Lightning forced delay of the planned swim start and rain-soaked streets mandated eliminating the planned bike leg excursions outside the Speedway grounds, shortening the usual 56-mile bike leg by 19 miles and the usual 13.1 mile run by 4.6 miles. But the thrill of riding around the famed Daytona 500 speedway made for an exciting experience.
Men
While NASCAR fan and triathlon überbiker Andrew Starykowicz was jazzed to ride the track made famous for 200-mph duels among legendary drivers like Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, and Jimmy Johnson – and set the fastest bike split of the race at about a 30 mph pace, Belgium’s Pieter Heemeryck set a more balanced pace for the swim, bike and run and won the $5,000 men’s top prize. Heemeryck finished in 2:27:45 with a 1:13 margin of victory over Starykowicz and 1:59 over 3rd place Santiago Ascenco of Brazil.
Andy Potts of the U.S. set the fastest swim split in the infield water reservoir known as Lake Lloyd, but faded to 9th place overall with sub-standard-for-Potts bike and run splits. Recent Ironman World Championship bike split record holder Cameron Wurf of Australia set the second-fastest bike split of 1:19:48 but faded to 10th on the run.
“My goal with this race was to move up into fourth in the Challenge Family World Bonus ranking," Heemeryck told Challenge Media. "I was here on a mission to do that - but I won! I never would have imagined I could win over a guy like Andrew Starykowicz. It was incredible. On the last lap of the run, thinking that I was going to be the first winner of this race - that is a pretty cool feeling!”
Women
When the tumult and shouting was over, Sarah Haskins of the U.S. combined a women's-best 20:35 split for the 1 mile swim, 1:29:07 for the 37-mile bike leg and 50:53 for the 8.5 mile run around the jewel of the NASCAR stock car racing series. Haskins thus finished in 2:42:52 with a 5:06 margin of victory over Alicia Kaye and 7:43 over 3rd place Meredith Kessler in a 1-2-3 sweep for U.S. women.
“I’ve been racing for 15 years and this is truly one of the coolest experiences I have ever had racing," Haskins told Challenge media. "The venue, the organizers, the volunteers, the fans - just incredible. And it turned out to be a beautiful day! This is such a special win. And it was a last minute decision, but I couldn’t be happier to be here.”
Challenge Daytona
Daytona Beach, Florida
December 9, 2018
S 1 mi. / B 37.5 mi. / R 8.5 mi.
Results
Men
1. Pieter Heemeryck (BEL) 2:27:45 S 20:27 T1 1:05 B 1:20:38 T2 00:41 R 44:51 - $5,000
2. Andrew Starykowicz (USA) 2:28:58 S 20:54 T1 1:38 B 1:17:24 T2 00:41 R 48:19 - $2,500
3. Santiago Ascenco (BRA) 2:29:44 S 20:47 T1 1:14 B 1:22:05 T2 00:46 R 44:49 - $1,500
4. Taylor Reid (CAN) 2:31:41 S 20:39 T1 1:16 B 1:22:29 T2 00:54 R 46:21 - $750
5. Matthew Russell (USA) 2:33:26 S 23:29 T1 1:14 B 1:20:03 T2 00:54 R 47:44 - $500
9. Andy Potts (USA) 2:38:30 S 19:24 T1 1:06 B 1:26:44 T2 1:03 R 50:12
10. Cameron Wurf (AUS) 2:39:05 S 20:32 T1 1:24 B 1:19:48 T2 00:58 R 56:22
Women
1. Sarah Haskins (USA) 2:42:52 S 20:35 T1 1:30 B 1:29:07 T2 00:45 R 50:53 - $5,000
2. Alicia Kaye (USA) 2:47:58 S 22:04 T1 1:23 B 1:30:57 T2 1:05 R 52:28 - $2,500
3. Meredith Kessler (USA) 2:50:35 S 22:03 T1 1:53 B 1:32:00 T2 00:59 R 53:37 - $1,500
4. Laura Matthews (USA) 2:53:49 S 24:09 T1 2:20 B 1:33:20 T2 00:56 R 53:02 - $750
5. Lisa Roberts (USA) 2:57:34 S 27:03 T1 1:39 B 1:35:32 T2 1:05 R 52:13 - $500
