Tim Don successfully defended his title while Heather Wurtele dominated the field on her way to win at IRONMAN 70.3 Monterrey in Mexico.
Don makes his move on the run
Matt Charbot (USA) was first out of the man-made Santa Lucia River waterway that rolls through the downtown of Monterrey. Sylvain Sudrie (FRA), Kevin Collington (USA), Tim Don (GBR), Stuart Hayes (USA), and Drew Scott (USA) spread out four to 23 seconds back of Chrabot.
It wasn’t long before Trevor Wurtele (CAN) went off the front and guided a lead pack of seven men that included Don, Sudrie, Ben Hoffman (USA), Scott, Collington, and Chrabot for much of the middle half of the bike. Sudrie surged to the front in closing miles and eventually reached T2 19 to 26 seconds ahead of Don, Chrabot, Wurtlee, Hoffman, Scott and Callington.
Don made quick use of his running prowess and blazed his way into the lead early on the run. Sudire stubbornly hung just back of Don during the first six kilometers with Chrabot and Wurtlete keeping the lead pair out front 25 seconds later.
Wurtele was quietly laying down the second fastest run of the day and ran his way into second just before the halfway point of the race, and less than a half minute off Don’s pace. Ultimately, Don’s strong run performance held off the charge mounted from behind by Wurtele to successfully defend his title in Mexico. Wurtele superb performance on the bike and run was rewarded with well-deserved second and Chrabot rounded out the podium.
Heather Wurtele starts season strong
Corrie Kristick (USA) was first to emerge from the water while towing Celine Schaerer (CHE), Camilla Pedersen (DNK), and Karen Thibodeau (CAN) into T1 within 11 seconds of each other.
Pedersen was first to take the reins on the bike and led the women early while Heather Wurtele (CAN) inched her way into second. At the completion of the first half of the bike, Wurtele put almost a minute on Pederen as Mirinda Carfrae (AUS) worked her way into third, but was almost four minutes off the pace. At the conclusion of the bike, Wurtele gaped Pedersen by over three minutes and nearing eight minutes on Sarah Piamiano (USA), Schaerer, and Carfrae.
Wurtele was solid on the run soldiering through the kilometers and putting time on everyone but Carfrae. Pedersen had a firm hold on second, while Carfrae, as usual, unleashed her potent run and ran her way into third by the end of the first half of the run. Wurtele’s relentless pace on the run garnered her the first win of 2016. Pedersen held on to second while Carfrae claimed third in her first race of the season.
Top 5 Pro Men
| 1 | Don, Tim | GBR | 0:22:49 | 2:04:37 | 1:12:46 | 3:42:53 |
| 2 | Wurtele, Trevor | CAN | 0:24:13 | 2:03:22 | 1:13:46 | 3:43:53 |
| 3 | Chrabot, Matt | USA | 0:22:32 | 2:04:57 | 1:14:25 | 3:44:37 |
| 4 | Sudrie, Sylvain | FRA | 0:22:36 | 2:04:26 | 1:15:03 | 3:44:51 |
| 5 | Hoffman, Ben | USA | 0:24:08 | 2:03:26 | 1:16:13 | 3:46:27 |
Top 5 Pro Women
| 1 | Wurtele, Heather | CAN | 0:26:31 | 2:16:49 | 1:22:09 | 4:08:19 |
| 2 | Pedersen, Camilla | DNK | 0:24:56 | 2:21:07 | 1:22:36 | 4:12:05 |
| 3 | Carfrae, Mirinda | AUS | 0:26:36 | 2:24:38 | 1:20:48 | 4:15:11 |
| 4 | Piampiano, Sarah | USA | 0:30:29 | 2:20:08 | 1:23:16 | 4:17:26 |
| 5 | Lyles, Liz | USA | 0:26:42 | 2:27:19 | 1:22:13 | 4:19:58 |
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