More than 2,000 athletes, including the strongest pro field ever
assembled, took to the water at sunrise in Guerneville on Sunday
for the 16th annual Vineman Ironman 70.3-mile triathlon.
Nearly four hours later, five-time world champion Simon Lessing
crossed the finish line just two minutes ahead of defending champ
Tim DeBoom, adding the top prize of $6,000 and the Vineman title to
his long list of accomplishments.
The course began with a 1.2-mile swim, continued with a 56-mile
bike ride through the wine country and ended with a 13.1-mile run,
finishing up at Windsor High School.
It was one of the fastest finishes ever for the top racers, with
four men negotiating the rolling wine-country course in less than
four hours.
Lessing, 35, completed his first Vineman in 3:56:58, missing the
all-time course record by only seven minutes.
³The nice thing about this course is it¹s true, meaning you have
to be consistent on all three parts of it,² said Lessing, who has
over 100 major victories to his credit and hails from Boulder,
Colorado by way of South Africa. ³I actually prefer the warm
weather, although the course was a bit more rolling than I thought
it would be.²
For the defending champion Tim DeBoom, it was a solid effort,
eclipsing his time from last year by about three minutes and
finishing in 3:58:17. Rounding out the top five in the men¹s pro
division were: Cameron Wydoff (3:58:46), Chris Legh (3:58:59) and
T.J. Tollakson (4:01:54).
³I¹ve run a couple of races in the past two weeks and I was
feeling it during the run,² said DeBoom. ³Simon, Cameron and I were
pretty close coming out of the (bike) transition, but he pulled
away pretty fast on the run.²
Also adding a Vineman Ironman 70.3 title to an already stellar
professional career was Becky Lavelle, 31, of Los Gatos, who
finished three minutes ahead of Aussie Kate Major to capture the
women¹s title in a time of 4:29:07. It was Lavelle¹s first-ever
victory at the half Ironman distance after a several top-three
finishes.
Other top-five women in the pro division included: Natasha
Filliol (4:35:33), Desiree Ficker (4:39:56) and Kelly Couch
(4:42:42).
³I really didn¹t come here expecting to win, I was just looking
to qualify for the 70.3 World Championships in November,² said
Lavelle, whose husband Brian finished seventh and is a top
triathlete in his own right. ³I loved the course and the weather
suited me perfectly. It got a little hot on the run, but the
scenery and rolling hills were great.²
Perhaps the most notable of all finishers on Sunday was
legendary, 52 year-old, six-time Ironman world champion Dave Scott,
who recorded a top-20 finish in 4:31:55.
³The weather conditions were pretty good, but except for the
last six miles of the run, I was solo most of the race,² said
Scott, who trains with Lessing in Boulder much of the year. ³I¹ve
been battling some problems with my knee this year, so that was
actually my longest run since December.²
Among the throng of amateur finishers from Windsor were: Jady
Palko (age 33, 4:39:01), Michael Scaggs (43, 5:15:50), Patrick
Krueger (40, 5:36:03), Steve McCann (45, 6:06:03), Stephanie
Merical (39, 6:13:28) and David Daniels (48, 6:46:30).
Next up in the Vineman series is the Full Vineman, along with
Barb¹s Race on Aug. 12.
