Annabel Luxford and Denis Chevrot won the elite titles at Ironman 70.3 Ballarat in Victoria, Australia.

Women

Two weeks after her dominating win at Ironman 70.3 Western Sydney, Luxford started fast at Ballarat 70.3 with a women’s-best 25:10 swim that gave her a 58 seconds lead on Stephanie Demestichas and 2:18 on Kirralee Seidel and Andrea Forrest.

Luxford didn’t waste time adding to her advantage, creating a 5:23 lead on Forrest, 5:39 on Jacqueline Henricks, and 5:41 on Seidel halfway through the 90km bike leg. After a women’s-best 2:21:13 bike split, Luxford enjoyed 8:12 and 8:18 leads on Henricks and Forrest (2:26:40 bike splits), and 8:19 on Seidel (2:26:50 bike split).

After a women’s 3rd-best 1:25:34 run, Luxford successfully defended her 2015 title. She finished in 4:14:21 with a 7:18 margin of victory over Seidel (women’s-best 1:24:44 run) and 7:46 on 3rd-place finisher Forrest (1:25:14 run).

Luxford’s Ballarat 70.3 win adds to an excellent 2016 season that included a 6th at Ironman 70.3 Worlds, a 5th at Ironman South Africa and a win at Busselton 70.3, as well as her victory at Western Sydney 70.3.

Men

Chevrot started with a 5th-place swim just 6 seconds behind the leader, fought back to 2nd place with a 3rd-best 2:09:12 bike split, and prevailed in run battles with Aussies Sam Betten and Peter Kerr.

At 13km into the run, Betten broke away to a 13 seconds lead on Chevrot and more on Peter Kerr. Not content to trail, Chevrot fought back and by 13.9km was back on the shoulder of Betten. Kerr, then running 7 seconds per kilometer faster than the leading duo, loomed 20 seconds back.

Continuing his surge, by 14.6km Chevrot pushed 50 meters clear of Betten and led Kerr by 35 seconds. By 18km, Kerr had passed Betten and closed to within 125 meters of Chevrot.

By that point, Chevrot increased his pace and was impervious to further resistance.

After a 2nd-fastest 1:14:45 run split which gave back 2:25 to Kerr, Chevrot finished in 3:49:34 with a 28 seconds margin of victory on Kerr and 1:05 on 3rd-place finisher Betten.

Van Berkel took 4th, 5:11 behind Betten, and Leon Griffin took 5th, 51 seconds behind Van Berkel.

Betten posted the fastest swim (23:17), Tim Van Berkel the fastest bike split (2:07:32), and Kerr the race-fastest run (1:13:00).

Chevrot’s victory caps off a 2016 season that included a win at Dublin 70.3, 2nd at Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz, 7th at Ironman Frankfurt, and 5th at Ironman Western Australia.

Ironman 70.3 Ballarat
Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
December 11, 2016
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.

Results

Women

1. Annabel Luxford (AUS) 4:14:20
2. Kirralee Seidel (AUS) 4:21:39
3. Andrea Forrest (AUS) 4:22:07
4. Jacqueline Henricks (AUS) 4:23:13
5. Jessica Mitchell (AUS) 4:28:06
6. Katy Duffield (AUS) 4:28:13
7. Monica Juhart (AUS)] 4:32:31
8. Amanda Wilson (AUS) 4:33:03
9. Catherine Allison (AUS) 4:33:31 *F30-34
10. Rosie Oldham (AUS) 4:34:55 *F30-34

Men

1. Denis Chevrot (FRA) 3:49:34
2. Peter Kerr (AUS) 3:50:02
3. Sam Betten (AUS) 3:50:39
4. Tim Van Berkel (AUS) 3:55:50
5. Leon Griffin (AUS) 3:56:41
6. James Davy (AUS) 3:56:49
7. Samuel Tebek (AUS) 3:57:55
8. Roger Witz Barnes (GBR) 3:58:07 *M30-34
9. Daniel Stein (AUS) 3:58:53
10. Clayton Fettell (AUS) 3:59:08