Photos courtesy of Brightroom.com.

The United States’ Cameron Dye and New Zealand’s Nicky Samuels won the 30th edition of the Columbia Triathlon. Read the race recap.

American Matt Reed, a 2008 Olympian, has announced that he will be competing alongside fellow former American Olympian Andy Potts and other pros in next month’s PHLY Cup at the 2013 TriRock Philadelphia Triathlon with title sponsor Johnson and Johnson.

Reed has competed in Philadelphia in the past and is happy to be returning in 2013.

“I’m excited to race Trirock Philly,” Reed tells Triathlete.com. “It’s a great city; one that really embraces endurance sports. The park is an awesome venue for a triathlon. With this being Fuji’s hometown I’m excited to race the new Norcom Straight on this course. If you know me, you know I would hate to miss such a fun race.”

Reed and the other professionals will be competing in the Olympic-distance race (1.5K swim, 40K bike and 10K run) for their share of a $25,000 prize purse as part of the recently announced PHLY Cup.

A sprint race will take place on Saturday, June 22, followed by the Olympic-distance race on Sunday, June 23. To register or learn more about the race, visit Trirock.competitor.com/Philadelphia. TriRock Philadelphia is owned by Triathlete.com’s parent company, Competitor Group.

RELATED: TriRock Philadelphia Offers Swim Clinics, New Buoy System

Photo: Evelyn Reinson

New Zealand’s Terenzo Bozzone made a statement by beating out Kevin Collington (USA) and Dirk Bockel (LUX) after struggling with an Achilles injury for two years, while Mary Beth Ellis (USA) continued her success at long-distance triathlon at today’s Ironman 70.3 Florida in Haines City, Fla. Read the race recap.

Olympic-distance specialists Cameron Dye (USA) and Nicky Samuels (NZL) shined at the 30th anniversary of the Columbia Triathlon in Ellicott City, Md.

First-year pro Hunter Lessi was the first out of the water with a time of 17:12. Dye and most of the remaining contenders exited the water one minute back of Lessi. As he always does, Dye excelled on the Olympic-distance non-drafting bike course, posting a bike split of 56:17 to head into T2 in first position. He had fellow strong cyclist Andrew Yoder (USA) right on his heels, with two-time Olympic medalist Bevan Docherty (NZL) in hot pursuit. Dye backed his strong swim and bike splits with a respectable 35:02 10K run split to hold off a fast-running Docherty. He crossed the line in 1:51:02 to defend his 2012 victory. Docherty turned in the fastest run split of the day to finish second, with Yoder holding off recent Ironman 70.3 St. George winner Brent McMahon for the final podiums spot.

Two New Zealand ITU specialists, Anna Cleaver and Samuels, were the first pair out of the water with swim times of just over 19 minutes. Cleaver appeared to be working hard on the bike with Samuels not far behind when she suffered a mechanical and pulled out of the competition. With Cleaver no longer serving as competition, Samuels took over the top spot. She biked her way to a strong split, finishing the cycling portion in 1:03:57. She backed up that strong bike ride with an even more impressive run. The 36:40 10K run split was easily enough to give her the 2:01:39 victory. Ironman veteran Meredith Kessler (USA) shined in her Olympic-distance debut, finishing second with strong splits across swim, bike and run. Canadian Angela Naeth rounded out the top three.

Columbia Triathlon
Ellicott City, Md. – May 19, 2013
1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run

Men
1 .Cameron Dye (USA) 1:51:02
2. Bevan Docherty (NZL) 1:52:23
3. Andrew Yoder (USA) 1:52:49
4. Brent McMahon (CAN) 1:53:13
5. Tom Davison (NZL) 1:53:29

Women
1. Nicky Samuels (NZL) 2:01:39
2. Meredith Kessler (USA) 2:04:04
3. Angela Naeth (CAN) 2:07:43
4. Radka Vodickova (CZE) 2:08:07
5. Laurel Wassner (USA) 2:08:15

Complete results.

Former Ironman 70.3 world champ Terenzo Bozzone (NZL) and the top American finish in Kona, Mary Beth Ellis, earned the victories at Ironman 70.3 Florida.

PHOTOS: 2013 Ironman 70.3 Florida

Men’s Race
Luxembourg’s Dirk Bockel, who calls nearby Saint Augustine, Fla. home, led the men out the 1.2-mile swim with a split of 23:39. James Hadley (USA), Bozzone and four others followed him closely into T1. Bozzone, who has spent the last couple of years working to come back from an Achilles injury, hammered on the 56-mile bike ride alongside Bockel and the two came into the second transition together. Bozzone and Bockel maintained their side-by-side status through the early miles of the run, but it was Bozzone who had the faster backend speed. His 1:14:40 half marathon cemented a 3:45:51 victory. Collington, who earned the U.S. 70.3 Pro Championship title two weeks ago, posted the second fastest run of the day to earn second, while Bockel easily held on for third.

Women’s Race
Australia’s Kat Baker led the women’s efforts into the first transition, thanks to a swim time of 25:35. Americans Mary Beth Ellis and Dede Griesbauer were not far behind. Ellis worked on the bike, with Baker trying to keep pace through the first half. The American eventually created a bit of a gap and headed into T2 with a lead of 1:27 over Baker and a lead of 5:38 over American Jessica Smith. Ellis’ lead only grew from there. She earned the win in an overall time of 4:14:03. American Mandy McLane ran her way to second, with New Zealand’s Jo Lawn rounding out the top three.

Ironman 70.3 Florida
Haines City, Fla. – May 19, 2013
1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run

Men
1. Terenzo Bozzone (NZL) 3:45:51
2. Kevin Collington (USA) 3:47:12
3. Dirk Bockel (LUX) 3:48:16
4. Maxim Kriat (ITA) 3:51:59
5. Arturo Garza (MEX) 3:56:29

Women
1. Mary Beth Ellis (USA) 4:14:03
2. Mandy McLane (USA) 4:19:10
3. Jo Lawn (NZL) 4:20:51

Complete results.

The United States’ Josiah Middaugh and Scotland’s Lesley Paterson stay undefeated in the 2013 Xterra U.S. Pro Series thanks to wins at today’s Xterra Southeast Championships in Oak Mountain State Park, Ala. in wet, muddy and slippery conditions.

Middaugh turned in the 12th best swim time, exiting the water in 20:43 behind race leader Conrad Stoltz (RSA) and others. He went to work on the bike, posting the fastest bike split on the technical course at 1:19:27. Despite the effort on the trails, Middaugh still started the run with over a minute to make up on Stoltz and Dan Hugo (RSA). Stoltz was forced to pull out of the race at the 4K mark of the run due to a calf injury that has bothered him all week. With Stoltz on the sidelines, Middaugh excelled and earned the fastest run split of the day in 35:20. He crossed the finish line in 2:17:00 to take the victory. Hugo settled for second, with American Craig Evans rounding out the podium.

“I was happy to be able to keep the tires down and stay focused on my own race,” said Middaugh. “I really had no idea how far back I was on the bike so kept riding hard. I usually lose a lot of time in that last four miles of switchbacks so I didn’t know if I was going to come off the bike four minutes behind or one minute behind.”

Paterson was the second female out of the water behind super swimmer Christine Jeffrey (CAN). Though she had more than two minutes to make up on Jeffrey, it was two-time winner Melanie McQuaid (CAN) who she really needed to worry about. McQuaid exited the swim right on Paterson’s heels and posted the fastest bike split in 1:30:30 to lead Paterson into T2 by 20 seconds. McQuaid quickly erased that deficit and earned the victory thanks to a 38:16 run split. She crossed the finish line in 2:32:40 to continue her dominance of Xterra racing. McQuaid finished second with Brandi Heisterman (CAN) rounding out the top three.

“I was really nervous coming in because I’ve never ridden in slippery conditions like this in Southern California and although I grew up in this kind of weather in Scotland, I wasn’t a mountain biker back then,” said Paterson. “The roots, those things are buggers, you hit them at the wrong angle and you’re off.  So, I only had four crashes, thought that was quite impressive.”

Xterra Southeast Championships
Oak Mountain State Park, Ala. – May 18, 2013

Men
1. Josiah Middaugh (USA) 2:17:00
2. Dan Hugo (RSA) 2:18:44
3. Craig Evans (USA) 2:22:49
4. Bradley Weiss (RSA) 2:25:32
5. Nick Fisher (USA) 2:27:23

Women
1. Lesley Paterson (SCO) 2:32:40
2. Melanie McQuaid (CAN) 2:36:25
3. Brandi Heisterman (CAN) 2:41:32
4. Shonny Vanlandingham (USA) 2:42:42
5. Suzie Snyder (USA) 2:42:51

Complete results.

Julie Dibens, one of the strongest female cyclists in the sport of triathlon, held her own against an invitation-only field at the Amgen Tour of California Women’s Time Trial on the technical course.

Dibens started near the front and crossed the finish line with an official clock time of 59:48. The time was good enough for eighth place in the lineup of 14 athletes who completed the 19.8-mile course.

PHOTOS: Julie Dibens On The Bike

Cyclists had the choice to switch to a road bike for the final steep climb up to the finish line, but Dibens opted to stick with her Trek Speed Concept to the finish line.

Dibens is a decorated triathlete across all distances of triathlon with one Ironman 70.3 World Championship title and three Xterra World Championships to her name. She has not competed in triathlon since she withdrew from the 2011 Ironman World Championship due to an injury that has plagued her throughout her career. Early in 2012 Dibens underwent back-to-back foot and knee surgeries and has just recently been able to return to running. She hopes to validate her spot for the 2013 Ironman 70.3 World Championship with a finish at August’s Ironman 70.3 Boulder.

RELATED: Julie Dibens’ Tour of California Time Trial Prep

1. Evelyn Stevens
21.3 mph | Specialized-lululemon
55:49

2. Alison Powers
21 mph | NOW and Novartis for MS
+0:56

3. Kristin Mcgrath
20.8 mph | Exergy Twenty16
+1:24

4. Jade Wilcoxson
20.2 mph | Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
+3:02

5. Mara Abbott
20.2 mph | Exergy Twenty16
+3:09

6. Alison Tetrick
20.1 mph | Exergy Twenty16
+3:26

7. Brianna Walle
19.9 mph | Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
+3:52

8. Julie Dibens
19.9 mph | Trek
+3:59

9. Taylor Wiles
19.9 mph | Specialized-lululemon
+4:01

10. Robin Farina
19.8 mph | NOW and Novartis for MS
+4:10

11. Jasmin Glaesser
19.6 mph | Team TIBCO
+4:56

12. Katie Compton
19.6 mph | Trek Cyclocross Collective
+5:00

13. Lauren Stephens
19.2 mph | Team TIBCO
+6:05

14. Rhae Shaw
19 mph | Vanderkitten +6:44

RELATED – Julie Dibens: “It’s Been A Hard Year”

For more from the Amgen Tour of California, visit Velonews.com.

The Rev3 Triathlon Series announced today that it will expand to the Pocono Mountains in northeastern Pennsylvania in 2014. The venue is the Shawnee Inn and will house the expo, T2 and the finish line. The area used to host Ironman 70.3 Poconos.

“We are thrilled to expand our race series and add Rev3 Pocono Mountains,” said Charlie Patten, Revolution 3 President and Founder in the announcement. “This is a beautiful area at this time of the year, and will truly celebrate the fall season and outdoor multisport on the East Coast.”

The weekend will include an evening Rev3 Glow 5K, a sprint adventure race, a family adventure race, an Olympic-distance triathlon and a half-Rev triathlon. The half-Rev will offer up a professional prize purse of $50,000.

Race weekend is set for Sept. 12-14, 2014.

Learn more at Rev3tri.com.

RELATED: Rev3 Announces New Pro Series Format

Want to be the fastest cyclist you can be? Use these tips from one of triathlon’s greatest.

This article was originally published in the July/August 2011 issue of Inside Triathlon magazine.

It was one of those early spring days. The sun was out for the first time in months, shining from a clear blue sky. It was still cold, with the temperature just creeping above 50 degrees Fahrenheit, but the air had the crisp freshness you only find when the winter has finally given way to spring. I was 10 days away from my first race of the year and aboard my time-trial bike for a final test—a double TT session on one of my favorite training courses close to my home. It was an 18.1-mile loop of undulating terrain on uninterrupted roads in the Danish countryside. I knew the course like the back of my hand. I had done it hundreds of times and knew exactly which line to take around every corner whether it was wet or dry. I knew which gear to push over every hill relative to my fitness, speed and freshness for the day. Over the previous several years, I had written down numerous splits and power and heart rate data during all kinds of weather and could recite most of them without blinking, giving me intuitive and exact feedback on my performance at any given place on the course.

After an hour warm-up, I did one lap at my estimated half-iron pace, as this was the race distance for which I was preparing. Despite the cold weather I made it in 43:33 and felt very comfortable, averaging just over 25 mph. After a 15-minute spin, I prepared for the second loop, which was my actual test for the day—one lap all-out. I stripped my pockets, dropped my wind vest and only carried a small bottle of water.

I felt good and started aggressively up the first hill. My legs opened immediately, and I continued pushing over the hill and down the other side. My legs were turning faster and faster. I felt the power from my entire body transferring into the pedals. My upper body was steady despite the force generated from each stroke, my glutes fully firing in synchrony with my quads and calves. It almost felt like I was riding on top of the pedals, like there were no dead spots in my pedal strokes, and I could just turn and turn no matter how high a gear I chose. The road disappeared quickly beneath me, and the asphalt transformed into a gray mass. The wind was whirring past my ears, and I settled into a rhythm at the very top end of my ability, guided by my subconscious sense of it being one of those special days. I stormed through the halfway point in a blistering split yet continued to search for the sweet spot with my gears. The final stretch of road was straight, with no corners but a few significant hills. I was tired but able to let it all go, powering over each hill—stretching myself to my limit—before hitting the descents in my most aerodynamic tuck. Despite my fatigue, my body and legs were still working in symmetry—flowing. I put it all on the line up the last hill and sprinted the final kilometer of the loop. My watch said 41:07, which was my personal best split by far in cold and windy conditions. I had just experienced uberbiking!

Each generation of triathletes has a select group of individuals with the right mind and body to go the distance on the bike in the biggest and most important races. Thomas Hellriegel, Jurgen Zack, Normann Stadler, Chris Lieto and myself are all examples of such uberbikers—guys whose weapon of choice was and is the bike. We are not afraid of getting wind in our noses and have all boldly made moves early in many important races, becoming the sole focus of the fleet-footed chasers.

But what does it take to be out there all alone coming into T2—to become so powerful on a bike that you can literally leave everyone else in the dust?

A Viking’s Tale

My native Denmark is a cyclist’s paradise. There are bike paths everywhere and miles of quiet roads with little or no traffic just a few steps from any front door. I grew up in a town with separated traffic, where there were long systems of paths that were safe for kids to ride on to and from school, a friend’s house, a soccer field or a swimming pool. We did not own a car and hence had to bike everywhere—my mother once took me to the hospital in a bike trailer to get the cast from a broken leg removed. My leg was sticking out of the trailer, up in the air, for the entire journey. During summers we would often go on longer bike trips around Denmark as a family, and once we even biked for three weeks in France. Like the east Africans who get to where they need to go by running, we biked to get around.

I took up triathlon at age 14, in 1990, after two years of competitive swimming. My tri club was 7 miles away, and on top of my long Sunday rides and occasional weekday time trials, I always biked to swim and run practice. My mom and dad split when I was a young kid, but we still visited my dad every other weekend, and I often biked the 50 miles back and forth. During one of the first summers after I became a triathlete, I biked 70 miles to a city where we would spend a vacation. It was the first time I ever bonked. There was a severe headwind during the entire journey and the final 10 miles were over wide-open terrain. I was still far from mentally skilled in the art of suffering, and I was so tired that I cried for the full 10 miles. But I got through them. I had to—there were no cars, no cell phones, no gas stations and no dear mum.

At the age of 18 I took part in a study at the University of Copenhagen where scientists measured my VO2max, which was well into the 70s. (The average VO2max for a healthy young male is 45.) Despite my young age, I was already keenly interested in exercise physiology, and I knew that such a high VO2max was largely genetically determined and a sign of big potential. I was convinced that other elements of peak performance such as technique, tactics, mental toughness and nutrition could be developed, so my high VO2max sparked a belief in my own ability that lasted throughout my career.

My development, however, took longer than I expected, and I spent many years learning how to train. It was not until after I was selected for the ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships in 1998 that I was able to endure the pain and develop the discipline needed to train consistently on an elite level. After being selected for the Danish national team, led by Gabor Kløczl, I quickly got absorbed in the group environment around him and the big Danish star at that time, fellow uberbiker Peter Sandvang. Kløczl’s philosophy is one of the secrets to my bike skills: intense training. He believed in intensity over volume and that the training should be race-specific almost year-round. We did two time trials of anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes every Tuesday and Thursday. Each time trial was literally an all-out race with a self-enforced 10-meter non-drafting rule and a handicapped start based on the previous week’s performances. At the time, the day-to-day ability levels of me, Sandvang and a fellow teammate named Allan Månsson were virtually identical, which made for a fiercely competitive environment.

On top of the weekday time trials, we did a Sunday ride—68 brutal miles where we would average more than 27 miles per hour despite stopping at traffic lights and sometimes holding back for slower traffic in front of us. Only the toughest triathletes, Cat. 1 and ex-pro riders could hang with us until the end, and many skilled riders had sore legs for days after attending our 2.5-hour maximal effort session.

While the volume we did was unexceptional, the intensity and extremely competitive setting taught me how to suffer, which is something I used when I began to train on my own and is a key skill for anyone striving to become a great triathlete. After the early days with the Danish national team, I only very rarely sat behind anyone. I took pride in getting wind in my nose. I also took pride in training in the worst possible conditions, such as wintertime in Denmark or on the rough, hilly roads of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, where I spent many weeks each winter for several years.
In early 2003, my career took a turn for the better, and I became increasingly more focused and professional in my attitude toward the sport. By then, Kløczl had left the federation and was replaced by Michael Krüger, who introduced me to the German method of high-volume training. For the first time in my career, I broke 30 hours of training in a week. I did most of it in the saddle, and the countless hours made me begin to feel like I was living on my bike. I often found myself going through the morning routines with the family in a haze, not fully awake until I was an hour into yet another five-hour ride.

This high-volume regime helped transfer the speed I developed with Kløczl’s intense program to longer distances, and it kick-started a string of significant victories—victories that were won on the bike—including the ETU Long Distance Triathlon European Championships in 2003 in Fredericia, Denmark, and the ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships in Sater, Sweden, in 2004.

In 2003 I also formulated the goal of winning the Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, and started working with mental coach Lars Nielsen, who was a former rower and peak performance specialist. He helped break down, in the tiniest details, what it would take to win, which gave me a very clear idea of the race I would need to have and the work it would require. I believed that becoming the best triathlete in the world meant that I needed to become the best at every little aspect of the game. I needed to train the hardest, create the best team around me, eat better than everyone, become the strongest mentally, have the best equipment, the most aerodynamic position—the list goes on. No detail was too small, and I worked under the motto that even though Ironman is an eight-hour race, I only needed a single second to win.

From 2003 until 2007, I honed my bike skills (as well as my swim and run skills) with the iron distance in mind. My time trials became longer, and I routinely suffered through five- to seven-hour rides at a very high average pace. I went to the wind tunnel and perfected my position. I tested every piece of equipment and every new training method that could potentially give me an advantage. I even started developing my own equipment if I felt I could build something better than what was currently available on the market.

While I never reached my goal of becoming the Ironman world champion before I was forced to retire from the sport in 2009 due to a heart valve abnormality, I did break the bike course record in Kona in 2005—my split of 4:21:35 is still the second-fastest split of all time—and I finished on the podium, in third, in 2007.

RELATED – Kona Confidential: Uber Bikers Chris Lieto & Julie Dibens

Five weeks after the West Championships kicked off the U.S. Pro Series season, Xterra heads to Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham, Alabama this Saturday, May 18, for the Xterra Southeast championships. Both defending champions Conrad Stoltz (RSA) and Lesley Paterson (SCO) will be the ones to beat on this beautiful course.

Men’s Race
Stoltz has made this race a staple on his calendar and loves the terrain of the area, even going as far as to say “this Xterra Alabama course is like Heaven on Earth” on Twitter earlier this week. Last year’s runner-up Craig Evans (USA) is also back and will be looking to find his way to the top of the podium.

Returning to the U.S. Xterra circuit is Dan Hugo (RSA), who had his 2012 season cut short after a  bike crash. The most consistent athlete of late, Xterra West Champion Josiah Middaugh (USA), will also compete on Saturday. While Stoltz has dominated in Alabama with six-straight wins since 2007 (Brent McMahon won the inaugural race in 2006), both Hugo and Middaugh have finished second twice here.

Women’s Race
Paterson, the two-time reigning Xterra World Champion, has blown away the women’s field in her latest Xterra races and even finished fourth-place overall (including the men) at the Xterra West Championships last month. The technical nature of the course may help past winners Melanie McQuaid (CAN) and Shonny Vanlandingham (USA) keep Paterson within striking distance.

Check back Saturday for a recap from Alabama.

PHOTOS: 2012 Xterra Southeast Championships

Xterra Southeast Championship Pro Start List

Rank – Men – Age, Hometown
1 – Josiah Middaugh – 34, Eagle-Vail, Colorado
2 – Conrad Stoltz – 39, Stellenbosch, South Africa
3 – Branden Rakita – 32, Colorado Springs, Colorado
6 – Craig Evans – 35, Hendersonville, Tennessee
7 – Jason Michalak – 35, Crested Butte, Colorado
8 – Matt Mangen – 30, Ivins, Utah
9 – Will Kelsay – 31, Boulder, Colorado
10 – Brian Astell – 32, Gualala, California
12 – Nick Fisher – 27, Ogden, Utah
15 – Damian Gonzalez – 36, Stockton, California
NR – Tom Eickelberg – 24, Cortland, New York
NR - Chris Ganter – 34, Boise, Idaho
NR – Dan Hugo – 27, Stellenbosch, South Africa
NR - James McCurdy – 28, Auburn, Alabama
NR – Will Ross – 23, Anchorage, Alaska
NR - Tim Snow – 37, Brockton, Massachussetts
NR – Cody Waite – 34, Lakewood, Colorado
NR – Bradley Weiss – 24, Cape Town, South Africa

Rank – Women – Age, Hometown
1 – Lesley Paterson – 32, San Diego, California
2 – Suzie Snyder – 31, Fredericksburg, Virginia
3 – Shonny Vanlandingham – 43, Durango, Colorado
4 – Melanie McQuaid – 39, Victoria, B.C., Canada
5 – Danelle Kabush – 37, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
7 – Emma Garrard – 30, Park City, Utah
11 – Brandi Heisterman – 37, Squamish, B.C., Canada
12 – Caroline Colonna – 48, Taos, New Mexico
14 - Christine Jeffrey – 40, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
NR – Chantell Widney – 32, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
NR – Katie Button – 28, Victoria, B.C., Canada
NR - Hallie Blunck – 28, Birmingham, Alabama
NR – Heather Holmes – 32, Atlanta, Georgia

Note: Rank indicates their position in 2013 XTERRA U.S. Pro Series standings, NR = not ranked.

Photo: Delly Carr/Triathlon.org

Great Britain’s Jonathan Brownlee wasn’t even sure he would race this year after suffering an ankle injury in early weeks of training, but after only a few weeks of running he proved he’s back with a win at ITU World Triathlon Series Yokohama. See photos of the race above and read the race recap here.

One week after revealing three new events in Australia, the Challenge Family has announced that Challenge Melbourne, set for Feb. 2, 2014, has sold out with over 1,200 athletes signing up within a few days of registration opening.

“I couldn’t be happier with the response from athletes and industry people to the announcement of Challenge Melbourne,” said David Hansen, Challenge Melbourne director in a press release. “The emails and phone calls of encouragement have been overwhelming and to now sell out the event in less than a week of opening entries is humbling.”

Challenge Family CEO, Felix Walchshöfer, also commented on the news. “Athletes have been asking us for nearly two years to come back to Australia and today it seems as though they have greeted Challenge Family’s return in the best way possible with so many signing up, not just for Melbourne but for all three races. I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you to each and every athlete for your support and I very much look forward to welcoming you across the finish line!”

Entries to the other two Australian events are still open. Learn more about Challenge Forster (Nov. 24, 2013) and Challenge Bateman’s Bay (March 16, 2014) at Challenge-australia.com.au.

RELATED: Challenge Family Returns To Australia With Three Events

American Gwen Jorgensen outran the competition to earn the victory in Yokohama, the third of eight races on the World Triathlon Series circuit. Australia’s Emma Moffatt and Great Britain’s Jodie Stimpson completed the podium. Read the recap here.

Spain’s Eneko Llanos and Austria’s Lisa Hütthaler claimed the wins at Ironman 70.3 Mallorica in Spain against tough fields made predominantly of Europeans.

Llanos, who earned a big victory at Ironman Melbourne earlier this year, exited the water with the main group and spent his day slowly working his way through the field. He started the run in eighth position and quickly went to work on the half marathon. His blazing 1:08:41 run split was the fastest of the day and propelled him ahead of his competitors, giving him the win in 3:52:36. He narrowly beat out Belgium’s Bart Aernouts, who finished 18 seconds later in second. Pre-race favorite Andreas Raelert (GER) finished second two minutes later.

Hütthaler was seventh out of the water with a time of 26:13, but she quickly worked her way to the front of the field on the 56-mile bike ride thanks to a 2:32:13 bike split. She followed that bike performance with the strongest run of the field, taking the victory in 4:24:25. The Netherlands’ Yvonne Van Vlerken used her strength on the bike to earn second at 4:27:17. Great Britain’s Lucy Gossage finished third.

Ironman 70.3 Mallorca
Alcúdia, Mallorca – May 11, 2013
1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run

Men
1. Eneko Llanos (ESP) 3:52:36
2. Bart Aernouts (BEL) 3:52:54
3. Andreas Raelert (GER) 3:54:43
4. Tim Meyer (GER) 3:55:58
5. Boris Stein (GER) 3:56:08

Women
1. Lisa Hütthaler (AUT) 4:24:25
2. Yvonne Van Vlerken (NED) 4:27:17
3. Lucy Gossage (GBR) 4:30:03
4. Tamsin Lewis (GBR) 4:30:57
5. Natascha Schmitt (GER) 4:33:16

Complete results.

Former ITU athletes Brad Kahlefedlt (AUS) and Liz Blatchford earned victories at the 2013 Ironman 70.3 Busselton triathlon in Australia.

Kahlefeldt combined a 23:45 swim, a 2:08:27 bike and a field-leading 1:10:35 run to claim the 3:45:39 win. Fellow Australian Tim Reed earned second thanks to a well-rounded day across swim, bike and run, while James Hodge blazed through the swim and bike to grab the final podium spot.

Blatchford took the lead immediately out of the swim with a time of 26:01, but lost the top spot during the bike (2:25:37). She regained her position at the front on the run thanks to a 1:23:53 half marathon, giving her the victory in 4:19:07. Australia’s Kate Bevilaqua claimed second, with New Zealand’s Anna Ross getting the third position.

Ironman 70.3 Busselton
Busselton, Australia – May 11, 2013
1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike. 13.1-mile run

Men
1. Brad Kahlefeldt (AUS) 3:45:39
2. Tim Reed (AUS) 3:48:29
3. James Hodge (AUS) 3:49:25
4. Sam Appleton (AUS) 3:49:30
5. David Mainwaring (AUS) 3:50:46

Women

1. Liz Blatchford (GBR) 4:19:07
2. Kate Bevilaqua (AUS) 4:22:22
3. Anna Ross (NZL) 4:24:09
4. Lisa Marangon (AUS) 4:27:30
5. Andrea Oracki (AUS) 4:28:15

Rachel Smith (AUS) 4:17:54*

Overall fastest female time by age-grouper Rachel Smith.

Complete results.

Great Britain’s Jonathan Brownlee comes back from injury to take ITU WTS Yokohama victory.

The men kicked off their race at 11 a.m. local time under rainy conditions. Canada’s Andrew McCartney led the efforts out of the swim, with the 2012 ITU world champion and Olympic bronze medalist Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) five seconds back. McCartney was first out of T1 with Brownlee, Ivan Vasiliev (RUS), Joao Silva (POR), Denis Vasiliev (RUS), Marco Van Der Stel (NED), Henri Shoeman (RSA), Andrey Bryukhankov, Javier Gomez (ESP) and Ben Shaw (IRE) following.

Eight of those men, including both Brownlee and Gomez, broke away early on the bike and spent the entire 40K building a lead over the chasers. Brownlee and Gomez worked hard and gave the leaders a gap of 1:20 over the second group. With the two Olympic medalists out front and the chase group so far behind, it was evident early on that the podium would come from that front group of eight.

Brownlee, who delayed the start of his season due to an ankle injury, blasted out of transition and Gomez worked to stay on his heels. The wet roads and shoulder-to-shoulder running by Brownlee and Gomez were reminiscent of the 2012 ITU WTS Grand Final in Auckland. The drama didn’t last to the finish line this time, though. In a performance similar to what his brother, Alistair, gave in San Diego, Brownlee broke away and dominated the 10K despite limited run training.

His 29:24 run split gave him the 1:44:59 victory. Gomez easily held on for second, with Silva rounding out the podium. After finishing fourth against a competitive field at Ironman 70.3 St. George less than seven days ago, Ivan Vasiliev impressed with a fourth-place finish.

“I have literally only trained for two weeks,” Brownlee said of his run fitness. “I don’t know. I got a bit emotional. I thought the season was over two months ago. To be back here again is weird. I don’t know where it came from, but it felt good.”

Silva’s podium was enough to keep him on top of the ITU World Triathlon Series rankings.

ITU World Triathlon Series Yokohama
Yokohama, Japan – May 11, 2013
1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run

Men
1. Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) 1:44:59
2. Javier Gomez (ESP) +:24
3. Joao Silva (POR) +1:17
4. Ivan Vasiliev (RUS) +1:26
5. Richard Murray (RSA) +2:24

American Gwen Jorgensen outran the competition to earn the victory in Yokohama, the third of eight races on the World Triathlon Series circuit.

The race at Yokohama kicked off with rain clouds looming. Japan’s own Mariko Adachi led the women out of the two-lap swim and into T1. Australia’s Emma Moffatt, Japan’s Yuka Sato and Great Britain’s Jodie Stimpson followed her. By the end of transition they were joined by the United States’ Gwen Jorgensen, Canada’s Kirsten Sweetland, Ireland’s Aileen Reid, Japan’s Juri Ide and the Czech Republic’s Vendula Frintova. Those athletes made up the first lead group, but by the second lap were joined by Kate McIlroy (NZL), Kate Roberts (RSA) and Ashleigh Gentle (AUS).

That lead group of 12 appeared to be building a strong lead until the rain started pouring on the later laps of the 40K ride. The front group got more conservative as the chase pack pushed the pace. The groups merged on the final lap, making a front pack of 18 athletes.

There were several questions as the athletes headed onto the run. Would Jorgensen be able to duplicate her run performance form WTS San Diego? Would a Japanese athlete thrill the hometown crowd? Who would thrive under the wet and cold conditions? Moffatt and Stimpson pushed hard in the early kilometers on the run and built a lead of 10 seconds over the main chase pack, which included Jorgensen. Moffatt continued to do most of the work out front, well aware that Jorgensen, who caught her on the run in San Diego, was not far back. By the midway point of the third lap Jorgensen caught Moffatt and Stimpson and it looked like the podium was determined. What was not determined was who would earn the gold.

Jorgensen used the bell to signal the final lap as motivation to break away. With every step on that fourth lap she added to her lead. She earned her second WTS win in a row with a 32:44 10K run split.

“I’m glad it looked like I wasn’t panicking,” Jorgensen said of her progress on the run. “Those girls were really running fast first two laps. I tried to focus on the basics of my race.”

Moffatt outpaced Stimpson in the final meters to earn second position. Stimpson claimed third, her first time on a WTS podium. Gentle finished fourth and, in the bravest performance of the day, Denmark’s Maiike Caelers overcame two crashes on the bike to finish fifth.

With the back-to-back victories Jorgensen takes over the number one position in the WTS standings.

ITU World Triathlon Series Yokohama
Yokohama, Japan – May 11, 2013
1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run

Women
1. Gwen Jorgensen (USA) 1:57:05
2. Emma Moffatt (AUS) +:14
3. Jodie Stimpson (GBR) +:15
4. Ashley Gentle (AUS) +:47
5. Maiike Caelers (DEN) +1:24

RELATED:
- Gwen Jorgensen Named USOC’s Athlete Of The Month
- Gwen Jorgensen Breaks Out Of Her Comfort Zone

Yesterday we chatted with World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) CEO Andrew Messick about the Ironman swim course changes in Northern America. At the end of that conversation, we broke away from the swim topic to chat a bit the news earlier this week that, starting in 2014, the Ironman 70.3 World Championships will rotate around the world. Messick revealed that the announcement about the 2014 70.3 worlds venue is expected to be in three weeks. He also told us a bit about the reasoning behind the decision.

“The Ironman 70.3 World Championship should be, in our view, the second most important race in the world,” he said. “I think that having it always be in the United States has been great for North American athletes. It creates logistical and operational challenges for our athletes from Europe, South Africa, New Zealand, etc. Our belief is that we think there are so many fantastic venues, so many great race venues out there and so many great places for our athletes to go. To have a more conventional structure, which is consistent with how almost every other sport organizes their championship events, will give more athletes, particularly more athletes from other parts of the world, an opportunity to compete in a world championship event. It also gives athletes who are eager to travel an opportunity to race all around the world against the best in the world in really compelling venues.”

RELATED: Ironman 70.3 World Championship To Rotate Around The World

World Triathlon Corporation CEO Andrew Messick offers new insight into today’s announcement of select changes to the Ironman swim leg, addresses the concerns of athletes and explains why he isn’t afraid to break with tradition.

Since Andrew Messick accepted the position of the CEO at the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) nearly two years ago, he has been a part of several changes and headlines in the sport. Because of his decision not to overturn a rule that would have allowed Lance Armstrong to compete despite the doping allegations against him, and his general vision of making Ironman and triathlon in general a more global sport, Inside Triathlon named him the most influential person for 2012. Today, Messick and the WTC made an announcement about a new “SwimSmart” initiative that will drastically change the way some Ironman athletes compete in the 2.4-mile swim section of the event, and before long the idea of a mass start could be extinct all together.

The conversation about the SwimSmart initiative came at the end of the 2012 season as the result of a desire to help athletes overcome the discomfort and fear that often goes along with the Ironman mass starts. Messick joined forces with his swim safety group that works as part of Ironman’s operational team to discuss how they could improve the athlete experience and help ease the top fear of most of the participants: the open-water swim.

“The primary barrier for triathletes participating is the swim,” Messick said in a phone call on the day of the announcement. “We also know that among triathletes the largest stressor is the swim. It is the area that provokes the most discomfort; it’s the area that athletes worry the most about. It’s also where training is the most dissimilar from racing. The run portion of an Ironman or a triathlon isn’t particularly different from going out for a run. The cycling portion isn’t that different from going out for a ride. Yet the swimming portion is all together different from going to the YMCA and swimming 3,000 meters.”

After looking at the various options for how to ease the discomfort of the thousands of triathletes who participate in Ironman events each year, a multi-step initiative was established. The biggest logistical change, and the one receiving the most attention from the triathlon community, is the decision to modify or get rid of the mass start all together at certain North American Ironman events. Ironman Coeur d’Alene and Ironman Lake Placid will switch to a “rolling” start, where athletes will cross a timing mat as a continuous stream, similar to how running races begin. Ironman Mont-Tremblant will switch to a wave start based on age groups, which is how many triathlons start. Finally, Ironman Lake Tahoe and Ironman Florida will still feature a mass start, but with athletes self-seeding themselves into corrals before the race. Other Ironman events such as Texas, Louisville and Arizona will stick to their traditional starts for now.

Messick says the fact that various venues are seeing different approaches is by design.

“We want to put ourselves in a position where we’re trying different things,” he explained. “We haven’t decided what we think the right answer is, or if there is a single right answer. We have some races that are unchanged, we have some races that are very slightly modified mass starts and we’ve got a number of other races where we’ve changed the start point and that really is intentionally designed so that at the end of the year we’ve got the ability to sit down and look at the feedback from our athletes and talk to our operational team and decide what we think is best.”

RELATED: WTC CEO Andrew Messick Chats On The Eve Of Kona

He also acknowledges that these changes in format will come with a learning curve, particularly at the events that will feature the rolling start on two-lap courses.

“Are the first age groupers going to have to swim through the back of the pack? That happens to an extent already,” he said. “That’s something we’re going to have to look at and understand. For example, in a two-lap start, we’re going to have a rolling start, it might take some athletes 20 minutes to get into the water. The first pro athletes will do the first lap of the swim in 23 or 24 minutes. This is all part of what we’re going to learn over the course of the summer.”

Another implication of the new starts is that most, if not all, athletes will begin their race well before the usual 7 a.m. kick-off time and will have until midnight to finish, meaning that, unlike in the past at these events, athletes could potentially have an Ironman finishing time of over 17 hours.

“It is a tradition, but it’s only a tradition,” Messick explained in response to a question about the break from the norm. “Frankfurt is a 15 and a half hour race. Ironman Switzerland ends at 11 o’clock. There’s tradition, but there is no absolute start or finish time for Ironman races. I think the final finisher in the first Ironman race back in ‘78 was like 25 hours. I think fundamentally from a culture of triathlon perspective, if someone does the miles and it takes them 17 hours and 20 minutes because they crossed the line at midnight and started at 6:40, it isn’t immediately obvious to me that that’s an issue. It just means they’re 20 minutes tougher.”

Age-group athletes have also expressed concern about not racing shoulder-to-shoulder with their competition anymore. As a consequence of the timing mats at the start, the athlete can be the first to cross the finish line in his/her age group, without actually being the winner. This also means looking at the age on the calf of a fellow competitor may not help one determine where they stand against others, specifically in the race for coveted Kona slots.

“I think that’s a canard,” Messick says when asked about the change. “I say that because with more and more people wearing compression, the age of the person in front of you is not as apparent as it used be. Our experience as a company is that there are very, very few sprint finishes down the chute that determine Kona slots. Like in any other race, like in the New York City Marathon, the person you’re running shoulder-to-shoulder with at mile 26 may or may not have the same chip time as you.”

In addition to the change in start formats, Ironman races will also now feature numbered course buoys, increased professional swim course personnel, additional rescue teams and finally, the one that has caught the most attention, anchored resting rafts to allow swimmers to take breaks if they need them.

“I think it is an important symbolic point that it’s perfectly OK for an athlete during the run to sit down on a curb and spend five minutes at an aid station drinking water,” he says. “It’s perfectly OK for athletes to get off the bike at special needs or at an aid station and rest and yet during the part of the race where there’s the most anxiety, culturally, there is a belief among age-group athletes that they can’t stop. That stopping, holding onto a kayak or holding onto a raft is grounds for a DQ. That is wrong, but it’s a widely held belief. Part of what we want to do is through education and strong symbolic showings is reinforce to our athletes that if you need to stop and rest, stop and rest. Get out of the flow of athletes so you don’t have athletes swimming over you. It’s perfectly acceptable on the bike and the run to do that, yet for reasons we don’t fully understand culturally it doesn’t seem to be on the swim and we don’t understand why that is. We don’t think it’s appropriate.”

Messick took a similar stance when asked about the reaction from some age-group athletes that the changes will “soften Ironman.”

“The swim is still 2.4 miles, the bike is still 112, the run is still 26.2, and so I don’t know how that softens it,” he remarked.

He recognizes that the willingness to change something that has been ingrained as part of the sport for so many years will not be easy for some.

“There are certainly a lot of traditionalists who speak loudly,” he says. “I remember running races before there were timing chips and that the innovation of timing chips and the thing called a chip time was a big change for running, there were traditionalists who felt it was absolutely wrong. That if someone crossed the line in front of you, they won. I think running is much better because people weren’t afraid to innovate and try to make things better. There’s a spectacle associated with mass starts, but it’s hard for lots of athletes. We’re sensitive to that.”

The SwimSmart initiative also features other components such as warm-ups before races, temperature limitations and pre-race education. To see the complete list of initiatives, visit Ironman.com.

Triathlete.com will continue to follow-up on this story as each Ironman event takes place.

RELATED:
- Ironman Announces Swimstart Initiative In North America
- Pros, Age-Groupers React To Ironman SwimSmart

After three years of hosting full Ironman events, St. George transitioned this year to the 70.3 and saw its most exciting pro race to date. As the 2013 Ironman 70.3 U.S. Pro Championship, the race welcomed several top professionals who all had the hopes of taking a share of the $75,000 prize purse and the large chunk of KPR points up for grabs. Also unlike past years, the race featured beautiful conditions with somewhat minimal winds and a high temperature for the day in the low 80s. In the end it was 2012 London Olympic Brent McMahon of Canada and 2012 Ironman St. George winner Meredith Kessler who turned in impressive all-around days to earn the victories.

PHOTOS: 2013 Ironman 70.3 St. George

Men
American Andy Potts took his usual spot out front of the 1.2-mile swim out of the beautiful Sand Hallow Reservoir. Potts didn’t hold a large gap though as ITU speedster brothers Ivan and Denis Vasiliev were right on his heels. Another great swimmer, Brian Fleischmann (USA) came out on his own 26 seconds back, and then it was a large group with a few of the top contenders following. The Vasiliev brothers and Potts pushed the pace up front, with a big pack including TJ Tollakson (USA), Greg Bennett (USA), Andrew Starykowicz (USA), Luke McKenzie (AUS), McMahon and others giving chase at 1:45 down in the early miles of the bike.

Although many expected a strong cyclist to make a break on the tough 56-mile course, it didn’t happen. The Vasiliev brothers and Potts maintained their position out front throughout the ride and came into T2 with a small lead over a large group that included McMahon, Collington and others. It was evident early out of T2 that McMahon had the smoothest run form on the undulating hills. His 1:13:20 run split was easily enough to power him past the Vasiliev brothers and Potts and give him the 3:51:10 victory. Collington earned one of the top finishes of his career, crossing in second to earn the U.S. pro title. After doing much of the work up front throughout the day, Potts cruised in for third.

VIDEO: Brent McMahon Impresses At 70.3 St. George

Women
The women’s race saw several strong swimmers make the start and it was American Meredith Kessler first into the transition at Sand Hallow. German Olympian Svenja Bazlen, American Olympian Laura Bennett, Australian Annabel Luxford, American Katy Blakemore and American Kelly Williamson followed. Reigning Ironman and 70.3 world champion Leanda Cave (GBR) was seventh out of the water, one minute down from Kessler.

Bazlen took advantage of her strong swim split and powered through the beginning of the bike, featuring the only flat stretch of the course. By mile 16 her lead stood at 1:05 over Kessler and Luxford, with Bennett, Williamson, Heather Wurtele (CAN) and others three minutes back.

Bazlen’s lead only grew from there and by the time she reached T2 it stood at what seemed like an insurmountable time of 4:30. Kessler and Luxford were next into transition with Wurtele not far behind. Bazlen, a former ITU athlete and 2012 Olympian, looked strong on the early miles of the run, but the effort on the bike proved to be a bit too much. Kessler slowly chipped away at her lead and eventually took over the top spot. Her 1:22:49 half-marathon split was one of the fastest of the day, giving her what she calls the biggest win of her career in 4:17:11. Bazlen maintained second position to the finish line and earned second in 4:18:46. Wurtele rounded out the U.S. Championship podium.

VIDEO: Meredith Kessler Calls St. George Biggest Race Of Her Career

Ironman 70.3 St. George
St. George, Utah – May 4, 2013
1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run

Men
1. Brent McMahon (CAN) 3:51:10
2. Kevin Collington (USA) 3:53:38
3. Andy Potts (USA) 3:54:21
4. Ivan Vasiliev (RUS) 3:55:08
5. Denis Vasiliev (RUS) 3:55:59

Women
1. Meredith Kessler (USA) 4:17:11
2. Svenja Bazlen (GER) 4:18:46
3. Heather Wurtele (CAN) 4:20:26
4. Annabel Luxford (AUS) 4:23:09
5. Kelly Williamson (USA) 4:23:13

Complete results.

RELATED:
- Meredith Kessler Tries New Strategy For 2013
- Stellar Field Heads To St. George For 70.3 U.S. Champs
- St. George’s Shift From Ironman To 70.3
- St. George Travel Guide For Triathletes
- Quotes: Pro Panel At Ironman 70.3 St. George