The Weekend Box Jul 27 2014
Only Oceania, South America and the Antarctic continents are left off a loaded menu of triathletic action this weekend. We bring you slam-bang mixed relay sprints from Scotland, an oh-so-rare Olympic distance-Ironman double from Switzerland, a Spanish domination of Italian off-road action, two hotly contested Canadian long course races, a surprise unofficial boost to the prize purse in the Adirondacks, and two new winners at a Chinese World Cup.
England wins Commonwealth Games Mixed Relay Triathlon Gold
Just as they triumphed two weeks ago at the Mixed Relay World Championship in Hamburg, a two-man, two-women team from England won the Commonwealth Games Mixed Relay Triathlon gold at Glasgow, Scotland Saturday.
Only this time around, the slightly different squad of Jodie Stimpson, Jonathan Brownlee, Vicky Holland and Alistair Brownlee ran a mistake-free race that gave them a comfortable-for-the-sprint-format margin of victory over runner-up South Africa rather than the nail-biting close win two weeks ago over France at Hamburg.
The cut-and-thrust, ebb-and-flow nature of this exciting sprint format kept the suspense level high until the final leg. Kirsten Sweetland of Canada burst into the lead on the first leg of the relay. Then Jonathan Brownlee of England, as he did two weeks ago in Hamburg, broke into the lead on the bike, then gave some of it back it away with a bobbled swim to bike transition. Duly chastised and inspired, J Brownlee then torched past the four nations and beyond – his race-best 4:29 run split gave England a huge 16 seconds lead starting the third leg. New Zealand’s Nicky Samuels surged to the front on the first portion of the third leg bike before England’s Jodie Stimpson regained the lead as she finished her run.
When all four team members finished their 250 meter swims, 6 kilometer bike legs and 1.6 kilometer runs, Alistair Brownlee crossed the line in 1 hour 13 minutes and 24 seconds with a 49 seconds margin of victory.
The real barn burner of a duel was between the South Africa’s anchor leg competitor Richard Murray and Australia’s anchor Ryan Bailie for the silver medal. Murray and Bailie finished their swim and bike splits in a virtual tie with Canada. Murray then ran a 4:41 for the final mile split while Bailie fell just one second short with a 4:43 run.
Canada started the final leg in a virtual tie with South Africa and Australia and anchorman Andrew Yorke matched his rivals through the swim and bike. But down the stretch, Yorke could only manage a closing 4:46 run split which left the Canadians 4th, 3 seconds back of the podium.
“I definitely hope to see that event in the Olympics,” said Murray. “I think it might have been more exciting than the men’s race to be honest. It’s so high paced.”
Commonwealth Games Mixed Relay Triathlon
Glasgow, Scotland
July 26, 2014
4 x 250m Swim / 6k Bike / 1.6k Run
Results
1. England (Jodie Stimpson – Jonathan Brownlee – Vicky Holland – Alistair Brownlee) 1:13:24
2. South Africa (Kate Roberts – Henri Schoeman – Gillian Sanders – Richard Murray) 1:14:13
3. Australia (Emma Moffatt – Aaron Royle – Emma Jackson – Ryan Bailie) 1:14:14
4. Canada (Kirsten Sweetland – Matthew Sharpe – Sarah-Anne Brault – Andrew Yorke) 1:14:17
5. New Zealand (Andrea Hewitt – Tony Dodds – Nicky Samuels – Ryan Sissons ) 1:14:42
Vladimir Turbaevskiy and Maria Czesnik win Jiayuguan World Cup
Vladimir Turbeavskiy of Russia and Maria Czesnik of Poland won their first ITU World Cup victories on a hot, dry day in the Gobi desert.
The men’s swim ended with a huge pack of 50 hopping on their bikes. Not satisfied with a ceremonial passage to the run, Aleksandr Latin, Jonas Schomburg, and Eric Lagerstronm managed a break that earned them a 1 minute lead at T2. But halfway through the 4-lap, 10k run, Turbaevskiy, Jarrod Shoemaker of the U.S. and Igor Polyanskiy of Russia took control.
By the finish, Turbayevskiy broke ahead with 1 kilometer to go, running a race-fastest 31:25 split to finish in 1:49:54 with a 3 seconds margin over runner-up Shoemaker (31:30 run) and 14 seconds over Polyanskiy (31:39 run).
Shoemaker was happy with his second top 5 World Cup finish in China this year. “I guess I like China, right?” said Shoemaker. “I definitely feel good after a 5th and a 2nd in World Cup racing in this country in 2014.”
Shoemaker added that the high altitude in Jiayuguan mandated a conservative approach. “I have been training in Boulder at this same altitude and I know you cannot drive hard in these conditions,” he said. “I was smart in the swim, just stayed up there. The bike was interesting — it was so rolling and no one wanted to work but it was equally hard to get to the front.”
In the women’s race, a leading group of 15 broke away to a 2 minute lead at T2. Starting the run, Czesnik, Yurie Kato of Japan and Ditte Kristensen of Denmark broke away early. The Polish athlete made her move early on the first lap and never relented on her way to a race-best 36:47 run and a 2:00:10 finish which gave her a 23 seconds margin of victory over Kato and 37 seconds on 3rd place finisher Kristensen.
“I am really very happy, this is my first victory,” said Czesnik. “I had some problems on the swim and had to push hard on the bike to catch the girls and was suffering on the run. But in the end it came together.”
Jessica Broderick of the U.S. added one more excellent race to her 2014 season. After 2nd place finishes at the Chengdu World Cup and the Dallas PATCO Champs, she finished 4th, 11 seconds off the podium.
Jiayuguan World Cup
Jiayuguan City, China
July 26, 2014
S 1.5k / R 40k / R 10k
Results
Men
1. Vladimir Turbayevskiy (RUS) 1:49:54
2. Jarrod Shoemaker (USA) 1:49:57
3. Igor Polyanskiy (RUS) 1:50:00
4. Sergio Sarmiento (MEX) 1:50:09
5. Ivan Ivanov (UKR) 1:50:15
10. Manny Huerta (PUR) 1:50:43
Women
1. Maria Czesnik (POL) 2:00:10
2. Yurie Kato (JPN) 2:00:33
3. Ditte Kristensen (DNK) 2:00:47
4. Jessica Broderick (USA) 2:00:58
5. Yuting Huang (CHN) 2:01:13
Ruben Ruzafa and Helena Erbenova win XTERRA Italy
Reigning XTERRA World Champion Ruben Ruzafa of Spain won his fifth of five XTERRA European Tour Championship starts this year with another crushing performance at the XTERRA Italy championship.
On a rainy day in Italy with slick downhills, Ruzafa used all of his professional mountain bike racing skills to finish in 2:45:23 with a 4:34 margin of victory over runner-up Braden Currie of New Zealand and 5:16 over 4-time XTERRA World Champion Conrad Stoltz of South Africa.
Cedric Lassonde of France suffered his third big crash in three months on the XTERRA European circuit, breaking his nose and front derailleur but not his spirit. “The plan was to get around the course in one piece,” said Lassonde. “Then I got carried away and sure enough off the bike I flew and crashed heavily.”
Reigning XTERRA European Tour champion Helena Erbenova of the Czech Republic dominated the women's field to win her third race of the season and her second in a row to pull within 20 points of leader Kathrin Müeller of Germany after 7 of 11 races in the series.
Erbenova finished in 3:13:38, 4:26 ahead of runner-up Carina Wasle of Austria and 4:39 ahead of Müller. “What a day,” said Wasle. “The rain made the course tough and a big challenge. XTERRA never is easy.”
XTERRA Italy
Scanno, Italy
July 26, 2014
Results
Men
1. Ruben Ruzafa (ESP) 2:45:23
2. Braden Currie (NZL) 2:49:57
3. Conrad Stoltz (RSA) 2:50:39
4. Francois Carloni (FRA) 2:51:23
5. Asa Shaw (GBR) 2:53:45
Women
1. Helena Erbenova (CZE) 3:13:38
2. Carina Wasle (AUT) 3:23:04
3. Kathrin Muller (GER) 3:23:17
4. Renata Bucher (SUI) 3:29:52
5. Brigitta Poor (HUN) 3:32:20
Reinaldo Colucci and Daniela Ryf tops at Zurich 5i50
Reinaldo Colucci and Daniela Ryf won the Zurich 5i50 Olympic distance non-drafting event – which for Ryf was a catered warm-up for Ironman Switzerland the next day.
Reinaldo Colucci of Brazil showed some signs that he is back on track for 2016 Olympic qualification with his victory at Zurich 5i50. Colucci started the day in range with an 8th-best 19:02 swim within 10 seconds of the leader. He stayed in close contract with the lead pack with a race-best, non-drafting 54:17 bike split. Then the lean and lithe Brazilian shot down the likes of Swiss Olympians Ruedi Wild and Sven Riederer with a race-best 32:01 run that was 20 to 40 seconds better than his chasers. So he finished in 1:47:23 with a 23 seconds margin on Wild and 43 seconds on 20-04 Olympic bronze medalist Riederer.
Ryf, who has been mastering the 70.3 distance while maintaining a competitive Olympic distance form at Life Time Fitness races, came out 3rd in the swim then blasted to the front with a race-best 57:52 bike split which was nearly 4 minutes better than her competitors and gave her enough cushion that her 37:51 split withstood better runs by Ricarda Lisk (35:30), Svenja Bazlen (36:43) and 2012 Olympic silver medalist Lisa Norden (37:22).
Ryf finished in 1:58:08 with a 1:26 margin of victory over Lisk and 2:35 over 3rd-place finisher Bazlen and 3:12 over 4th place Norden.
5i50 Zurich
Zurich, Switzerland
July 26, 2014
S 1.5k / B 40k / R 10k
Results
Men
1. Reinaldo Colucci (BRA) 1:47:23
2. Ruedi Wild (SUI) 1:47:46
3. Sven Riederer (SUI) 1:48:06
4. Pieter Heemeryck (BEL) 1:48:13
5. Guilio Molinari (ITA)
7. Ivan Raña (ESP) 1:49:04
Women
1. Daniela Ryf (SUI) 1:58:08
2. Ricarda Lisk (GER) 1:59:34
3. Svenja Bazlen (GER) 2:00:43
4. Lisa Norden (SWE) 2:01:20
5. Catherine Jameson (GBR) 2:08:51
Boris Stein and Daniela Ryf win Ironman Switzerland
Boris Stein of Germany edged his nearest rival and Daniela Ryf of Switzerland dominated the women's field to win the overall titles at Ironman Switzerland.
Stein added to his previous career highlight wins at Challenge Kraichgau last year and at Ironman 70.3 Rapperswil this year with an 8:33:02 performance that gave him a 1:11 margin of victory over David Plese of Slovenia and 7:38 over 3rd place finisher Marek Joakolka of Poland.
Ryf, who seems to be finally reaching her potential under famed coach Brett Sutton this year, won the non-drafting short course 5i50 Zurich race the day before (topping 2012 Olympic silver medalist Lisa Norden in the process). Seemingly unfazed and even refreshed by her 5i50 warm-up, Ryf unleashed a 2nd-best 56:41 swim, a race-fastest 4:55:00 bike split and a 2nd best 3:11:03 marathon at Zurich to finish in 9:13:30 with a 15 minutes-plus margin of victory over the rest of the podium. This win adds to her impressive 2013 which included a win at Ironman 70.3 Wiesbaden and 3rd place finishes at Life Time Fitness Chicago and LA and Ironman 70.3 Cozumel as well as a recent win at Ironman 70.3 Rapperswil.
No matter that 6-time Ironman World Champion Natascha Badmann finished second and was outraced by 15 minutes by her Swiss countrywoman – this was the performance of the day. Badmann is now 47 years old – a good decade after nearly all the best Ironman women choose to retire and well past the time when pro women can switch to age group competition without causing much grumbling among lifetime amateurs. While soundly beaten by Ryf, Badmann was faster than respected Ironman performers Sonja Tajsich (3rd) Kristin Möller (4th) and Erika Csomor (5th). Her 1:05:10 swim was pretty standard for her career and gave Ryf an 8:29 advantage starting the bike. Badmann, all 5 foot 5 inches tall and 115 pounds, then posted a race-fastest 4:55:00 bike leg that gave her enough time in the bank that her 3:23:01 run could withstand all attacks on her runner-up finish.
Ironman Switzerland
Zurich, Switzerland
July 27, 2014
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.
Results
Men
1. Boris Stein (GER) 8:33:02
2. David Plese (SLO) 8:34:13
3. Marek Jaskolka (POL) 8:40:40
4. Filip Ospaly (CZE) 8:43:23
5. Jan van Berkel (SUI) 8:46:33
Women
1. Daniela Ryf (SUI) 9:13:30
2. Natascha Badmann (SUI) 9:28:37
3. Sonja Tajsich (GER) 9:29:15
4. Kristin Möller (GER) 9:30:15
5. Erika Csomor (HUN) 9:32:14
Andy Potts and Rachel McBride win Ironman 70.3 Calgary
Andy Potts won it on the swim and home country favorite Rachel McBride crushed her rivals on the bike to win the men’s and women's overall titles at Ironman 70.3 Calgary.
Potts, coming off his usual strong early season which featured wins at Ironman Coeur d’Alene, Escape From Alcatraz and Ironman 70.3 New Orleans as well as a 2nd place at Oceanside 70.3, posted a race-best 20:49 swim which out-split his chief rival on the day, Will Clarke of Great Britain, by 1:21. Clarke then sliced Potts’ lead by 19 seconds on the bike and 20 seconds on the run – but fell short of his ambitions. Potts’ 3:43:43 finish edged Clarke by 36 seconds and outpaced 3rd-place Brandon Marsh by 3:51.
Rachel McBride swam a 5th-fastest 24:55 split which put her within range of rivals Amy Marsh (24:00), Lisa Mensink (24:02), Mandy McLane (24:07) and Emma-Kate Lidbury (24:13). McBride quickly motored away from her merely-human two-wheel rivals with a race-best 2:13:36 bike split which was 6 minutes better than the top 4 swimmers.
McBride sealed the win with a tied-for-women’s-best 1:25:34 half marathon that brought her to the line in 4:07:19 with an 8:53 margin of victory over Mandy McLane and 10:28 over 3rd-place finisher Lisa Mensink.
McBride’s winning time surpassed Mirinda Carfrae’s 2009 Calgary 70.3 women's race record by 3:44 and this victory tops McBride’s best recent race results – recent 3rd places at 70.3s in Vineman and Eagleman and her 2013 70.3 runner-up finishes at Austin, Muskoka and Calgary.
Ironman 70.3 Calgary
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
July 27, 2014
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Men
1. Andy Potts (USA) 3:43:43
2. Will Clarke (GBR) 3:44:19
3. Brandon Marsh (USA) 3:47:32
4. Jordan Rapp (USA) 3:48:03
5. Grant Burwash (CAN) 3:54:25
Women
1. Rachel McBride (CAN) 4:07:19
2. Mandy McLane (USA) 4:16:12
3. Lisa Mensink (CAN) 4:17:47
4. Emma-Kate Lidbury (GBR) 4:19:29
5. Amy Marsh (USA) 4:21:13
Kyle Buckingham and Amber Ferreira win Ironman Lake Placid
Kyle Buckingham of South Africa and Amber Ferreira of Concord, New Hampshire won the pro titles at Ironman Lake Placid.
Buckingham combined a 6th-fastest 52:04 swim and race-best bike and run splits of 4:43:47 and 2:57:49 to finish in 8:38:43 with a 12:43 margin of victory over Balazs Csoke of Hungary and 20:39 over 3rd-place finisher Jonathan Shearon of Tucson Arizona.
“I started triathlon five years ago — Ironman was my first ever race and this is my first ever win so I am over the moon,” said Buckingham. “It was tough, the course was hard. The wind and the rain made it a bit tough on the bike and then on the run the hills killed me.”
This was Buckingham’s first professional overall victory and follows a 2nd place overall finish at Ironman South Africa earlier this year and 1st overall amateur victory at the Ironman World Championship last year.
Amber Ferreira started her day with a 5th-best 57:13 swim, then advanced to a 5:30 lead on Kim Schwabenbauer and 10 minutes on Lisa Roberts at T2 after a 3rd-fastest 5:19:33 bike split on Lake Placid’s hilly bike course.
At the finish, Ferreira’s 2nd-fastest women’s marathon of 3:08:25 added 1:29 to her lead on Schwabenbauer but lost just 1:04 of her safe lead on Roberts. At the finish, Ferreira’s 9:31:28 time gave her a 6:46 margin of victory on Schwabenbauer and 8:36 on 3rd place finisher Roberts.
“I’ve never led an Ironman before so this was new territory,” said Ferreira. “I knew the girls behind me (Schwabenbauer and Roberts) were definitely capable of running sub-three hour marathons, so I was running scared the whole time.”
The win was Ferreira’s best of a 2014 season that includes a 4th place at Ironman 70.3 Florida, 3rd at Ironman Texas and 6th at Eagleman 70.3
Thanks to a crowd-sourced and crowd-funded protest against low pro prize purses at Ironman events, the 7th place pro finishers Raymond Botelho of Falmouth, Massachusetts and Rachel Jastrebsky of Chesapeake, Virginia will receive an independent, non-Ironman payout of $3,740 apiece from the fund — $990 more than the official Ironman pro purse for the second place pro finishers. Banned athlete Lance Armstrong contributed $549 to the fund.
The normal Ironman prize money distribution for a $25,000 pro purse is $5,000 for 1st, $2,750 for 2nd, $1,750 for 3rd, $1,250 for 4th, $1,000 for 5th and $750 for 6th. There is no Ironman prize money for the 7th place pro finisher.
Ironman Lake Placid
Lake Placid, New York, USA
July 27, 2014
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.
Results
Men
1. Kyle Buckingham (RSA) 8:38:43
2. Balazs Csoke (HUN) 8:51:26
3. Jonathan Shearon (USA) 8:59:22
4. Ryan Cain (CAN) 9:05:19
5. Vinny Johnson (USA) 9:09:56
6. Nathan Buttrick (USA) 9:14:07
7. Juan Valencia (COL) 9:22:32 * M35-39 (Amateur not eligible for prize money)
8. Raymond Botelho (USA) 9:23:21 **7th place pro
Women
1. Amber Ferreira (USA) 9:31:28
2. Kim Schwabenbauer (USA) 9:38:14
3. Lisa Roberts (USA) 9:40:04
4. Kristen Lemos (USA)9:50:26
5. Leslie Demichele (USA) 10:05:20 * F25-29 (amateur not eligible for prize money)
6. Jessica Jones Meyers (USA) 10:06:53
7. Kathryn Thomas (USA) 10:19:46
8. Jennifer Schoenberg (USA) 10:30:57 * F40-44 (amateur not eligible for prize money)
9. Rachel Jastrebsky (USA) 10:35:58 ** 7th place pro woman
Marino Vanhoenacker and Bree Wee win Ironman Canada
Belgian Ironman superstar Marino Vanhoenacker used a dominating bike split to hold off Jeff Symonds’ sizzling fast marathon while Bree Wee won an exciting three-woman duel to take the men’s and women's titles at Ironman Canada at Whistler.
Vanhoenacker emerged from the swim in 50:56, leading a pack of five main contenders that included Canadian Jeff Symonds, Australian Paul Ambrose, Matt Lieto of the U.S. and Canadian defending champion Trevor Wurtele.
Vanhoenacker basically sealed the win with a race-best bike split of 4:31:34 that was 10 minutes better than Ambrose and Wurtele and 20 minutes quicker than super-runner Symonds.
Vanhoenacker never missed a beat as he ran a 2nd-fastest 2:51:17 split to finish in 8:16:10. Symonds blazed the run in 2:40:34 which vaulted him past Wurtele and Ambrose but fell 9:12 short of overtaking the Belgian. Ambrose’s 2:58:16 run was enough to hold off an off-form Wurtele for the final spot on the podium, precisely 17 minutes behind Vanhoenacker.
The women’s race provided a great deal of excitement. Anna Cleaver of New Zealand led the swim in Mirror Lake with a 53:09 split that was 2:51 ahead of Karen Thibodeau of Canada, 3:06 ahead of Bree Wee of Hawaii, 3:10 up on Jackie Arendt of the U.S. and 5:45 ahead of Mackenzie Madison of the U.S.
At 34 kilometers into the bike, Cleaver led by 2:22 over Thibodeau, 3:38 over Wee, 3:42 over Arendt and Madison was 5:40 in arrears. Halfway through the bike, the order shuffled and Thibodeau led by 2:09 over Wee, 2:11 over Arendt, 2:12 over Cleaver and 3:41 over Madison. At 157 kilometers, Thibodeau held a 28 seconds lead on Madison, 1:08 on Wee, 1:23 on Arendt with Cleaver fading.
After a women’s race-best 5:25:05 bike split, Madison charged into T2 in the lead, with Thibodeau 48 seconds back, Wee 1:16 off Madison’s pace and Arendt fading with a slowest of the contenders 5:31:26 split.
At 13 kilometers into the run, Madison led Thibodeau by 56 seconds, Wee by 2:05 and Arendt by 4:57. Halfway through the run, Wee took a 33 seconds lead on Madison with Thibodeau just 55 seconds back. At 28 kilometers, Wee held steady with a 1:38 lead on Madison and Thibodeau who were running shoulder to shoulder. By 35 kilometers, Wee was in control with a 2:58 lead on Thibodeau and Madison just 11 seconds further back.
Finally, the pro from Kailua-Kona Hawaii won her second Ironman victory, crossing the finish line in 9:46:58 with a 4:37 margin of victory over Thibodeau, who edged Madison by 11 seconds for the runner-up slot.
Ironman Canada
Whistler, Canada
July 27, 2014
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.
Results
Men
1. Marino Vanhoenacker (BEL) 8:16:10
2. Jeff Symonds (CAN) 8:25:22
3. Paul Ambrose (GBR) 8:33:10
4. Trevor Wurtele (CAN) 8:42:59
5. Andrew Drobeck (USA) 8:50:32
Women
1. Bree Wee (USA) 9:46:58
2. Karen Thibodeau (CAN) 9:51:35
3. MacKenzie Madison (USA) 9:52:46
4. Jackie Arendt (USA) 9:59:06
5. Anna Cleaver (NZL) 10:05:23
Eric Limkemann and Meredith Kessler win inaugural Challenge New Albany Half
Eric Limkemann and Meredith Kessler won $5,500 apiece for winning the Challenge New Albany Half.
On this day, Eric Limkemann and Andrew Starykowicz swapped their usual strengths and Leon Griffin’s better balanced race split the difference.
In the swim, Starykowicz led with a 21:40 split followed by Kevin Ryan (22:41), John Kenny (22:45), Limkemann (22:51) and 2006 ITU Duathlon World Champion Leon Griffin had a lot of ground to make up after a laggard 25:37 split.
Limkemann took control with a race-fastest 2:07:14 bike split as Starykowicz and Griffin posted 2nd- and 3rd-best 2:10:38 and 2:10:45 splits. Kevin Ryan hung in with a 4th-fastest 2:11:54 bike leg while Harris fell off the back with a 2:21:22 split.
Limkemann protected his lead with a 6th-fastest 1:18:47 half marathon to finish in 3:50:33 with a 5:43 margin of victory over Griffin (1:18:19 run) and 6:02 over Starykowicz (1:22:47 run). Adam Bohach made up ground for a 28:05 swim and 2:17:03 bike split with a race-best 1:13:52 run that brought him to a 5th place finish in 4:00:57, 29 seconds behind 4th-place finisher Justin Metzler.
Meredith Kessler carried on her 2014 winning ways with a women's best 24:21 swim, women's 2nd-fastest 2:24:57 bike split and a 3rd-quickest 1:27:32 run to finish in 4:19:02 with a 4:21 margin of victory over Jennifer Spieldenner and 5:06 over 3rd-place Jillian Petersen.
Challenge New Albany
New Albany, Ohio
July 27, 2014
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / T 13.1 mi.
Results
Professional Men
1. Eric Limkemann (USA) 3:50:33 – $5,500
2. Leon Griffin (AUS) 3:56:16 – $3,500
3. Andrew Starykowicz (USA) 3:56:35 – $2,500
4. Justin Metzler (USA) 4:00:28 – $1,500
5. Adam Bohach (USA) 4:00:57 – $1,000
Professional Women
1. Meredith Kessler (USA) 4:19:02 – $5,500
2. Jennifer Spieldenner (USA) 4:23:14 – $3,500
3. Jillian Petersen (USA) 4:24:08 – $2,500
4. Haley Chura (USA) 4:29:58 – $1,500
5. Carly Johann (USA) 4:33:01 – $1,000
