Dylan McNeice, a 27-year-old Ironman distance rookie, and Gina Crawford, a 31-year-old 11-time Ironman distance winner, won the elite titles on a windy, hot day on the tough Challenge Wanaka course.

The Men

McNeice, an Olympic distance triathlete whose previous best long course result was a 3rd at Singapore 70.3, took the race by the throat with a powerful swim and held on to finish in 8:51:18 with a 4:25 margin over runner-up and 2010 Challenge Wanaka winner Jamie Whyte and a 6:47 advantage on third-place finisher and two-time Ironman World Champion Chris McCormack.

“I can’t believe I was out front the whole way,” said McNeice. “I had to fight off Jamie on the run but I was feeling good and I can’t find the words to explain how happy I am.”

McNeice blasted out of the blocks with a 47:56 swim which gave him a 3:42 lead on super-swimmer and 4-time Ironman champion Bryan Rhodes, 7:09 on Jamie Whyte, 7:11 on Australian legend McCormack and 11:13 on fellow Kiwi Keegan Williams.

McNeice, who honed his game training with a Santa Cruz, California squad that includes Bevan Docherty and Paul Matthews, held his ground with a 4th-best 4:58:14 bike split that led him to T2 with a 1:37 lead on Whyte (4:52:42 bike), 2:15 on Rhodes (4:56:47 bike), 7:41 on McCormack (4:58:44 bike) and 9 minutes flat on Williams (4:56:01 bike).

On the run, McNeice said he took the first few kilometers easy until Whyte showed up on his shoulder. “At that point, I gave up on that plan and went flat out the rest of the way,” said McNeice. Sure enough, McNeice took off again and finished with a 3rd-fastest 2:59:59 marathon while Whyte faded to a 3:03:45 run.

“After falling 7 minutes back on the swim, I went really hard on the bike,” said Whyte on Challenge Wanaka live internet coverage. “I surged a little too hard on the run that was a little too hard at that stage.”

After a sub-par 4:58:44 bike split, McCormack held third with a 2nd-best 2:59:52 marathon.
“This course was spectacular, but jeez I hurt out there,” said McCormack. “I was cursing the wind, cursing the hills and I got beat by two very good guys. I underestimated how fit you have to be to win here – but I won’t make that mistake next year.”

The Women

Crawford came into this race with five World Triathlon Corporation Ironman victories, 5 Ironman-distance Challenge wins and a recent Ironman 70.3 win at Port of Tauranga. She took charge from the start. Her race-best 59:14 swim gave her a 32 seconds lead on 7-time Ironman New Zealand champion Jo Lawn, 1:24 on Kate Bevilaqua, 2:48 on Julia Grant, 3:39 on Jodie Scott and, most significantly, 7:38 on Candice Hammond and 13:56 on local triathlete Simone Maier.

Crawford then put the hammer down with a race-best 5:08:30 bike split which 12 minutes faster than Maier, 14:37 better than Hammond and 15:50 better than Jo Lawn while Julia Grant withdrew.

Hammond made a surge and posted the day’s best 3:09:43 run which only cut 1:24 from Crawford’s massive T2 lead. By the end, Crawford broke her own race record with a 9:24:31 clocking which gave her a 19:51 margin of victory. Hammond needed every second of her fleet marathon to take the runner-up slot as her 9:44:22 finish topped 3rd-place Jo Lawn by a mere 8 seconds.

“I felt very emotional at the finish,” said Crawford. “Earlier this week I got a stomach bug and wasn’t sure I could race. I felt very weak, but decided to go ahead. I felt OK at the start, but I wasn’t sure how I would feel after 9 hours of racing. As it turned out, I had an amazing bike and I’m very happy to win my 5th time here.”

Challenge Wanaka
Wanaka, New Zealand
January 19, 2013
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.

Results

Elite men

1. Dylan McNeice (NZL) 8:51:18
2. Jamie Whyte (NZL) 8:55:43
3. Chris McCormack (AUS) 8:58:05
4. Keegan Williams (NZL) 8:59:50
5. Bryan Rhodes (NZL) 9:04:12
6. Carl Read (NZL) 9:08:23
7. Axel Reiser (NZL) 9:44:28
8. Leon Griffin (AUS) 9:51:14

Elite Women

1. Gina Crawford (NZL) 9:24:31* race record
2. Candice Hammond (NZL) 9:44:22
3. Jo Lawn (NZL) 9:44:30
4. Simone Maier (NZL) 9:51:23