Dye Dominates for the Win
It’s not every weekend you look at race results and see nine out of the top 10 finishers from one state, but that’s exactly what happened last weekend at the St. Anthony’s Triathlon in St. Petersburg, Florida. Topping the results list was defending champion Cam Dye, who hit the water at top speed. Colorado native Brian Fleischmann would exit the water first overall, 18:20, but Dye was not far behind, exiting the water next in 18:21.
It didn’t take Dye long to grab the lead on the bike, which is exactly where he would stay thanks to his fastest bike split of the day, 52:28. By the time he laced up his running shoes, he knew it was all about maintaining the lead by the halfway mark.
“Coming off the bike I knew I had a sizable lead, and having been in that position before at St. A’s, I know the biggest thing is getting to the 5k turnaround with as much of that lead intact, so that was the goal,” said Dye.
Second place finisher, Ivan Tutukin, ran behind Dye and turned in the fastest run split of the day. But it wasn’t enough to catch the winner. Dye hit the finish line in 1:46:46 with Tutukin nabbing second place in 1:47:25. Less than a minute back, Boulderite Rudy von Berg barely outkicked Boulderite Tim O’Donnell for the final podium spot by only four seconds. The two were neck and neck all day and finished third and fourth on the day in 1:48:14 and 1:48:18.
The next three Colorado pros would finish within seconds of each other after gutting it out to place in the top ten. Mark Bowstead hit the finishing tape in 1:49:01 for fourth place and Tyler Butterfield finished just 12 seconds back in sixth place in 1:49:13. Finishing in seventh, eight seconds behind Butterfield, was James Hadley. Rounding out the top 10 were Sam Appleton in 1:50:11, Davide Giardini in 1:51:21, and Fleischmann in 1:53:35. Not far behind was Colorado’s Will Jurkowski who was 16th on the day in 1:55:31. Congrats to Dye on the win and all of our Colorado pro men for an outstanding race day!
Kaye, Goss Sprint to the Podium
Our Colorado women showed up big down in St. Petersburg over the weekend, unleashing some serious speed. Olympic distance triathlete extraordinaire, Sarah Haskins, was the women’s champ, but our part-time Boulder-trainee Alicia Kaye wasn’t that far behind, finishing second on the day. Kaye, who will compete in her first IRONMAN distance race this year, was nothing short of brilliant, turning in the fastest bike split of 1:00:29. On the run, Kaye and training partner, Haskins, duked it out until Haskins made her move in the final mile to take the win by 23 seconds in 1:58:31. Kaye, a former St. Anthony’s champion, came across the line in second in 1:58:54.
The final spot on the podium would also be decided on the run as Boulderite Lauren Goss looked to elude the blazing speed of Mirinda Carfrae. Goss, who wasn’t feeling well, exited the water with the third fastest split of the day, 19:24.
“I went into St. Anthony’s to have a good, hard effort to start the season. I didn’t feel great at all the entire race, but I was for sure running scared to keep Rinny from passing me!” Goss said.
The last thing anybody wants is Carfrae’s wheels behind them, as the chances of getting caught are high. Although Goss had exited the water over two minutes earlier, Carfrae began her chase on the bike and actually put time into Goss thanks to her 1:01:52 bike split. Both ladies hit the pavement running all-out, but Goss would claim third place by only nine seconds. Carfrae’s fastest run split of the day, 36:58, helped her claw her way back to the front of the race, but Goss was able to hang on in the end, finishing in 2:02:11 to Carfrae’s 2:02:20.
“She (Mirinda) had a fantastic race. I knew she was closing on me and I really was trying to just make it to the finisher’s chute and hope to win a sprint finish, but luckily I held her off,” added Goss.
Also finishing strong on the day was Colorado’s Laura Bennett who finished in ninth place in 2:06:50. Bennett was solid in all three events and turned in her usual strong swim in 19:29. The former Olympian just celebrated a birthday and spent time volunteering with her husband, Greg, for Race2Rebuild down in New Orleans where they helped build homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Great job on and off the racecourse, Laura, and congrats to all of our women pros!
