McCORMACK, BADMANN TAKE HOT, HOT, HOT WILDFLOWER
> report filed May 5, 2004 by Amy White
Aussie Chris McCormack earned his third Wildflower title the hard way on Saturday, overcoming cramps and a hard-charging Belgian on his heels to descend Lynch Hill the winner as temperatures soared past the 100F mark. The women's race saw Natascha Badmann of Switzerland on an unfamiliar steed--a green Griffen she nicknamed Seabiscuit--performing in a very familiar way, dominating on the bike and coming home with a smile as wide as Texas on the run.
The men's race saw early departures of some race favorites from the incredibly strong field as Aussie Craig Walton withdrew race morning because of illness and mechanical woes on the bike put an early end to Swede Bjorn Andersson's day. Another early exit-er was Sweden's Jonas Colting, and four-time champion Cameron Widoff was never a factor as back pain forced him into a rare DNF.
The battle lines were drawn early in the bike, with Canada's Tom Evans and Americans Chris Lieto and Greg Remaly waging a war of attrition over the hills of the trying course. By mile 49, after the long climb from mile 41 and the leg-sapping rollers that follow it, Evans had distanced himself from Remaly and Lieto, earning a one-minute advantage over the pair with McCormack another 10 seconds back. Aussie Luke Bell was managing to hang in, 2:47 back of Evans. This was a race that was going to be won, or lost, on the run.
The run at Wildflower takes in a combination of trails and roads around and away from Lake San Antonio, and virtually all of it is either up or down. As temperatures soared, it was up to the runners with the most gas left in their tank to make a move. McCormack had closed the gap to Evans and Remaly to 45 seconds by mile 3, with Beke still three minutes behind the leaders. Macca was gaining ground, but at a price. "I was in pieces, mate," he would later say to former Kona champ and world-beater Greg Welch at the awards ceremony. His legs cramping, he surged past Evans, Lieto and Remaly and began to distance himself from his chasers--but then the elastic snapped back and Beke began to gain ground, pushing from behind and clocking the day's second-fastest run split, a 1:16:08. (American Victor Plata, who would finish 12th, posted a 1:16:06.) The effort showed on both their faces as they passed Lynch Hill a final time, heading for the nearly mile-long plunge to the finish line with just 26 seconds between them. Bell, meanwhile, had followed Beke through the field, moving into third, with three-time Kona champ Peter Reid of Canada fourth. Remaly passed a proud Evans on Lynch to take the final spot on the podium. Evans was the only man to ride under 2:20 on the day, turning in a 2:19:14.
The women's race was also not without drama, although some of it came days before the race. Badmann's trusty steed, a carbon-fiber Cheetah, was damaged in training right before the race and she found herself facing her biggest race of the new season without a ride. Enter John Cobb, who put together a Griffen for her just two days before the race. Badmann was a little nervous riding a new bike so close to the race--"You wouldn't put [race car driver Michael] Schumacher into a new car the day before an F1 race," she said afterward--but those worries turned out to be unfounded as her bike split was an absolutely dominating one, a 2:37:09. By T2, her advantage over Aussie Kate Major and Americans Heather Gollnick (the defending champion) and Alexis Waddel had ballooned to more than four minutes. But Major was not giving up without a fight, and she clawed back more than two minutes over the run, going 1:29:59 (the only woman under 1:30) to finish less than two minutes down on the smiling Swiss woman, who, like Beke, was racing Wildflower for the first time.
Lots more here.
RESULTS
Wildflower Half-Ironman Triathlon
Saturday, May 1, 2004; Lake San Antonio, Calif.
(1.2 miles/56 miles/13.1 miles)
WOMEN
1) Natascha Badmann (SUI) 4:45:31 (29:19/2:37:09/1:37:06)
2) Kate Major (AUS) 4:47:25 (29:13/2:45:54/1:29:59)
3) Heather Gollnick (USA) 4:49:45 (29:07/2:47:08/1:30:56)
4) Alexis Waddel (USA) 4:53:21 (28:59/2:47:32/1:34:44)
5) Katja Schumacher (GER) 4:57:45 (27:29/2:47:21/1:40:12)
6) Linda Gallo (USA) 4:57:58 (24:57/2:52:37/1:37:55)
7) Ryan Layhee (USA) (5:00:39/2:48:00/1:41:29)
8) Jamie Whitmore (USA) 5:02:14 (29:44/2:49:03/1:41:07)
9) Michelle Deasy (USA) 5:03:14 (27:29/2:50:24/1:42:59)
10) Erin McCarty (USA) 5:03:36 (27:16/2:47:571:45:44
MEN
1) Chris McCormack (AUS) 4:05:50 (24:17/2:20:52/1:18:45)
2) Rutger Beke (BEL) 4:06:09 (26:02/2:22:00/1:16:08)
3) Luke Bell (AUS) 4:08:08 (24:19/2:23:03/1:18:50)
4) Peter Reid (CAN) 4:09:12 (25:19/2:22:58/1:19:07)
5) Greg Remaly (USA) 4:09:50 (24:17/2:20:22/1:23:14)
6) Tom Evans (CAN) 4:10:08 (24:11/2:19:14/1:24:30)
7) Matt Seeley (USA) 4:13:28 (27:05/2:24:09/1:20:22)
8) Greg Krause (USA) 4:20:18 (27:40/2:27:26/1:22:59)
9) Brian Lavelle (USA) 4:21:08 (24:20/2:25:43/1:29:04)
10) Chris Lieto (USA) 4:22:40 (24:38/2:20:23/1:35:34)
The battle lines were drawn early in the bike, with Canada's Tom Evans and Americans Chris Lieto and Greg Remaly waging a war of attrition over the hills of the trying course. By mile 49, after the long climb from mile 41 and the leg-sapping rollers that follow it, Evans had distanced himself from Remaly and Lieto, earning a one-minute advantage over the pair with McCormack another 10 seconds back. Aussie Luke Bell was managing to hang in, 2:47 back of Evans. This was a race that was going to be won, or lost, on the run.
The run at Wildflower takes in a combination of trails and roads around and away from Lake San Antonio, and virtually all of it is either up or down. As temperatures soared, it was up to the runners with the most gas left in their tank to make a move. McCormack had closed the gap to Evans and Remaly to 45 seconds by mile 3, with Beke still three minutes behind the leaders. Macca was gaining ground, but at a price. "I was in pieces, mate," he would later say to former Kona champ and world-beater Greg Welch at the awards ceremony. His legs cramping, he surged past Evans, Lieto and Remaly and began to distance himself from his chasers--but then the elastic snapped back and Beke began to gain ground, pushing from behind and clocking the day's second-fastest run split, a 1:16:08. (American Victor Plata, who would finish 12th, posted a 1:16:06.) The effort showed on both their faces as they passed Lynch Hill a final time, heading for the nearly mile-long plunge to the finish line with just 26 seconds between them. Bell, meanwhile, had followed Beke through the field, moving into third, with three-time Kona champ Peter Reid of Canada fourth. Remaly passed a proud Evans on Lynch to take the final spot on the podium. Evans was the only man to ride under 2:20 on the day, turning in a 2:19:14.
The women's race was also not without drama, although some of it came days before the race. Badmann's trusty steed, a carbon-fiber Cheetah, was damaged in training right before the race and she found herself facing her biggest race of the new season without a ride. Enter John Cobb, who put together a Griffen for her just two days before the race. Badmann was a little nervous riding a new bike so close to the race--"You wouldn't put [race car driver Michael] Schumacher into a new car the day before an F1 race," she said afterward--but those worries turned out to be unfounded as her bike split was an absolutely dominating one, a 2:37:09. By T2, her advantage over Aussie Kate Major and Americans Heather Gollnick (the defending champion) and Alexis Waddel had ballooned to more than four minutes. But Major was not giving up without a fight, and she clawed back more than two minutes over the run, going 1:29:59 (the only woman under 1:30) to finish less than two minutes down on the smiling Swiss woman, who, like Beke, was racing Wildflower for the first time.Lots more here.
RESULTS
Wildflower Half-Ironman Triathlon
Saturday, May 1, 2004; Lake San Antonio, Calif.
(1.2 miles/56 miles/13.1 miles)
WOMEN
1) Natascha Badmann (SUI) 4:45:31 (29:19/2:37:09/1:37:06)
2) Kate Major (AUS) 4:47:25 (29:13/2:45:54/1:29:59)
3) Heather Gollnick (USA) 4:49:45 (29:07/2:47:08/1:30:56)
4) Alexis Waddel (USA) 4:53:21 (28:59/2:47:32/1:34:44)
5) Katja Schumacher (GER) 4:57:45 (27:29/2:47:21/1:40:12)
6) Linda Gallo (USA) 4:57:58 (24:57/2:52:37/1:37:55)
7) Ryan Layhee (USA) (5:00:39/2:48:00/1:41:29)
8) Jamie Whitmore (USA) 5:02:14 (29:44/2:49:03/1:41:07)
9) Michelle Deasy (USA) 5:03:14 (27:29/2:50:24/1:42:59)
10) Erin McCarty (USA) 5:03:36 (27:16/2:47:571:45:44
MEN
1) Chris McCormack (AUS) 4:05:50 (24:17/2:20:52/1:18:45)
2) Rutger Beke (BEL) 4:06:09 (26:02/2:22:00/1:16:08)
3) Luke Bell (AUS) 4:08:08 (24:19/2:23:03/1:18:50)
4) Peter Reid (CAN) 4:09:12 (25:19/2:22:58/1:19:07)
5) Greg Remaly (USA) 4:09:50 (24:17/2:20:22/1:23:14)
6) Tom Evans (CAN) 4:10:08 (24:11/2:19:14/1:24:30)
7) Matt Seeley (USA) 4:13:28 (27:05/2:24:09/1:20:22)
8) Greg Krause (USA) 4:20:18 (27:40/2:27:26/1:22:59)
9) Brian Lavelle (USA) 4:21:08 (24:20/2:25:43/1:29:04)
10) Chris Lieto (USA) 4:22:40 (24:38/2:20:23/1:35:34)