Javier Gomez of Spain repeated as the Hy-Vee 5i50 Elite Cup champion by 12 seconds over Hunter Kemper of the U.S. and Emma Moffatt won her second Hy-Vee Elite title by a more comfortable margin over fellow Australian Melissa Hauschildt Sunday in Des Moines, Iowa.
Men
Gomez, who decided that a catered speed workout with a $100,000 payday was just the thing to prepare for the ITU World Triathlon Series title showdown two weeks from now in London, combined a race-best 17:17 swim, a 14th-fastest non-drafting bike split and a dominating 30:30 10k run to finish in a race-record 1:45:57 time. Four-time Olympian Hunter Kemper repeated his 2nd place Hy-Vee finish behind Gomez last year with a swim that surrendered 23 seconds to Gomez, a T1 that gained 14 seconds back, a bike split that was 1:11 faster than Gomez and a 2nd-fastest 31:47 10k run that surrendered the lead with 2 miles to go and left him 12 seconds behind Gomez and $80,000 less prize money at the line. Greg Bennett, who won this race in 2011 and finished 3rd last year, seems to have lost little if any of his short course swim and bike speed at age 41 as he won $15,000 and finished 3rd, 1:01 behind Kemper. If Bennett has lost any of his powers, it was his run as his 8th-fastest 32:57 10k dropped him from a virtual tie for 1st off the bike to the final spot on the podium.
Gomez said the new course, which moved the finish line from the hill of Iowa’s state Capitol to the park at Gray’s Lake, was “better for the stronger cyclists. I didn’t have a great day on the bike, but I only managed to lose one minute.”
Kemper, whose finish Sunday was his third consecutive runner-up effort, said he hoped a strong bike leg would finally give him a Hy-Vee win. “I tried to stay with him but he ran really, really well,” Kemper said. “I tried to out-bike him, that was my goal today. It was always going to be tough to beat Javier Gomez, he’s the best in the world.”
Paul Matthews of Australia took 4th in 1:47:54 and Kevin Collington of the U.S., who won the U.S. Ironman 70.3 title earlier this year, took 5th in 1:48:09. Two U.S. men who are non-drafting stars with eyes on the podium had tough days. Ben Collins crashed on the bike but held on for 13th place. Cameron Dye came off the bike virtually tied for the lead with Greg Bennett, but his 35:16 run dropped the Boulder, Colorado star to 10th.
Women
Moffatt, who has been on a comeback on the ITU circuit this year, shined in the high-dollar, non-drafting atmosphere at Hy-Vee once again, adding to her 2nd place finishes at Hy-Vee in 2008 and 2010 and her win over Emma Snowsill in 2009. Unlike Gomez, Moffatt did not set any fastest splits this day, but her 2nd-fastest 18:45 swim, 7th fastest 1:00:41 bike split and 2nd-best 34:59 run added up to a 1:57:04 finish and a 1:26 margin of victory over fellow Aussie Melissa Hauschildt.
Moffatt cinched the win with a strong run. “Coming on to the run I was with that lead group, so I knew I just had to pace myself once we started running,” she said.
This year Moffatt has been up and down in the prestigious World Triathlon Series events, scoring a 2nd at Yokohama and 3rd at San Diego, then 19th at Kitzbühel and 22nd at Hamburg to place her 8th in the WTS points standings.
Hauschildt, who has been dominant on the Ironman 70.3 circuit this year, posted her usual dawdling 21:20 swim that gave back 2:35 to Moffatt. Hauschildt then jumped on the gas with a 2nd-fastest women’s bike split of 59:27 that earned back 1:14 from Moffatt. Hauschildt, the former 3,000-meter steeplechase international star, kept up the pressure with a race-fastest 34:52 run but only gained back 7 seconds on Moffatt and thus settled for the runner-up slot and a $20,000 payday. Svenja Bazlen of Germany combined an 11th-best 19:34 swim, a 4th-fastest 59:56 bike split and a 5th-best 36:43 run to take the final spot on the podium, 18 second back of Hauschildt.
“I just lost too much time on the swim,” said Hauschildt. “I was reeling them in on the bike, and then on the run I was getting stronger and getting stronger but I just needed a few more kilometers. Emma was too strong. [But] I’m stoked about the second place finish.”
New Zealand’s Nicky Samuels dueled evenly with Moffatt to T2, but her 37:01 closing run dropped her to 4th place, 30 seconds back of Bazlen. Lauren Goss of the U.S., who has been very successful on the Rev3 and 5i50 circuits this year, took 5th, 9 seconds back of Samuels.
Two-time defending Hy-Vee champion and Olympic silver medalist Lisa Norden of Sweden pulled out of the race when officials announced the start would be delayed 45 minutes due to rains. “Unfortunately, I’m not able to able to race … sadly, my body is not strong enough to handle the challenge,” she tweeted. Norden did not start due to a foot problem that obviously hampered her when she finished 20th the week before at the World Triathlon Series event in Stockholm. Norden had been bothered by plantar fasciitis early this year before hitting her stride at Ironman 70.3 races. Norden has devoted her focus this year on the preparing for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Las Vegas next weekend and considered her Stockholm and Hy-Vee races to be speed sharpening tune-ups for Vegas.
Reigning Ironman and Ironman 70.3 champion Leanda Cave of Great Britain pulled out late last week, easing the way for Moffatt’s victory.
Where the Hy-Vee Triathlon stands
This year’s event was delayed 45 minutes due to a brief but intense rain shower. For a great event that raised the bar for professional triathlon purses to unparalleled heights, the Hy-Vee Elite Cup of 2013 took a few steps backward in 2013. While devoting a significant investment to a local Des Moines event, the historic Drake Relays track meet, Hy-Vee halved its once dominant pro triathlon purse from $1 million to $500,000. They kept some of the wow factor by awarding $100,000 to the winners (down from $151,500) but dropped the runner-up payoff from $75,000 to $20,000 and so on down the line. In another cost-cutting move, they also dropped the lucrative swim, bike and run primes which afforded some swim and bike specialists career-extending opportunities. And, after years of first-rate NBC broadcasts and excellent live streaming internet coverage last year, triathlon aficionados around the world were left settling for private Twitter feeds by hard-working pro Hillary Biscay.
Hy-Vee Triathlon 5i50 USA Championship
Des Moines, Iowa
September 1, 2013
S 1.5k / B 40k / R 10k
Results
Elite Men
1. Javier Gomez (ESP) 1:45:57 - $100,000
2. Hunter Kemper (USA) 1:46:09 - $20,000
3. Greg Bennett (USA) 1:47:10 - $15,000
4. Paul Matthews (AUS) 1:47:54 - $10,000
5. Kevin Collington (USA) 1:48:09 - $9,500
6. Bevan Docherty (NZL) 1:48:29 - $9,000
7. Ivan Vasiliev (RUS) 1:48:41 - $8,500
8. Ruedi Wild (SUI) 1:48:54 - $8,000
9. Bertrand Billard (FRA) 1:49:23 - $7,500
10. Cameron Dye (USA) 1:49:29 - $7,000
Elite Women
1. Emma Moffatt (AUS) 1:57:04 - $100,000
2. Melissa Hauschildt (AUS) 1:58:30 - $20,000
3. Svenja Bazlen (GER) 1:58:48 - $15,000
4. Nicky Samuels (NZL) 1:59:18 - $10,000
5. Lauren Goss (USA) 1:59:27 - $9,500
6. Alicia Kaye (USA) 2:00:05 - $9,000
7. Meredith Kessler (USA) 2:00:24 - $8,500
8. Daniela Ryf (SUI) 2:01:20 - $8,000
9. Liz Blatchford (GBR) 2:01:41 - $7,500
10. Radka Vodickova (CZE) 2:02:03 - $7,000
