Athletes at Altitude: Colorado Pros Go Globetrotting
Ashleigh Gentile opened the season with a second place at ITU Abu Dhabi

Athletes at Altitude: Colorado Pros Go Globetrotting

Beijing Brings Out the Pros

Ashleigh Gentile opened the season with a second place at ITU Abu Dhabi
Earlier this season, Ashleigh Gentile ran to another second place finish, this one at the season opening ITU Abu Dhabi (photo by Adam Hodges)

After winning her first IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships last weekend, Great Britain’s Holly Lawrence continued her raceday domination by winning the Beijing International Triathlon. Her overall time of 2:07:39 was enough to hold off Australia’s Ashleigh Gentle, who finished only seven seconds back in 2:07:46. Rounding out the final podium spot was Chile’s Barbara Riveros in 2:07:48. Boulder’s Lauren Goss turned in a valiant effort to finish fourth thanks to clocking the second fastest swim of the women’s race, 18:56. Goss biked a solid 1:06:18 and finished off her day with a run of 39:10 for an overall time of 2:08:54.

In the men’s race, Rio’s gold medalist, Alistair Brownlee, continued his winning ways by capturing first place in Beijing in a time of 1:52:30. Finishing a little over a minute back from Brownlee in second place was Joe Maloy in 1:53:27. Boulder’s Cam Dye earned the final podium spot, crossing the finish line in 1:53:48.

Dye was in the mix from the start after coming out just four seconds behind the leader, uber-swimmer Josh Amberger. From there, Dye threw down the fastest bike split of the day, 55:47, setting himself up for a shot at the win as he headed out on the run. Dye’s zippy run of 37:18 helped him solidify third on the day behind the two Olympians.

Finishing in seventh place was Colorado’s Kevin Collington who crossed the finish line in a solid time of 2:02:13. Great job to all of the Colorado pros who toughed it out in Beijing!

Hoffman “Cruzs” to Podium Finish

Ben Hoffman at IRONMAN 70.3 Santa Cruz
Ben Hoffman at IRONMAN 70.3 Santa Cruz (photo by Ben Hoffman Racing)

A slew of talented Colorado male pros took on a tough field at IRONMAN 70.3 Santa Cruz this past weekend and turned in some great results. Leading the way was Ben Hoffman, who finished third (3:53:18), losing only one second to France’s Denis Chevrot (3:53:17) at the finisher’s tape. Hoffman was in the hunt all day for the podium as he and a group of about five guys battled it out on the bike and run. Nobody could catch winner Michael Weiss (3:50:25) who did what he does best: out bike the field with massive power and run it in for the win. Weiss’ bike split (2:04:36) was unmatched by anyone in the field as was his run split which was the fastest of the day (1:13:08).

Richie Cunningham, who was in the chase pack all day, pieced together a solid performance and grabbed sixth place (3:57:19). Drew Scott wasn’t far behind in seventh (3:59:16). Also clipping along, and finishing in eighth place, was Paul Ambrose (3:59:29) who seems to be doing quite well after a nagging injury that plagued him during the first half of the season. Finishing in 14th was Sam Long who had a sound race as well (4:08:53).

Metzler Solid in Weymouth

On the other side of the pond, Boulder’s Justin Metzler took on a competitive field at IRONMAN 70.3 Weymouth. Metzler put himself in the mix right away with a steady 25:21 swim, which he followed up with a 2:24:28 bike time on what is known to be a tough course. Metzler’s sound run of 1:19:25 helped him capture sixth place overall in 4:15:32. Congrats on a great day, Justin!

Hammond Withstands Wisconsin

Running a stand-alone marathon would be quite painful with an injured foot, but doing so after a tough swim and bike must be beyond excruciating. Boulder’s Christine Hammond battled back after a mechanical issue on the bike to start her run on a foot that hadn’t been cooperating with her for some time. According to her Facebook page, Hammond hadn’t run on it for a few days before IRONMAN Wisconsin. But she still turned in a solid sixth place finish in 10:02: 38. Heal up, Christine!

Megan Evoe

When she isn’t writing about the exploits of Colorado’s pro triathletes, Megan Evoe works with student-athletes at the University of Colorado as a Learning Specialist. Before coming to Boulder, Megan spent a decade teaching in Illinois and Texas while coaching soccer and cross country. Her passion for athletics stems from her collegiate days of playing soccer at Illinois State University where she twice earned All-Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Team honors. She holds a BA in English and Kinesiology, as well as an MA in Education. She has run over 20 marathons, including the Boston Marathon six times and an ultra-marathon, and has completed five triathlons, including IRONMAN 70.3 Austin. The sport of triathlon has brought many valuable pieces to Megan’s life, such as traveling, great friends, and an appetite for competition. Megan is married to professional triathlete Patrick Evoe.