Leon Griffin rode to the lead undaunted by shivering cold rain then held off the swift runs of rising talent Nick Kastelein and 3-time ITU World champion Peter Robertson to win Challenge Melbourne. Melissa Hauschildt showed she is back on form, running away from Christie Sym and Lisa Marangon for the women’s overall.

A strong men’s field battled 30 kilometers per hour winds and choppy waves as Clayton Fettell and Todd Skipworth led the pros out of the swim. The duo led the much of the bike leg through unrelenting rain, stalked by a chase pack that included Griffin, Monty Frankish, Michael Fox, Robertson, Kastelein and Tim Berkel.

Luke Bell withdrew on the second lap of the bike, suffering from the cold rain. As the chasers ran up on Fettell and Skipworth near the end of the 90k bike leg, Griffin made a move to grab the lead going into T2. “I absolutely gave it to myself in the first half of the bike,” said Griffin. “I could see the flick of the lights on the motos up ahead and it gave me something to aim for. I knew when Todd and Clayton got away, if someone didn’t chase them they were going to get big time gaps and the race would have been gone.”

Griffin charged out of T2 and increased his lead on the first lap of the run, and then braced himself for charges from Kastelein and Robertson.

“I really jumped those guys at the start and was in no man’s land,” said Griffin. “I thought if I can get across to those guys I knew this is my race, [the move would work].” Kastelein uncorked the day’s fastest run – 1:13:56 – which cut two minutes from Griffin’s lead and propelled the rising star to 2nd place. Robertson ran his way through the field for 3rd.

Annabel Luxford led the swim but mechanical issues and a flat led her to DNF on the bike. Fellow Aussies Christie Sym and Lisa Marangon inherited a 2-minute lead on Hauschildt starting the bike leg, but the 2-time Ironman 70.3 World Champion was on her game and passed Sym shortly before the bike-to-run transition.

“I was really happy to be only two and a half minutes down after the swim,” said Hauschildt. “The plan was to ride as hard as I can. I like the wind, the rain made the corners a bit sketchy, so I took that real easy. The run on the last lap was where the legs fell off.”

Hauschildt finished in 4:19:12 with a 7:26 margin on Sym and 13:35 on third-place pro Marangon. Kate Pedley, a 30-34 age grouper, was listed as 3rd overall. The sometimes unreliable Challenge Melbourne results listed Pedley closing with a women’s-best 1:20:18 run split.

Challenge Melbourne
Melbourne, Australia
January 31, 2015
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. /R13.1 mi.

Unofficial results

Men

1. Leon Griffin (AUS) 3:51:41
2. Nick Kastelein (AUS) 3:52:53
3. Peter Robertson (AUS) 3:53:17
4. Jeff Symonds (CAN) 3:53:28
5. Todd Skipworth (AUS) 3:53:34

Women

1. Melissa Hauschildt (AUS) 4:19:12
2. Christie Sym (AUS) 4:26:38
3. Kate Pedley (AUS) 4:29:46 * F30-34
4. Lisa Marangon (AUS) 4:32:47
5. Wendy McAlpine (AUS) 4:38:58