Matt Chrabot showed great early season form with a fine win at the Miami International Triathlon, the opening race for the new 5i50 Triathlon series. Jillian Petersen grabbed the women's title with a very strong performance.
The men
John Kenny was first out of the water for the men, but his approximate 30 second advantage over a pack that included Cameron Dye, Ben Collins and Kyle Leto was virtually erased in transition.
Cameron Dye soon took the lead on the bike with his 53:24 split, but he was passed by a hard charging Chris Lieto at the end who managed a race best 52:31. Kyle Leto and Ben Collins also had fast times and reached T2 next, but not too far behind were Bevan Docherty and defending champion Matt Chrabot.
"The wind really took some of the fire power out of my legs towards the end (of the bike - ed). I began to lose sight of the front group of Ben Collins, Cam Dye, & Bevan Docherty. Kyle Leto had an awesome bike and was even further up the road. Chris Lieto went by around 18 miles in like I was standing still. Seriously thought my race was done," said race winner Matt Chrabot to slowtwitch. "Found my second wind out onto the run. Just ran as hard as I could for 4 miles. Finally caught Ben, Cam, & Chris. Surprised I was able to put some time into Bevan. These guys really brought the best out in me today. I'm very pleased with my training & performance in my first race of the year."
Chrabot added another title to his resume and Docherty earned the runner-up spot with a bit of found speed at the end of the run. Ben Collins rounded out the podium.
The women
As expected, Sara McLarty was leading out of the water with about a minute on Christine Jeffrey, Alicia Kaye, and Taylor Cooke, while last year's runner-up Jillian Petersen had lost just under 2 minutes.
McLarty rode hard and managed to distance herself from all other pursuers with a race best 59:46 bike split. Petersen though managed to move up to second position by the time she reached T2.
"As I headed out on the run my coach, Melissa Mantak, help up a sign that said 2 minutes 45 seconds (down from McLarty). I definitely had my work cut out for me," said Petersen to slowtwitch. "I ended up catching her with a little under 2 miles to go, but I really had to work for it. McLarty had an awesome race and I am very happy for her. It was hard but a lot of fun."
An elated Petersen took the win and McLarty finished second. Kaitlin Shiver managed to take the final podium spot with a 34:41 run.
5i50 Miami International Triathlon
Miami, FL / March 20th
1.5k swim / 40k bike / 10k run
Top men
1. Matt Chrabot (USA) 1:44:04
2. Bevan Docherty (NZL) 1:44:30
3. Ben Collins (USA) 1:44:40
4. Cameron Dye (USA) 1:44:48
5. Chris Lieto (USA) 1:44:50
6. Kyle Leto (USA) 1:45:15
7. Matty Reed (USA) 1:46:15
8. Kevin Everett (USA) 1:46:34
9. Jordan Jones (USA) 1:47:04
10. Brian Fleischmann (USA) 1:48:04
Top women
1. Jillian Petersen (USA) 1:56:54
2. Sara McLarty (USA) 1:58:10
3. Kaitlin Shiver (USA) 1:59:07
4. Nicole Kelleher (USA) 1:59:14
5. Amanda Felder Derkacs (USA) 2:01:27
6. Alicia Kaye (USA) 2:02:06
7. Angela Axmann (USA) 2:02:08
8. Christine Jeffrey (CAN) 2:04:18
9. Jenny Shaughnessy 2:04:53
10. Kristen Peterson (USA) 2:05:31
