Colorado Pro Men Impress at IRONMAN 70.3 Texas
Once again, the talent of Andy Potts was on display for all to see this past weekend in Galveston, home of IRONMAN 70.3 Texas. After winning IRONMAN 70.3 New Orleans last weekend, it’s hard to predict how some of these athletes might perform after the physical demands of each race, but Potts has proven again that he is podium worthy, tired or not.
Potts and Boulderite David Giardini came out of the water in a blazing fast time of 24 minutes and were soon out of transition onto the bike course. A group followed at about 10 seconds back and began the chase, but never got the chance to catch the bike leaders all race.
Eventually, Giardini would break away from Potts and put in a huge surge to finish with a blistering bike time of 1:59:14, the fastest of the day.
Once Giardini came off the bike in transition, he had a whopping seven minute lead, but also a talented pack of pros behind him who have some serious running ability, including Potts and eventual winner, Lionel Sanders.
Off of the bike with Potts and Sanders were Cody Beals and Boulderite Greg Bennett. Bennett quickly began chipping away at Giardini’s lead as they left transition. For Bennett, this was his first race since last September after an injury sidelined him a good portion of the year.
“The goal for Texas was simply to finish and not push hard in any of the three disciplines. I swam very easy and biked moderately. The run was always going to be a strain,” Bennett added.
Sanders and Potts were out of the gates fast and held a quick cadence until they finally caught Giardini between miles eight and nine. Beals eventually caught Giardini as well, but the fight for first and second would be claimed by Sanders and Potts. The two battled on the run until the last couple of miles. Sanders, who ran the fastest time of the day in 1:12:20, was able to hold off a powerful Potts who turned in a zippy run time of 1:14:02, just one week after his last 70.3 win.
Beals held onto third place with a solid run time of 1:15:02, with Giardini holding onto his fourth place finish and run effort of 1:25:46. Barrett Brandon turned in a 1:19:04 run time to claim fifth while the strong and steady Bennett grabbed sixth place, thanks to an all-around solid day, including a run split of 1:23:15.
“I struggled home and finished the race. All in all, a comfortable race until half way through the run, but that was to be expected,” said Bennett. He also mentioned that the 21.1K was the 2nd longest run he had done in the last six months, which just goes to show you that the experienced Bennett is using his wits and guts as he makes his way back into top form.
Colorado pros Richie Cunningham and Matt Russell looked to have ended their race day early on the run due to a miscommunication on the course. We will be watching Cunningham at IRONMAN 70.3 St. Croix next weekend and Russell at IRONMAN Texas in a couple of weeks. Congrats to all of the men on their race!
| Name | Country | Div Rank | Gender Rank | Overall Rank | Swim | Bike | Run | Finish | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanders, Lionel | CAN | 1 | 1 | 1 | 00:28:23 | 02:02:25 | 01:12:20 | 03:45:39 | 3500 |
| Potts, Andy | USA | 2 | 2 | 2 | 00:24:00 | 02:06:59 | 01:14:02 | 03:47:22 | 3469 |
| Beals, Cody | CAN | 3 | 3 | 3 | 00:26:22 | 02:04:30 | 01:15:02 | 03:48:21 | 3451 |
| Giardini, David | ITA | 4 | 4 | 4 | 00:24:00 | 01:59:14 | 01:25:46 | 03:51:29 | 3395 |
| Brandon, Barrett | USA | 5 | 5 | 5 | 00:24:06 | 02:09:37 | 01:19:04 | 03:55:19 | 3326 |
| Bennett, Greg | AUS | 6 | 6 | 6 | 00:25:48 | 02:05:03 | 01:23:15 | 03:56:41 | 3301 |
| Limkemann, Eric | USA | 7 | 7 | 7 | 00:24:10 | 02:09:56 | 01:20:22 | 03:57:06 | 3293 |
| Tejada, Raul | GTM | 8 | 8 | 8 | 00:26:17 | 02:04:44 | 01:23:53 | 03:57:23 | 3288 |
| Wade, Robert | IRL | 9 | 9 | 9 | 00:28:28 | 02:09:48 | 01:17:17 | 03:57:57 | 3278 |
| Williams, Brad | USA | 10 | 11 | 11 | 00:29:27 | 02:03:59 | 01:23:14 | 03:59:24 | 3252 |
Frederiksen Fast and Furious in Galveston
We hear that the talented Helle Frederiksen will be a Boulderite this summer, but if the rumors are not true, we are still very impressed with her dominating win at IRONMAN 70.3 Texas this past weekend.
Frederiksen proved that she can swim, bike, and run like nobody’s business, and, no matter where she starts her race, she can finish out in front. Frederiksen came out of the water about 42 seconds behind former Nebraska swimmer, and All-American, Lauren Brandon, with Brianna Baird right on her heels into transition.
It did not take long for Frederiksen and Brandon to work together on the bike and put some real estate between themselves and the other women. In a chase group about three and a half minutes down were the dynamic duo of Emma-Kate Lidbury and Angela Naeth, both who can turn on the run speed.
It was not long before Frederiksen was turning up the heat and adding some serious distance between her lead and the rest of the ladies on the run. With each mile, the looks of challenging Frederiksen disappeared and the fight for the final two podium spots was on!
Thanks to Frederikesen’s staggering run time of 1:19:39, she was able to cross the finish line with a comfortable six minute win.
It didn’t take long for a Lidbury and Naeth to grab second and third on the run, but they would duke it out until about mile eight, when Naeth took over second place for good thanks to her run time of 1:21:43.
Lidbury had no problem grabbing the final podium spot after turning in a sturdy half marathon time of 1:28:31.
It’s hard not to mention Austin-based Kelly Williamson, who has spent many summers training in Salida, Colorado. She finished fourth after turning in the fastest women’s run split of the day with a 1:19:08.
Williamson, who was not in the mix with the lead women on the bike, literally ran her way from 14th off the bike to a stellar fourth place in a talented field. Like Potts, Sarah Piampiano, did the double-double and raced, and won, IRONMAN 70.3 New Orleans last weekend and still managed a strong fifth place showing in Texas.
Boulderite Kathy Rakel also took a shot at the 70.3 Texas win, but had some tightness in her hips, which sidelined her after her tireless swim and bike effort. We will be watching out for Rakel at her next race. Great job, ladies!
| Name | Country | Div Rank | Gender Rank | Overall Rank | Swim | Bike | Run | Finish | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frederiksen, Helle | DNK | 1 | 1 | 18 | 00:25:42 | 02:19:49 | 01:19:39 | 04:07:52 | 3500 |
| Naeth, Angela | CAN | 2 | 2 | 28 | 00:29:37 | 02:19:36 | 01:21:43 | 04:13:50 | 3392 |
| Lidbury, Emma-Kate | GBR | 3 | 3 | 31 | 00:27:11 | 02:19:24 | 01:28:31 | 04:17:58 | 3318 |
| Williamson, Kelly | USA | 4 | 4 | 32 | 00:27:14 | 02:29:35 | 01:19:08 | 04:18:39 | 3305 |
| Piampiano, Sarah | USA | 5 | 5 | 33 | 00:31:22 | 02:19:50 | 01:26:03 | 04:20:19 | 3275 |
| Shutt, Beth | USA | 6 | 6 | 35 | 00:31:18 | 02:19:33 | 01:27:04 | 04:21:03 | 3262 |
| Brandon, Lauren | USA | 7 | 7 | 37 | 00:25:01 | 02:21:11 | 01:32:33 | 04:21:28 | 3255 |
| Barnett, Lauren | USA | 8 | 9 | 50 | 00:29:40 | 02:22:12 | 01:30:03 | 04:24:37 | 3198 |
| Hector, Alice | GBR | 9 | 11 | 58 | 00:28:17 | 02:27:50 | 01:28:09 | 04:27:20 | 3149 |
| Jackson, Christina | USA | 10 | 12 | 63 | 00:27:27 | 02:28:40 | 01:29:33 | 04:28:41 | 3125 |
Hadley is Back in Action
Pro triathlete James Hadley spent his weekend in Nevada where he competed in XTERRA Las Vegas. This was Hadley’s first race after he underwent knee surgery last year for some ligament issues.
Hadley, who is known for his speed in the water, wasted no time getting in the mix of the race with a swim time of 19:49, followed by a 1:23:33 bike split, and a stellar 36:38 run time for a total time of 2:22:03.
Hadley’s effort earned him an overall 13th place finish in a tough field of guys who compete in XTERRA races regularly. We are happy that Hadley is back and look forward to watching his comeback the rest of the year.
