Jan Frodeno swam and rode with Andy Potts, but it was his running that made the difference at the accenture Ironman 70.3 California at Oceanside. In the women's race Heather Wurtele and Heather Jackson were chasing Julie Dibens most of the way. Wurtele however proved strongest at the end and ran to the win. Julie Dibens who finished fourth impressed fans and competitors with this first tough outing back from injury.
The men
Jan Frodeno is the latest ITU specialist who's moving to 70.3 with spectacular success. He did so by winning the Ironman Oceanside 70.3, a race that annually seems to generate the best field over this distance prior to the 70.3 Worlds. Frodeno, after an injury-plagued 2013 season bogged down his assault on the 70.3 distance, seems to be healthy and coming on strong in 2014 after a dominating win at the Asia-Pacific Ironman 70.3
Championships in Auckland in January.
The 2008 Olympic gold medalist from Germany swam (22:03) and joined Andy Potts (22:01) at the front. The two shot then to the front on the bike. American Matt Chrabot's valiant charge (3rd best 2:12:25 bike split) brought him to that lead twosome by halfway into the bike, with Sebastian Kienle (2nd best 2:10:40 bike split) valiantly chasing to make up ground after a typically tardy swim (25:35). Andrew Starykowicz, off form due to a stomach flu, also had a sub-par swim (24:00) but his late push brought him the day's best bike split (2:10:22) and a short lead at T2 as well.
The desperate bike heroics of Starykowicz, Chrabot and Kienle brought them back into temporary contention, but Frodeno's 4th-best 2:12:37 bike split and Potts' 5th-fastest 2:13:00 mark reserved the duo far more energy for the run. Frodeno pushed the pace himself late in the ride to lead the top four who were split evenly across a 45-second span as they exited transition onto the run. Which was where Frodeno unleashed his a race-best 1:11:49 run which outpaced Potts's 2nd-fastest effort by 2:09 and was clearly reminiscent of Frodo's magical stretch run at Beijing.
Frodeno won easily, high-fiving at the finish, in a course record 3:49:25 (beating Potts' 2013 mark by 20 seconds) and closing with a race-best 1:11:49 run split. The indefatigable Potts, disputing a speeding penalty on Oceanside's dangerous 25-mph-limit steep downhill that cost him a 30-seconds stand down at T2 was next in at 3:52:18, with Sebastian Kienle posting a 3rd-best 1:14:11 run which brought him home 3rd, the best he could recoup after a swim that left him 3-and-a-half minutes back.
While Chrabot faded to 7th with an exhausted-by-the-bike 1:19:06 run, Joe Gambles saved his best for last - a 4th-best 1:14:16 run that brought him 4th. Starykowicz, after his just barely race-best bike, closed with a survival slog 1:37:21 run to finish 18th.
Frodeno seems primed to avenge his DNF at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Las Vegas last September, the Olympic distance Olympic gold medalist said he would pass on a 70.3 world title quest in favor of a run at Kona - after a debut Ironman at home in Frankfurt this summer.
The women
It's usually a Heather who wins this race, but it was Wurtele this time rather than defending champion Ms. Jackson. The two exchanged places from last year, and the Canadian Heather's finish time was a course record 4:13:12 -- 36 seconds faster than Jackson's 2013 record time and 63 seconds ahead of 2014 runner-up Jackson.
Wurtele bounced back from a terrifying episode February 16 at Ironman 70.3 Panama where she fell unconscious near the finish line due to heat stroke by winning Ironman 70.3 Monterrey two weeks ago. Wurtele's Oceanside victory was highlighted by a sizzling 1:17:56 run that was one of the best women's run splits in Ironman 70.3 history. Still, Jackson fought back fiercely with a second-fastest women's 1:19:07 run split that left her just 63 seconds back at the finish. Jackson's valiant run must be respected as she out-split super runner Caitlin Snow, who finished 5th, by 33 seconds. Meredith Kessler, coming off a course record win at Ironman New Zealand a few weeks ago, was a game 3rd, 5:37 back of Jackson.
But despite all the heroics ahead of her, Julie Dibens' 4th place finish might have been the performance of the day - at least on a comeback basis. Dibens, an Ironman 70.3 World champion and a multiple XTERRA World titlist, has been out of action for over two years recovering from operations to treat a complex foot injury. After a casual go at a professional women's cycling time trial effort and a top-ten finish at XTERRA Mountain Championship at Beaver Creek last year, Dibens made a serious effort at Oceanside and performed with encouraging brio.
Dibens trailed swim leader Meredith Kessler by one second, then ran off and hid with a 3rd-best 2:25:41 bike split that combined with her swim mastery gave her a 2 minutes lead on Jackson, Wurtele and Kessler at T2. Dibens held her lead for 2 miles before surrendering to Wurtele and Jackson, and then to Kessler at Mile 6. By the end, Dibens' 1:31:26 run split brought her home 4th, 5:02 behind Kessler and 30 seconds ahead of the fleet feet of Caitlin Snow.
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Ironman 70.3 California
Oceanside, California
March 29, 2014
S 1.2 mi/ / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Elite men
1. Jan Frodeno (DEU) 3:49:25
2. Andy Potts (USA) 3:52:18
3. Sebastian Kienle (DEU) 3:53:21
4. Joe Gambles (AUS) 3:55:00
5. Brent McMahon (CAN) 3:55:46
6. Kevin Collington (USA) 3:56:11
7. Matt Chrabot (USA) 3:57:05
8. Trevor Wurtele (CAN) 3:58:48
9. Matt Reed (USA) 4:00:10
10. Albert Moreno (ESP) 4:01:57
Elite Women
1. Heather Wurtele (CAN) 4:13:12
2. Heather Jackson (USA) 4:14:15
3. Meredith Kessler (USA) 4:19:52
4. Julie Dibens (GBR) 4:24:54
5. Caitlin Snow (USA) 4:25:24
6. Jennifer Spieldenner (USA) 4:28:35
7. Melanie McQuaid (CAN) 4:30:33
8. Liz Lyles (USA) 4:32:59
9. Emily Cocks (USA) 4:35:32
10. Charisa Wernick (USA) 4:37:40
