James Cunnama held off Terenzo Bozzone and Joe Gambles to take the win at Rev3 Quassy in 3:59:17. Julie Dibens established a huge lead on the bike and ran to the win in 4:23:37 about 3 minutes up on Ironman World Champion Mirinda Carfrae who had won this race last year.
With defending champion Craig Alexander not at the start the race was quite open and an impressive field had shown up to take the title and a share of the $150,000 purse.
John Kenny was first out of the water for the men, but it was Andrew Starykowicz who soon after was riding alone at the front of the race. His 2:14:42 would be the best split of the day and brought the Illinois resident back to transition first and with a nice lead over the chasers. Terenzo Bozzone and Paul Mathews had dropped Rev3 Knoxville winner Matty Reed in an effort to stay somewhat close, and James Cunnama's 2:16:23 and Joe Gambles' 2:17:54 splits put them into T2 about 4 minutes down and just ahead of Bozzone and Matthews.
Out on the run the lead of Starykowicz started to melt and Cunnama caught and passed him. Bozzone and Gambles also went by him and started to gain back on Cunnama. The South African held on for the win and the $20,000 check, with Bozzone second and Gambles third with also very nice financial rewards for their effort.
"After a poor swim I pushed hard on the bike until I caught and passed the group. I kept pushing to gain an advantage onto the run and then pretty much was running scared the entire way," said Cunnama to slowtwitch. "The gap to Bozzone and Gambles fluctuated, but was never more than a minute. In the final mile it was all I had just to hold a fast finishing Terenzo at bay. A bit too close for comfort, but ecstatic to have held on for a huge win!"
The women's race again featured the battle of Julie Dibens and Mirinda Carfrae, but there were plenty other Pros at the start who were capable to take the win.
Liz Blatchford led the women out of the water with about a 30 second lead over Julie Dibens and another minute on Mirinda Carfrae. That was much closer to the front for Carfrae than most would have expected.
Julie Dibens though really attacked the bike course and quickly put some distance between herself and all the pursuers. Last year Dibens was reduced to walking some sections of the run and dropped back to 4th place, and now she looked like she wanted to put those ghosts from the past behind her. By the time she reached the transition she had more than 6 minutes on Carfrae and Malaika Homo.
Carfrae was running well and quickly dropped Homo, but up front Dibens looked very steady and smooth even if a bit slower. But Carfrae wasn't gaining time fast enough Angela Naeth meanwhile had moved into third position. Dibens though held on for the win by just about 3 minutes to take her first Quassy title and the check for $20,000. Mirinda Carfrae finished second and Angela Naeth third.
"After not feeling like I raced close to my potential last year I was very motivated to go back and perform a lot better. I was out for revenge ... not just on Rinny and the other girls, but probably more importantly on that beast of a course in Quassy," said Dibens to slowtwitch. "With the super stacked field my training the last few months has definitely been tailored towards being ready for this race. There are so many great girls coming through, that I knew that if I didn't perform at my very best, any one of them would pounce on me."
Rev3 Quassy
Middlebury, CT / June 5, 2011
1.2m swim / 56m bike / 13.1m run
Top men
1. James Cunnama (RSA) 3:59:17 - $20,000
2. Terenzo Bozzone (NZL) 3:59:29 - $16,000
3. Joe Gambles (AUS) 3:59:48 - $13,000
4. Paul Matthews (GBR) 4:00:38 - $10,000
5. Matt Reed (USA) 4:01:19 - $6,000
6. Andrew Starykowicz (USA) 4:01:54 - $4,000
7. Richard Allen (GBR) 4:03:37 - $3,000
8. Richie Cunningham (AUS) 4:05:58 - $1,500
9. John Kenny (USA) 4:07:01 - $1,000
10. Dan Hugo (RSA) 4:08:34 - $500
Top women
1. Julie Dibens (GBR) 4:23:37 - $20,000
2. Mirinda Carfrae (AUS) 4:26:24 - $16,000
3. Angela Naeth (CAN) 4:30:52 - $13,000
4. Liz Blatchford (GBR) 4:32:11 - $10,000
5. Heather Jackson (USA) 4:34:16 - $6,000
6. Kate Major (AUS) 4:35:01 - $4,000
7. Jessica Meyers (USA) 4:40:41 - $3,000
8. Malaika Homo (USA) 4:41:30 - $1,500
9. Uli Bromme (USA) 4:48:12 - $1,000
10. Tamara Kozulina (UKR) 4:48:26 - $500
