Tim Reed edged fellow Australian Sam Appleton by 29 seconds and young New Zealander Amelia Rose Watkinson topped veteran ITU star Annabel Luxford by 66 seconds to win the inaugural Challenge Gold Coast.

Men

Unseasonal rains forced race organizers to shorten the bike leg from 90 kilometers to 40 km due to local flooding, which changed some key strategy. “I changed my tactics after the course was shortened,” said Reed, who coaches Appleton, his top rival on the day. “I learned this course and I had planned to attack at 40km, but only had a 3km to get a margin so I thought I’d go from the gun. At about 20km Sam and Casey (Munro) caught me but Casey flatted and Sam and I built our lead from there.”

Pre-race co-favorites with superstar resumes three-time ITU Olympic distance World Champion Peter Robertson and 2012 Ironman World Champion Pete Jacobs were within seconds of swim leader Shane Barrie, Reed, Appleton and Munro. Reed and Appleton swam 20:40 and 20:41 with Jacobs (20:42) and Robertson (20:43) close behind.

By 20 kilometers into the bike leg, Reed and Appleton had amassed a 3 minute lead on Nicholas Hull, David Mainwaring and a group of eight including Jacobs, Robertson, Barrie and David Dellow. At the changeover, they held the 3 minute margin on Hull and Mainwaring, with Robertson and Jacobs a bit further back although official splits were contradictory and did not offer a consistent account of the running order.

“We were really lucky we got a good break. Tim was riding really strong, we got some breathing room coming into the run,” said Appleton.

As they began the second lap of the run, Reed surged to 30 seconds lead on Appleton with Mainwaring 3:30 arrears and the rest further back. On the final lap, Appleton closed to within 10 seconds of Reed.

“Between 10 and 15 kilometers I put in a sustained effort for 20 minutes and managed to pull the lead back to 10 second. At the turnaround we were really close but he still had a bit in the tank,” said Appleton.

At the finish Reed’s 1:17:18 half marathon split outpaced Appleton by 27 seconds and accounted for all but 2 seconds of his margin of victory.

Mainwaring, who lost a minute on the swim and 3 minutes on the bike, made up 2 minutes with a race-best 1:15:14 run split which left him 3rd, 2:08 behind Reed.

Robertson, who was listed in inconsistent official results with a 5:42 bike-to-run transition, did not ignite his famed run and cruised to a 1:27:08 split and a 12th place pro finish. Jacobs also surrendered as his 1:28:25 run got him to the finish as the 17th pro.

Women

Annabel Luxford emerged from the swim first with a 22:10 split, with Amelia Rose Watkinson next in 22:41 and Lisa Marangon 3rd in 22:48. Luxford added to her 31 seconds swim lead with an 11-seconds better transition and a 23 seconds faster bike leg which gave her a 1:05 lead starting the run. Marangon lost 3:30 on the bike leg and left the duel for the win to Luxford and Atkinson.

Starting the run, Watkinson quickly made up her deficit and then ran shoulder-to-shoulder with Luxford for the first lap. As Marangon faded, Madeleine Oldfield ran into 3rd and Renee Baker advanced to 4th place.

On the final lap, Watkinson pulled away with a race-best 1:23:59 split to finish in 2:49:59, 63 seconds better than Luxford’s half marathon and accounting for all but 2 seconds of the margin of victory.

Tineke Stewart finished 3rd, 10:54 behind the winner.

“It was my first international race as a pro, so I didn't know what to expect but I am really happy with the win,” said Watkinson, who is a decade younger than Luxford.

Along with Reed, Watkinson won an all-expenses paid trip and entry to the $500,000 Challenge Bahrain this December.

“The chance to win the Bahrain Royal Package was a real motivator on the run,” said Watkinson. “It will be an absolute dream come true to race there.”

Luxford said she was encouraged by her performance, her first race back since a bike crash in May. “I ran within myself, but my quads cramped.”

Challenge Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Australia
August 24. 2014
S 1.9k / B 43k / R 21.2 k

Results

Men

1. Tim Reed (AUS) 2:35:50
2. Sam Appleton (AUS) 2:36:19
3. David Mainwaring (AUS) 2:37:58
4. Bryce McMaster (NZL) 2:39:40
5. Levi Maxwell (AUS) 2:40:50 * M25-29
14. Peter Robertson (AUS) 2:45:43
30. Pete Jacobs (AUS) 2:51:16

Women

1. Amelia Rose Watkins (NZL) 2:49:59
2. Annabel Luxford (AUS) 2:51:05
3. Tineke Stewart (NZL) 3:00:53
4. Madeleine Oldfield (AUS) 3:01:01
5. Polly Mosley (AUS) 3:01:38