Kona 09 Race Day - Men's Bike
Submitted by: Timothy Carlson
Added: Mon Oct 12 2009
In 2004 and 2006 Normann Stadler proved you can win it on the bike. But as Stadler proved, you must also reserve enough energy to defend that lead on the run. This year Chris Lieto's 4:25:10 bike appeared to be the possible equal of Stadler's 2006 course record and probably a better effort than Torbjorn Sindballe's swift 2005 trip up and down the Queen K. That's because October 10 was sneaky hot with an aggravating dose of not so brisk winds that kept shifting in the riders' faces all day long. The resultant wear and tear led to DNFs for an all-star cast -- Tim DeBoom, Patrick Vernay, Thomas Hellriegel, Michael Goehner, Marino Vanhoenacker, Normann Stadler, and a wicked noble but achingly slow 5:38:43 marathon after a third-best 4:31:36 bike for 6-foot 5-inch Ain Alar-Juhanson.
So Lieto earned his best-ever second place finish not only with a great ride, but also for reserving enough energy to hold off Craig Alexander's run until the 22nd mile of the marathon.
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