In this Weekend Box we cover McNeice and Hammond winning Challenge Wanaka, an international duathlon in Lanzarote, a fitness tribute to Bill Keith and a man in full flight storming barns.
McNeice and Hammond rule Wanaka
Dylan McNeice dominated the 2014 Challenge Wanaka race with fine performances in every discipline. He opened with a race best 46:25 swim and then started to pull out of reach on the bike, with no one getting closer than 6 minutes within his lead. In the end he had an 11-minute advantage over runner-up Richard Ussher and over 15 minutes on third placed Dougal Allen.
"I felt a lot of pressure to deliver today and knew I had to prepare better than ever," said McNeice. "There's no such thing as perfection but that was as close I think as I'll ever get. I was really surprised I was holding around that seven-minute gap. It gave me a big boost of confidence and even coming into the last 30 to 40k of the bike I had good legs and thought I can hold this and have a good run."
In the women’s race Candice Hammond stopped Gina Crawford’s winning streak, but it was not an easy day for Hammond. After the swim she trailed Crawford by more than 10 minutes but she made up all that time and a bit more by the time she reached T2. From there Hammond steadily pulled away and grabbed the win in 9:33:54. Crawford hung on to second place and Simone Maier finished third.
"Today there was no wind and I was able to settle into my rhythm and I really enjoyed it for the first time. I just chase, that’s all I can do – there’s no plan," said Hammond. "I was a bit flustered actually as I've never been close to Gina before so I thought have I done the right thing? I just tried to find my own rhythm and took the first 10k controlled and then tried to wind it up after that."
Challenge Wanaka
Wanaka, NZL / August 18, 2014
2.4m swim / 112m bike / 26.2m run
Top men
1. Dylan McNeice (NZL)
2. Richard Ussher (NZL)
3. Dougal Allen (NZL)
Top women
1. Candice Hammond (NZL)
2. Gina Crawford (NZL)
3. Simone Maier (GER)
Vovrusko and Van Vlerken take Club LaSanta Lanzarote Duathlon
When a race takes place in Lanzarote you can never be sure who might show up with so many Pros spending time there in various training camps. The men’s competition was very tight and in the end Latvian Viktor Vovrusko got away from German Per Bittner and permanent Lanzarote resident Stephen Bayliss to take the win.
Yvonne Van Vlerken on the other hand made sure that it didn’t come to that final run and gained 2 minutes during the bike segment. This allowed her to cruise to the win with a 1:41 advantage.
Club LaSanta Lanzarote International Duathlon
Lanzarote, Canary Islands / January 18, 2014
5k run / 20k bike / 2.5k run
Top men
1. Viktor Vovrusko (LAT) 1:00:41
2. Per Bittner (GER) 1:00:46
3. Stephen Bayliss (GBR) 1:00:49
Top women
1. Yvonne Van Vlerken (NED) 1:06:03
2. Jenny Schulz (GER) 1:07:44
3. Patricia Diaz Perea (ESP) 1:09:16
Friends honor Bill Keith with BK Fitness Tribute
Popular cycling industry veteran Bill Keith passed away a year ago and that shocked friends, co-workers at SRAM and other folks he had previously worked with or had met him along the way. So in honor of Bill Keith more than 20 folks from SRAM went on a BK Fitness Tribute lunch run on Friday and posed with his surfboard before they took off. It was also reported that folks at Cannondale and Campagnolo where he had previously worked also ran, biked and surfed in his honor on that day. Mahalo Bill Keith.
Barn storming with Jeb Corliss
When we descend down some amazing mountain pass on our bikes it feels a bit like flying and brings us on an emotional high. Jeb Corliss likely feels that and some more. Go barn storming with Jeb.
