On a day beset by patches of intense rain and steady winds of 30 miles per hour with 55 mph gusts on mountain ridges, Day 1 leaders Michael Coughlin and Staci Studer navigated the 171 miles of the Ultraman World Championship Day 2 bike leg with a steady touch that rewarded them with increasing leads.

Coughlin fared best of all as the 42-year-old physical trainer from Guelph, Ontario Canada smashed the Ultraman Hawaii Day 2 bike record with a time that topped Uros Velepec’s 2000 mark by 10 minutes and outpaced nearest challenger David Kalinowski by 21 minutes. After a Day 1 best time of 7:46:12 and today’s 7:10:06 split, Coughlin’s accumulated total of 14:56:16 leads Kalinowski by 42:27 and 3rd-place contender Billy Edwards of the U.S. by 1:19:32.

If he can surpass his 2011 Ultraman Hawaii run split of 6:47 by 3 minutes, Coughlin can break the Ultraman World Championship men’s course record of 21:41:22 set in 1998 by Holger Spiegel of Germany.

While she is not threatening the women‘s course records, physical therapist and Ultraman rookie Staci Studer quietly increased her lead with a women’s-best 9:42:21 split for the 171-mile bike leg, giving her an accumulated time of 19:43:58 and a 44:32 lead on Katherine Calder-Becker of Montreal, Canada and 1:48:13 over 3rd-place Beth Brewster of Kingston, Washington.

Iona McKenzie of Canada is in 4th place in 23:09:59 and Kim Rouse of the U.S. did in fact make the 12-hour cutoff on Day 1 - with 3 seconds to spare. On Saturday, Rouse continued on her path to an Ultraman finish with an 11:20:00 bike split.

Underlining the risky conditions, Christian Isakson of Portland, Oregon crashed in the rain and suffered several broken ribs, and Scott McDermott of Canada fell while riding over a rain-slick grated bridge and hit his head. Both men were unable to continue.

Second place contender Kalinowski barely escaped serious injury when he suffered a flat tire while descending near the finish of the day’s route. “On the last descent into Hawi, I was sliding all over the road and then my back tire flatted over a couple of potholes and I had no control,” said Kalinowski. “It was a wavy downhill and a truck was coming the other way and I had no control. That was one of my scariest moments ever on the bike. I thought I was a goner.”

Coughlin’s prowess in the winds drew raves from his closest rivals. “I have never seen anything like it,” said Kalinowski. “One minute it’s coming from the left and the next minute it‘s coming from the right and next it’s coming straight at you. The wind wraps around the terrain and nothing else. It’s incredibly challenging. I don’t know how Mike masters it so well. Incredible ride. Mike is just an absolute animal. ”

Speaking of Coughlin’s 7:10:06 record split, 3rd-place contender Billy Edwards said, “That is ridiculous. Part of me hopes he was riding in a different weather system because he is an hour ahead.”

Coughlin said that experiencing similar weather in the Kohalas during his 2nd place finish at the Ultraman World Championship in 2011 gave him the experience and the motivation to master the winds. “Riding the Kohalas that year was the craziest weather I’ve ever seen,” said Coughlin. “People got off and walked their bikes. I think having a tough time on that climb and being blown all over the place that day helped me today.”

Coughlin said that he specifically practiced for a windy climb at the end of Day 2. “I worked on where to put my hands and sticking to the right side of the road. I watched Alexandre Ribeiro in 2011 - he hugged that right side of the road which blocked a lot of the power of the wind coming down the mountain. And I saw then you can read the wind and lean in at just the right time. All of that experience came into play. I also learned not to fight the wind, because you will lose. Leave some room to move. And I also paced the climb. I started too hard last time and I had nothing left. It is not a long climb but I still put myself in the box. You can’t try to get it over quickly. You need to get in a rhythm and grind it through.”

The Ultraman Triathlon World Championship is a three-day event held on the weekend after Thanksgiving which is a triathletic circumnavigation of the Big Island of Hawaii. Day 1 consists of a 10 kilometer swim from the Kailua Pier to Keauhou Bay and continues with a 90-mile bike leg south from Keauhou to Volcanoes National Park which includes nearly 8,000 feet of climbing. Day 2 is a 171-mile bike leg which starts at Volcanoes, goes through Hilo, climbs to Waimea and proceeds north over the Kohala Range to Hawi. Day 3 is a double marathon starting at Hawi and heading south along the Ironman bike course back to Kailua-Kona.

2015 Ultraman World Championship
Volcanoes National Monument to Hawi, Hawaii
November 28, 2015
Day 2 - B 171.2 mi.

Results

Men

1. Michael Coughlin (CAN) Day 1 - 7:46:12 / Day 2 - 7:10:06 / TOT 14:56:16
2. David Kalinowski (AUS) Day 1 - 8:07:23 / Day 2 7:31:23 / TOT 15:38:46
3. Billy Edwards (USA) Day 1 - 8:09:51 / Day 2 - 8:05:57 / TOT 16:15:48
4. Jeremy Howard (USA) Day 1 - 8:16:07 / Day 2 - 8:23:18 / TOT 16:15:48
5. Tony O’Keefe (CAN) Day 1 - 8:35:37 / Day 2 - 8:05:58 / TOT 16:41:35
6. Trout Wayth (AUS) Day 1 - 8:41:56 / Day 2 - 8:22:26 / TOT 17:04:22
7. Miro Kregar (SLO) Day 1 - 9:20:33 / Day 2 - 7:58:41 / TOT 17:19:14
8. Jochen Dembeck (GER) Day 1 - 9:06:16 / Day 2 - 8:14:38 / TOT 17:20:54
9. Inaki de la Parra (MEX) Day 1 - 8:48:15 / Day 2 - 8:34:41 / TOT 17:22:56
10. Kevin Willis (CAN) Day 1 - 8:48:03 / Day 2 - 8:39:57 / TOT 17:28:00

Women

1. Staci Studer (USA) Day 1 - 10:10:37 / Day 2 - 9:42:21 / TOT 19:43:58
2. Kat Calder-Becker (CAN) Day 1 - 10:38:55 / Day 2 - 10:28:30 / TOT 21:07:25
3. Beth Brewster (USA) Day 1 - 11:07:34 / Day 2 - 10:25:51 / TOT 21:32:11
4. Iona McKenzie (CAN) Day 1 - 11:33:04 / Day 2- 11:36:35 / TOT 23:09:59
5. Kim Rouse (USA) Day 1 - 11:59:57 / Day 2 - 11:20:00 / TOT 23:19:57