Ironman World Champion Chris McCormack was 5th after a 47:26 swim, led all but a few moments of a 4:34:56 bike and blasted home with a race-best 2:51:00 marathon to hit the line in 8:15:56 with a 12:40 margin of victory over runner-up and fellow Aussie Matty White. Tim Berkel who has wins at Challenge Copenhagen and Ironman Western Australia to his credit, was another 44 seconds back in third place.
In case anyone thought that opting for a non-WTC Ironman in June meant McCormack was giving up on his quixotic quest to make the 2012 Australian men's Olympic team, Macca insisted he would be on the start line of the Kitzbuhel ITU World Championship Series Olympic distance event in two weeks - seeking Olymnpic qualifying points.
So much for tapering.
"I felt really strong on the run, I tried to work those young guys and then in the back section of that bike ride I really pushed it, I wanted to set a good tempo out of transition, but I struggled and mentally that run into Cairns is really tough," said McCormack.
Rebekah Keat combined a 52:57 swim with a 5:16:34 bike and a 3:14:04 run to hit the finish in 9:26:31. Runner-up Michelle Mitchell trailed Keat out of the water by 3 seconds, gave up 47 more seconds on the bike, and surrendered another 2:06 on the run to finish 4 minutes, 10 seconds back in 9:30:41. Carrie Lester combined a 55:20 swim, a race-best 5:11:48 bike and a 3:24:50 run to finish third, a total of 4:15 back of Mitchell.
"I had some really tough patches out there on the run but somehow I came good on the second last lap and I think the crowd got me home and I got a second wind, but I didn’t think I had it (the win) until I was about 400m out – I really struggled on the run," said Keat.
Challenge Cairns
Cairns, Australia
June 5, 2011
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.
Results
Men
1. Chris McCormack (AUS) 8:15:56
2. Matty White (AUS) 8:28:36
3. Tim Berkel (AUS) 8:29:20
4. Jamie Whyte (NZL) 8:35:07
5. Clayton Fettell (AUS) 8:36:14
6. David Dellow (AUS) 8:41:39
7. Jonathan Hotchkiss (GBR) 8:42:49
8. Mike LeRoux (AUS) *M35-39 - 9:13:41
9. Paul Wiedersehn (AUT) *M25-29 – 9:14:42
10 Hayden Armstrong (AUS) * M30-34 - 9:18:21
Women
1. Rebekah Keat (AUS) 9:26:31
2. Michelle Mitchell (AUS) 9:30:41
3. Carrie Lester (AUS) 9:34:56
4. Candice Hammond (NZL) 9:43:03
5. Belinda Granger (AUS) 9:44:41
