With Kona fast approaching, Britain’s Rachel Joyce picked Ironman 70.3 Timberman in New England, USA to get in some race practice before the ‘big dance’ in Hawaii – and left others in her wake with some speedy splits.
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As expected, Joyce led the women out of lake Winnipesaukee in a time of 27:19mins, with Katy Blakemore (USA) hot on her heels. Behind them, Kaitlin Anelauskas (USA), Jeanni Seymour (RSA), and Kristen Marchant (CAN) exited the water in a pack 1:10mins back.
Pre-race favourite Angela Naeth (CAN) left the water 1:25mins back of the leader in seventh, with Heather Jackson (USA) 2:28mins back at the head of a chase pack.
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Super-bikers Naeth and Jackson made their mark early on, and by the half-way point, Naeth had taken the lead of the race just ahead of Joyce, who’s no slouch in any of the three disciplines, and Jackson. Jackson passed Joyce late in the race and entered T2 second.
Disappointed to get my first ever drafting penalty and that it was from a pro male. #fairstarts @triequal
— Rachel Joyce (@RJoyce09) August 16, 2015
Naeth followed up her race-best bike (2:18:26) with a solid run to hold onto first with a winning margin of 4:27mins over Jackson—who had only a slightly slower run—and 8:52mins over Joyce, whose swim and run splits were both the fastest on the day. Naeth’s winning time was 4:16:14.
Potts battles Dye for the win
Recent Ironman Coeur d’Alene winner Andy Potts continued a strong season today with a win in New Hampshire’s classic race. The American was fifth out of the water in a steady stream of athletes spaced out by 10-second intervals behind swim leader Dylan McNeice (NZL). That lead pack also contained short-course specialist Cam Dye (USA), Tim O’Donnell (USA) and Jake Montgomery (AUS).
Once on the bike, Dye – who would go on to clock a race-best bike split of 2:06:06 – powered to the front, with O’Donnell, Montgomery, Potts, and Paul Matthews holding steady behind him. Behind them, somewhat weaker swimmers Leon Griffin (AUS) and Trevor Wurtele (CAN) began to put a dent in.
As the bike progressed, Dye sped away to enter T2 three minutes ahead of the chase pack, which included Potts, O’Donnell, and Montgomery. Two minutes behind them McNeice soloed his way into transition, with Wurtele, Griffin, and Taylor Reid (CAN) two minutes back of McNeice and seven minutes behind the leader.
With a race-best run of 1:15:30, Potts began to dig into Dye, and ultimately crossed the finish line first in a time of 3:50:24.