New Zealand triathletes were once again to the fore this weekend as the New Zealand flag flew proudly in the United States and at an ITU Asian Cup race in the Philippines.
Terenzo Bozzone led the way with his victory at the St Croix 70.3 half Ironman in US Virgin Islands while Sam Warriner continued her good form with a runner up finish at the same event.
Bozzone was stoked with his third podium in three weekends of half Ironman racing as he once again dealt to a world class field.
"The swim was fast but the core group of guys, which included Craig Alexander (Ironman World Champion 2009), Richie Cunningham, Tim O'Donnell and Tyler Butterfield stuck together. That all changed pretty early in the bike section when the Frenchman Romaine Guillaune pushed the pace big time. Fortunately Tim and I managed to keep up and split the group. The three of us stayed away for the duration of the 90km bike and stretched our lead to about 2 minutes over the chase group.
"Heading off onto the run my legs were dead. Tim quickly opened up a 20second lead in the first couple miles. Finally my legs started to free up and I could find a good rhythm. At mile four I caught up and got myself a little lead that I held onto until mile seven where Tim caught back up. We then ran together until the final mile where I made my move and managed to hold on to the finish."
Bozzone now plans a break from racing before competing again in June.
Whangarei triathlete Warriner finished second behind Catriona Morrison (USA) as she rounded off a busy fortnight of racing with another strong performance.
Docherty Escapes From Famous Prison Island
Meanwhile Bevan Docherty tuned up for the next round of ITU Dextro Energy ITU World Champ Series events with a second place finish at the rich and iconic Escape from Alcatraz triathlon in San Francisco Bay.
Docherty was beaten to the finish in the famous race that swims away from the former Prison island by American Hunter Kemper but raced solidly in the rich event as he continues to prepare for the next round of the ITU World Champs Series in Seoul next weekend.
McNeice Second At ITU Asian Cup Race
Christchurch triathlete Dylan McNiece posted one of the best results of his career with a second place finish at the ITU Asian Cup race in the Philippines. The decisive break in the race was made in the swim, where McNeice, Tsukasa Hirano (JPN), Rendes and Pocsai (HUN) worked together to keep away from the pack.
Into the bike leg this small group worked hard for the first 10km, with two times top ten World Cup finisher Balazas Pocsai (HUN) dropping off after 5km. The remaining three then settled into their work to hold their lead. Hirano and McNeice made a break early in the run to drop Rendes out of reckoning. At the end of the 1st lap Hirano created a further break of 20secs which McNeice slowly hunted back down, only to drop back off the pace in the closing stages to finish a credible 2nd.
McNeice was happy with his days work.
"It's always a better day if you can win but I am happy with the race, it delivered the tough workout that I was after in my build up for this year. I haven't been in many situations with a breakaway before and it was great learning experience and essential in my development going forward."
Crawford 4th In Utah
Finally in a busy weekend of international results and racing, Christchurch Ironman triathlete Gina Crawford finished 4th in a strong field at Ironman St George in Utah USA.
Results: St Croix 70.3, US Virgin Islands
1.9km swim, 90km bike, 21km run
Elite Men
1 Terenzo Bozzone 4:06:02
2 Tim O'Donnell 4:06:39
3 Tyler Butterfield 4:10:38
4 Richie Cunningham 4:11:40
5 Fraser Cartmell 4:13:07
Elite Women
1 Catriona Morrison 4:31:06
2 Sam Warriner 4:42:28
3 Erin O'Hara 4:54:27
4 Heather Gollnick 5:00:23
5 Amanda Lovato 5:03:12
Results: Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon
2.4km swim, 29km bike, 13km run
1 Hunter Kemper USA 1:58:21
2 Bevan Docherty NZL 2:00:24
3 Andy Potts USA 2:02:02
4 Chris McCormack AUS 2:02:08
5 Francesc Godoy ESP 2:02:12
Plus
9 Graham O'Grady NZL 2:05:33
DNF Bryan Rhodes NZL
Results: ITU Asian Cup, Subic Bay, Philippines
1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run
1 Tsukasa Hirano JPN 1:56:52
2 Dylan McNeice NZL 1:57:24
3 Csaba Rendes HUN 1:57:59
Results: Ironman St George, Utah
Elite Women
1. Heather Wurtele CAN 9:35:26
2. Meredith Kessler USA 9:46:58
3. Caitlin Snow USA 10:07:26
4. Gina Crawford NZL 10:11:50
5. Kathleen Pallardy USA 10:20:45
