Aaron Royle combined a race-best 21:00 swim, a 7th fastest 2:16:03 bike split and a race-fastest 1:13:28 half marathon to finish in 3:51:48 with a 46 seconds lead on Jack Hutchens of Great Britain and 49 seconds advantage on third place finisher Harry Palmer of the UK.
Lucy Byram of Great Britain combined a third-quickest 25:12 swim, second-best 2:34:04 bike split and second-best 1:26:21 run split to finish in 4:26:59 with a 10:14 winning margin over Laura Addie and 14:16 over third place Megan McDonald to cap off a 1-2-3 UK podium.
Men
Royle (21:00), Joshua Lewis of the UK (21:06), and Thomas Bishop of Great Britain (21:11 swim split), led the two-loop swim in Fishguard Bay which gave the trio a 1:16 lead over solo chaser James Chantler-Mayne and a little more over British chase quartet that included Jack Hutchens, Harry Palmer, Thomas Davis and Sam Wade.
While Royle ‘s main experience was in Olympic distance, he has recent 70.3 experience including a win at the 2020 Sunshine Coast and a second place at the 2021 Ironman 70.3 Cascais in Portugal. Royle tried hard to build a lead but could not drop Lewis and Bishop on the hilly course.
After a 2:15:32 bike split, Lewis led the field into T2, followed closely by a close pack of eight men including Royle, Bishop, Tom Davis, Harry Palmer, Sam Wade, Jack Hutchens and Markus Thomschke who posted the day’s fastest bike split – 2:12:45.
Aussie Olympic distance veteran Royle led the race to the finish with a race-best 1:13:28 run split that brought him to the line in 3:51:48 with a 46-seconds margin over Hutchens (1:13:31 run split) and 49 seconds over third place Harry Palmer (1:13:50 run split). The top three men were separated by less than a minute – thanks in part by Royle suffering a bike dismount penalty.
Women
Hannah Munday led the women out of the water with a 24:12 split that gave her a minute advantage over Megan McDonald, Lucy Byram and Laura Addie. With just three pro women starting (Byram, Tara Grosvenor and Claire Weller) top age group women Laura Addie, Megan McDonald, Rhianne Hughes, Sarah Kirkham and Delyth Powell filled out the top 10.
Byram, who placed second at the recent Challenge Riccione, led early on the bike while McDonald kept close and Laura Addie remained ready to pounce while posting the women’s-fastest 2:32:30 split.
On the run, Byram kept things under control with as second-best 1:26:21 run split well ahead of age groupers Addie, McDonald and Rhianne Hughes, who took 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places.
Challenge Wales
June 18, 2022
Pembrokshire Wales, Great Britain
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Men
1. Aaron Royle (AUS) 21:00 T1 33.6 B 2:16:03 T2 42 R 1:13:28 TOT 3:51:48
2. Jack Hutchens (GBR) S 22:24 T1 38 B 2:14:57 T2 1:02 R 1:13:31 TOT 3:52:34
3. Harry Palmer (GBR) S 22:24 T1 34 B 2:14:58 T2 50 R 50 R 1:13:50 TOT 3:52:37
4. Thomas Bishop (GBR) S 21:11 T1 30 B 2:16:11 T2 50 R 1:14:10 TOT 3:52:55
5. Joshua Lewis (GBR) S 21:06 T1 40 B 2:15:32 T2 47 R 1:14:55 TOT 3:53:02
6. Thomas Davis (GBR) S 22:16 B 39 B 2:15:05 T2 38 R 1:14:26 TOT 3:53:07
7. Sam Wade (GBR) S 22:26 T1 55 B 2:14:36 T2 57 R 1:15:05 TOT 3:54:02
8. Markus Thomschke (GER) S 24:07 T1 1:07 B 2:12:45 T2 49 1:15:55 TOT 3:54:56
9. Elliot Smales (GBR) S 24:03 T1 42 B 2:19:50 T2 46 R 1:14:00 TOT 3:59:24
10. Finn Arentz (GBR) R 24:31 T1 42 B 2:19:20 T2 53 R 1:14:21 TOT 3:59:49
Women
1. Lucy Byram (GBR) S 25:12 T1 35 B 2:34:04 T2 45 R 1:26:21 TOT 4:26:59
2. Laura Addie (GBR) S 21:37 T1 58 B 2:32:30 T2 1:09 R 1:33:59 TOT 4:37:15
3. Megan McDonald (GBR) S 25:07 T1 41 B 2:35:19 T2 49 R 1:39:11 TOT 4:41:09
4. Rhianne Hughes (GBR) S 31:54 T1 1:23 B 2:46:25 T2 47 R 1:21:33 TOT 4:42:05
Sarah Kirkham (GBR) 1:04:10
Delyth Powell (GBR) S 46:08 T1 4:56 B 3:17:08 T2 5:07
Tara Grosvenor (GBR) S 28:54 T1 1:58 B 2:48:07 T2 1:55
Claire Weller (GBR) S 30:25 T1 2:24 B 2:41:01 T2 2:00
Bryanie Aldwyn Allsworth (GBR) S 36:11 T1 3:31 B 3:16:33 T2 1:47
