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Lavelle, Andersson shred through harsh winds to win 2007 Wildflower Long Course titles
By TJ Murphy, Triathlete Magazine
5/7/2007 |
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This weekend, nearly 8000 triathletes set up camp at Lake San Antonio for the 25th running of the one of triathlon's most popular events, the Wildflower Triathlon Festival at Lake San Antonio in central California. In Tri California's feature event held on Saturday, May 5, California's Becky Lavelle employed an overpowering bike ride to break free from a string of frustrating past finishes on the half-Ironman length long course race and Sweden's Bjorn Anderson surprised himself and the triathlon world by holding off Australian Chris Legh on the 13.1-mile run leg to win his first Wildflower crown.
The 32-year-old Lavelle finished second in both the 2002 and 2003 long-course competitions and then was sidelined for three straight years by injury and illness. Although 2006 champ Samantha McGlone opted to go to St. Croix rather than defend her title at Lake San Antonio, Lavelle would face the challenge of fending off Australians Kate Major and Mirinda Carfrae and American Alexis Waddel.
Lavelle burned through a choppy 1.2-mile swim in 25:29 to establish a two-minute gap on the women she would later worry about on the run. The 56-mile bike leg was cursed with relentless cross- and headwinds, a factor that Lavelle used to her advantage as she padded her advantage by out-biking her competitors by four minutes and more, splitting 2:37:13 as compared to Waddel's 2:41 and Major and Carfrae's 2:42.
"I had no idea what kind of lead I had until halfway through the run," Lavelle said. The dark memories of 2002 and 2003 -- where she lead both races until being overtaken on the draining trails that crawl up and down through the hills between the lake and Long Valley -- surely motivated the woman that has been dubbed the queen of Tri California events. But her 1:30:49 run did the job, winning the final Tri California title that has long eluded her with a final time of 4:35:19. Carfrae finished second in 4:38:14, Major third in 4:42:26 and Waddel fourth in 4:42:52.
Also taking thorough advantage of the wind-whipped bike leg was powerhouse Anderson, fresh off a stint of desert training in Southern California. Anderson wasn't able to shake many competitors during the swim, as he exited with the likes of Colorado's Brian Fleischmann, California's Brian Lavelle (Becky's husband) and New Zealand's Bryan Rhodes, all in the 24-minute range. On the bike, however, Anderson locked himself deeply into the aero position on his Cervelo and ripped free of the field on the undulating bike ride, where drafting not only didn't take place during the pro race, it was largely impossible. The 28-year-old Swede biked 2:15:05, miraculously fast considering the tough conditions (the bike-course record was set by one-time pro cyclist Steve Larsen in 2001 with a time of 2:14:06). His chief competitor, Aussie Chris Legh, managed a 2:19:46 and was five minutes behind Anderson at T2.
"Based on historical events, I would have been confident if Bjorn had 10 minutes on me," Leigh quipped after the race, a comment reflecting the facts about Anderson's past run splits and DNFs. "But he was tough out there today," Legh said. "I took the lead at mile nine and figured I had it. But he attacked twice, and I was completely empty. I couldn't match him."
"I thought for sure Chris had the win," Anderson said. "I can't say I really attacked -- I just ran as hard as I could."
Anderson finished off the victory with a 1:26:04 run and 4:07:53 win. Legh was second, in 4:08:21, and Benjamin Hoffman, from Durango, Colo., took third in 4:13:32.
Race notes
American Greg Remaly, 27, was in the top three of the men's competition through the bike ride but dropped from the race due to severe back spasms, according the event’s medical director, and was flown from the race course directly to an area hospital.
The elite competition within the Long Course event chased a $40,000 prize purse, with the winners cashing in checks for $5000.
The bike course-leading splits that helped earn Lavelle and Anderson victories also earned the champions extra cash, as Kuota served up $418.23 to each, a monetary amount symbolizing Normann Stadler's 4:18:23 bike Hawaii Ironman bike-course record.
Wildflower Long Course Triathlon
Lake San Antonio, Calif.
May 5, 2007
1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run
Men
1. Bjorn Anderson (SWE) 4:07:53
2. Chris Legh (AUS) 4:08:21
3. Benjamin Hoffman (USA) 4:13:32
Women
1. Becky Lavelle (USA) 4:35:19
2. Mirinda Carfrae (AUS) 4:38:14
3. Kate Major (AUS) 4:42:26
For complete results, visit www.tricalifornia.com.
Thanks to Triathlete Magazine for their race coverage.
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