A tough day in Las Vegas (11.09.2011)

The Ironman 70.3 elite met for the first time on Lake Las Vegas to fight for the world champion title. Paul Ambrose and Swen Sundberg were amongst them and became 12th and 30th.

The new race venue is an extraordinary one. The race start was underneath of the bridge of Lake Las Vegas Resort. The water had 26 degrees Celsius that meant wetsuits were forbidden. For the good swimmers as Paul it was even an advantage. So he came out of the water in the first big pack. Just 2 athletes were faster than that group. But on the bike the gap between those 2 and the pack was closed soon and the group the group stayed in the lead for most of th bike stage. The only one who could get away from them was the American Chris Lieto. With an advantage of 4 min he came into the second transition area in Henderson. Already on the 2nd position Paul changed to the run. The hot conditions were not Paul’s favourite ones this day. He lost some places but he was always under the top 10. Just meters before the finish line 2 athletes overtook him and he became 12th at the world championships.

Swen could not stay in the leading swim group with his team mate. So he had not that many athletes around him. Though he started well and the average power was above 300 watt. But on the second half of the bike he had to slow down and he suffered in the heat too. In the end he crossed the finish line as 30th.

The race winner was the 2-time Ironman World Champion Craig Alexander who got the title for the 2nd time after 2006. He was in front of Chris Lieto who not just only cycled well but he also showed his qualities on the run. On the 3rd position was the Canadian Jeff Symonds.