In picture-perfect conditions on a postcard-like day, footspeed was the name of the game as Aussie Chris McCormack and Germany’s Nicole Leder won the 20th anniversary Quelle Challenge Roth last Sunday in Roth, Germany. For McCormack, it was a step up from last year, when he lost by three seconds to Lothar Leder; for Nicole Leder, it was a repeat built on a blistering 2:52 marathon. The big news as far as iron-distance racing was that McCormack, in winning, and Germany’s Faris Al-Sultan, in finishing second, both broke the fabled 8-hour mark. Roth, known for its fast times, saw Lothar Leder become the first to break 8 hours, in 1996, and Belgian Luc van Lierde shatter the mark with a stunning 7:50 the very next year. In fact, in 1997, three men broke the mark: van Lierde and Germans Jurgen Zack and Thomas Hellriegel. McCormack turned in a blistering run of his own, a 2:40, to turn the ride against Al-Sultan, who just missed out on the swim prime (another of the new features at this year’s race, won by Kiwi water powerhouse Stephen Sheldrake) and who led almost the entire 112-mile bike leg. McCormack and Germany’s Timo Bracht worked together for most of the ride to keep Al-Sultan’s gap measurable. They passed Sheldrake for good and then set their sights on the leader. Even the two of them working together couldn’t catch Al-Sultan, who exited T2 with a lead of a few solid minutes. It looked to be a carbon copy of the bike, with McCormack and Bracht working together to narrow Al-Sultan’s gap further, but Bracht soon took off on his own, leaving McCormack to rally and chase. Bracht began to tire as the miles began to pile up, and McCormack set his sights on the leader. The Aussie took the lead for the good only in the last 6k, in one of the many beautiful forested spots in the nearby town of Eckersmuhle. As he trotted around the one-of-a-kind finish circle that is the Quelle Challenge Roth, he pumped his fist repeatedly, alternating glances between the clock—showing his excellent finish time—and the crowd, which had worked itself into a frenzy. The gracious victor handily greeted Al-Sultan less than two minutes later with a gesture toward the clock: The German had broken 8 hours as well, finishing in 7:58. Bracht trotted in for third, about 10 minutes later. Meanwhile, defending champion Lothar Leder was having a hard time of it, falling off the pace a little at a time and entering the marathon starting at an 11-minute deficit. He faded a bit on the run, clocking a 3:01, and finished fifth, behind American Michael Lovato, who clocked the third-fastest run split among the men and leapfrogged Leder in the closing kilometers. For Leder, victim of a calf injury just days before he was to take on McCormack at Ironman Australia in April, it was a hard day on the course where he's won five times. The next morning, at the awards ceremony, a beaming McCormack told the audience how much he'd enjoyed his day. "I'm still coming to terms with the race," he said. "To put my name on the trophy next to so many amazing athletes is a dream come true. I don't know how I did it. I just had the perfect day. Hopefully I can do it again in Hawaii in October." "It's just great to be back here again," he said. "I absolutely love this race. No event compares to this in the world." Nicole Leder was not the first woman out of the water. That honor, as usual, belonged to German swim specialist Ute Muckel, who exited the water in 50:01. Leder was almost three minutes behind, in 52:42. She was still in second, with the nearest challenger, Australian sensation Belinda Granger, way back in eighth place, entering T1 in 55:05. Third out of the water was German Heike Funk. Funk, known for her skill on the bike, soon took the lead, with Granger, also known for her road-riding skills, making up her swim deficit and challenging for most of the first lap of the bike ride. At the beginning of the second lap, near the popular “Beer Mile,” Granger surged and Funk had no immediate answer; Granger ultimately overtook her just before the base of the famed Solarer Berg with its thousands of screaming fans going crazy as Granger and Funk climbed it with just seconds between them. The two kept their places for the rest of the bike leg, with Granger entering T2 with a three-minute advantage. Muckel and Leder, meanwhile, nailed down third and fourth, with Germany’s Heidi Jesberger comfortably in fifth. The women’s race changed dramatically on the run, as Granger tried unsuccessfully to hold off the hard-charging Leder, hungry for a repeat victory and eager to shake the stomach sickness that plagued her on the first part of the bike ride. (She had swallowed a few gulps of water on the swim.) Leder righted herself on the bike ride, keeping the gap to about 18 minutes, and then methodically reeled Granger in, passing her for good in the last three kilometers. The winning time was 9:13:57. Granger claimed second, in 9:16 flat. Muckel passed Funk on the run, and Jesberger rounded out the top five. At the awards ceremony, Leder said she started the bike feeling like she was in for a long day, and then had determined that second place would likely be here finish when she started the run. But somehow, she said, through the support of the fans and fellow competitors on the course, she began to have hope that she could overtake Granger. She said she didn't think her legs could go any faster, but somehow they did. As is always the case in Roth, the spectators were boisterous and joyful, greeting athletes by name and cheering nearly as loudly for athletes they didn’t know as for the professional winners. A special focus of the cheers this year was another new feature for the race, the world long-distance triathlon firefighter championships. On hand were firefighters from around the world, including New York firefighter Larry Parker, whose storied career took a detour on September 11 and who has dedicated his long-distance racing to the 343 firefighters who died that day. There's lots more here. RESULTS Quelle Challenge Roth Sunday, July 4, 2004; Roth, Germany (2.4 miles/112 miles/26.2 miles) MEN 1. Chris McCormack (AUS) 7:57:50 (47:59/4:26/2:40) 2. Faris Al-Sultan (GER) 7:58:57 (45:45/4:24/2:45) 3. Timo Bracht (GER) 8:08:03 (50:05/4:25/2:50) 4. Michael Lovato (USA) 8:21:45 (50:05/4:40/2:47) 5. Lothar Leder (GER) 8:25:14 (50:11/4:31/3:01) 6. Christophe Bastie (FRAU) 8:26:38 (50:25/4:35/2:57) 7. Swen Sundberg (GER) 8:32:36 (51:41/4:37/3:01) 8. Bernd Eichhorn (GER) 8:35:04 (50:10/4:45/2:57) 9. Dave Harju (USA) 8:37:56 (50:23/4:37/3:07) 10. Nobert Huber (GER) 8:39:55 (59:17/4:43/2:54) WOMEN 1. Nicole Leder (GER) 9:13:57 (52:42/5:25/2:52) 2. Belinda Granger (AUS) 9:16:00 (55:05/5:03/3:13) 3. Ute Muckel (GER) 9:34:26 (50:01/5:15/3:24) 4. Heike Funk (GER) 9:42:26 (52:44/5:09/3:36) 5. Heidi Jesberger (GER) 9:45 (55:16/5:21/3:25) 6. Viola Schaffer (HUN) 9:46:49 (1:13/5:32/2:54) 7. Yoko Hori (JPN) 9:48:36 (58:49/5:27/3:18) 8. Isabella Jungfer (GER) 9:57:23 (1:06/5:26/3:27) 9. Marie Danais (CAN) 9:58:13 (53:03/5:28/3:32) 10. Astrid Osterburg (GER) 10 :00 :04 (59 :38/5 :29/3 :27)