, resistance was futile. Pooley’s 6:31:44 bike split was 21:26 better than Collonge’s next-best effort, and 28:15 better than Stephamie Reymond’s 3rd-fastest split. Pooley’s race-best 3:14:37 run split then put an exclamation point on her 36:55 margin of victory over Collonge and 37:29 advantage over 3rd-place Linda Guinoiseau.
Embrunman Long Course Triathlon
Embrun, France
August 15, 2015
S 2.4 mi. / B 115 mi. / R 26.2 mi.
Results
Men
1. Andrej Vistica (CRO) 9:44:45
2. Victor Del Corral (ESP) 9:56:49
3. James Cunnama (RSA) 9:57:39
4. Marek Jaskolka (POL) 10:11:00
5. Marcel Zamora (ESP) 10:16:10
Women
1. Emma Pooley (GBR) 10:57:56
2. Jeanne Collonge (FRA) 11:34:51
3. Linda Guinoiseau (FRA) 11:35:25
4. Stephanie Reymond (FRA) 11:39:01
5. Isabelle Ferrer (FRA) 11:49:34
Ben Allen and Helena Erbenova win XTERRA Germany
Ben Allen of Australia won a thrilling finish line sprint with Bradley Weiss of South Africa, and Helena Erbenova of the Czech Republic won a come-from-behind duel with Jacqui Slack of Great Britain to take top honors at the 13th XTERRA Germany Championship.
This was the second weekend in a row that Erbenova and Allen won XTERRA titles. This was also Erbenova’s fourth win in a row and sixth victory of the season on the XTERRA European Tour.
Men
The men’s race came down to an epic battle to the finish that left both contenders sprawled in exhaustion at the line.
Allen, Francois Carloni, and Weiss left T2 together but after Carloni dropped back, Allen and Weiss ran shoulder to shoulder for the rest of the way on the rugged trails of Zittau. “We were breathing down each other’s necks, neither one of us giving each other an inch,” said Allen. “Brad surged a couple of times and I surged a couple of times, neither of us wanted to say die! Brad put in one last surge about 1km from the finish, and I was able to respond. Then I attacked on the last hill with about 500 meters to go.”
“Ben hung tough and made his sprint for the line count,” said Weiss. “Loved every minute out there.”
Allen finished in 2:25:36, one second ahead of Weiss, with Roger Serrano of Spain 2:50 further back in 3rd.
Women
After the swim, Erbenova was 3 minutes behind Slack, two minutes behind Brigitta Poor of Hungary, and 1 minute behind Carina Wasle of Austria. Erbenova erased all deficits with women’s-best bike and run splits, although it took her almost to the end to eke out a 26-seconds margin over runner-up Slack and 1:29 over 3rd-place finisher Poor.
XTERRA Germany
Zittau, Germany
August 15, 2015
Results
Men
1. Ben Allen (AUS) 2:25:36
2. Bradley Weiss (RSA) 2:25:37
3. Roger Serrano (ESP) 2:28:28
4. Francois Carloni (FRA) 2:28:55
5. Jens Roth (GER) 2:29:50
Women
1. Helena Erbenova (CZE) 2:51:58
2. Jacqui Slack (GBR) 2:52:24
3. Brigitta Poor (HUN) 2:53:27
4. Carina Wasle (AUT) 2:54:36
5. Lenka Cibulkova (CZE) 3:06:24
