Despite being a late entry into the race, Craig Alexander came, saw and conquered the 2011 Ironman Coeur D'Alene in course record time but had a tough battle with Maik Twelsiek who destroyed the bike course record. Julie Dibens took the women's title despite a bit of a struggle at the end and still managed to break the bike course and the race course records.
Defending champions Andy Potts and Linsey Corbin were not at the start this year but there were plenty other folks in attendance who were willing and able to take those spots.
On leave from his dental office in Canada Tom Evans showed that he still has what it takes and led the Pro men out the water in 49:07.
It didn't take very long on the bike for Commerzbank Pro Maik Twelsiek to jump into the lead and the fast German was on wicked pace. Craig Alexander was riding in second place most of the day but Twelsiek kept pulling further and further away and recorded a 4:29:10 bike split, breaking the previous bike record by a massive 9 minutes. That was also about the advantage (9:36) he had over the 2-time Ironman World Champion Alexander who entered transition in second position. Evans was next and he was followed only a few minutes later by Julie Dibens, the women's leader.
Out on the run Alexander started to slowly reel in Twelsiek and by the halfway point of the run the lead was down to a bit more than 3 minutes. Twelsiek then hit a rough patch a couple miles later and that is when Alexander moved past him and quickly gained an advantage. Twelsiek seemed to find a second wind shortly after and looked better towards the end but it was clear that Alexander was just too strong this day. The Aussie ran a run course record 2:46:54 and took the win in a new record time of 8:19:48. Twelsiek held on to second place and Evans rounded out the podium.
Julie Dibens started her day with a great swim and exited Lake Coeur D'Alene in first position in 52:36.
From there the Brit went on a tear on the bike putting most of the male Pros to shame riding in 4th position throughout most of the bike segment. Her 4:52:18 split broke the old record by 7 minutes and allowed Dibens to reach the bike-run transition well over 30 minutes ahead of Caitlin Snow who was next in transition. Haley Cooper Smith was third almost 40 minutes in arrears.
Dibens also looked great on the run, but as she started the second half of the marathon she seemed to struggle and was seen walking on the course. Dibens then ran some and walked some and eventually managed to find her running legs again. By the time she crossed the line in 9:16:40 she had broken the course record and was still almost 13 minutes ahead of second placed Caitlin Snow who ran quite well. Dibens also managed to finish 8th in the overall, quite an impressive feat when considering how much she walked. That was her first Ironman title and most likely not the last one.
"I was delighted to win my first Ironman, and to do it and a place like Coeur D'Alene was special. It is a stunning venue, and a place where the locals really get behind the event," said Dibens to slowtwitch. "I always believed Ironman was going to be really tough, but maybe not that much. It is a true test of patience, pacing, and inner belief....oh and course fitness might help too."
Ironman Coeur D'Alene
Coeur D'Alene, Idaho / June 26, 2011
2.4m swim / 112m bike / 26.2m run
Top men
1. Craig Alexander (AUS) 8:19:48
2. Maik Twelsiek (GER) 8:24:59
3. Tom Evans (CAN) 8:49:53
4. Brian Hadley (USA) 9:02:44
5. Adam Jensen (USA) 9:05:42
6. Tim Snow (USA) 9:12:04
7. Billy Edwards (USA) 9:13:13
8. Douglas MacLean (USA) 9:19:09 *AG M30-34
9. Kyle Pawlaczyk (USA) 9:19:50
10. Olly Piggin (NZL) 9:22:24
Top women
1. Julie Dibens (GBR) 9:16:40
2. Caitlin Snow (USA) 9:29:18
3. Haley Cooper-Scott (USA) 9:56:21
4. Sarah Piampiano (USA) 10:03:37 *AG W30-34
5. Caroline Gregory (USA) 10:05:53
6. Desiree Ficker (USA) 10:10:42
7. Cathleen Knutson (USA) 10:16:02 * AG W25-29
8. Lilia Paradis (USA) 10:30:19 * AG W25-29
9. Kendra Lee (USA) 10:35:43 * AG W30-34
10. Samantha Mazer (USA) 10:38:04 * AG W25-29
