Mild winds on the Queen K and ever improving cyclists led to several bike records this year at Kona. Julie Dibens combined a fast swim and a dazzling 4:44:15 bike to gain a 12 minute lead on Caroline Steffen and 23 minutes on Chrissie Wellington. But that was all she wrote for the day, as Dibens withdrew with exhaustion and foot woes mid-run. Thus ceding the new race-record to Karin Thuerig, who biked 5 seconds slower but was able to get to the finish in 6th place. Chris Lieto came within 9 seconds of Normann Stadler's 2006 bike record of 4:18:23. Out of gas, Lieto slogged to a 3:55:00 and dropped from 1st to 29th place. Bike splits were also crucial to the two winners. Chrissie Wellington's 4:56:23 provided her margin of victory over a faster swim-run combination posed by defending champ Mirinda Carfrae. And Craig Alexander's second-best 4:24:05 split shut the door on fast runners who formerly had depended on Crowie's once-conservative bike splits for their chance at victory.

Photographs © Timothy Carlson

Chrissie Wellington leads an entourage up Palani Road and out on to the Queen K where she posted a 4:56:53 bike - 12 minutes slower than Julie Dibens and Karin Thuerig.

Andi Boecherer of Germany made the first chase pack on the bike with a 51:49 swim and a 5th-fastest 4:25:46 bike before sliding to 8th with a 3:01:44 run.

Dirk Bockel of Luxembourg avoided a penalty which cost him his chance last year and posted a 4th fastest 4:24:17 bike split on his way to a breakthrough 4th overall.

Charging up Palani to start the day.

Caitlin Snow fell off badly with a 5:20:57 bike - 36 minutes off the record times of Julie Dibens and Karin Thuerig. But Snow's 3rd-best 2:53:51 marathon brought her up to 9th.

Caroline Steffen, the Swiss star who finished 2nd last year, posted a third-best 4:50:26 bike split, then fell from second to 5th on the run.

Frederik Van Lierde of Belgium, one of the pre race favorites puts on his bike shoes on the roll before posting a 4:31:19 bike and dropping out on the run.

Canada's Heather Wurtele posted a 7th-fastest 4:59:10 bike split and finished 8th in 9:17:56

Julie Dibens out biked Karin Thuerig by 5 seconds but her 4:44:15 did not count for a women's race record because she did not finish the run.

Leanda Cave placed 10th in her 2010 Kona debut. This year she combined a 53:54 swim, 4:58:41 bike and 3:06:36 run to finish third.

Mary Beth Ellis had a sensational summer with two race-record Ironman wins and a strong contender's role in her Kona debut. But a 5:19:15 bike and 3:13:48 run left her 15th.

Mirinda Carfrae's 57:17 swim and 2:52:09 marathon were 4:17 faster than Chrissie Wellington. But Carfrae's Kona-best 5:04:17 bike gave away 7:24 and the win to Wellington.

Seven-time Ironman New Zealand winner and multiple Kona top 10 finisher Jo Lawn rode 5:20:13 and finished 19th.

Multiple top 10 Kona finisher Patrick Vernay swam 55:56 and never finished the bike.

Caitlin Snow rounds the corner starting up Palani Drive.

Maik Twelsiek of Germany had a great bike last year and this year his 4:26:28 split kept him close to the leaders. But his 3:20:14 run dropped him to 22nd.

Pete Jacobs has a killer swim and his 2:41 marathon last year was race-best . But this year his much faster 4:31:01 bike allowed him to move up to a breakthrough 2nd place.

Chrissie Wellington's scars from her training bike crash are painfully evident here. Still she managed a 4th-best 4:56:53 bike which set her up for her 4th Kona win.

Faris Al-Sultan, who has two third places and a 2005 win at Kona, rode 4:29:31 on his way to a third straight 10th place.

Mike Aigroz of Switzerland rode a 4:30:43 on his way to a breakthrough 6th place finish.