The old adage at Ironman racing is that you “bike for show, you run for dough.” That adage sort of came true at this year’s Ironman World Championship – both winners had the day’s fastest runs, but it was their impressive riding that put them in the winning position.
The bike course also served up some challenges for our Canadian hopes – Jen Annett was cut off by a race motorcycle early in the ride and would eventually have to drop out because of the injuries she sustained in the crash, while Cody Beals had mechanical issues and would have to call it a day before the run.
We recap the dynamics of the bike in Kona this year with this photo gallery:
Jan Frodeno followed a perfect swim with a stellar bike ride – he was always near the front and pulled away over the last 30 km to lead into T2.After opening a five-minute lead on her main competitors, Lucy Charles continued her front-running ways with a stellar bike ride.Daniela Ryf never looked comfortable on the bike and would struggle thanks to a stomach bug.Alistair Brownlee raced aggressively early in the bike, managed to get back to the lead group after getting a flat, but couldn’t hold on to Frodeno back to T2.Like Frodeno, Anne Haug was aggressive on the bike, staying with the main group chasing Charles-Barclay.Sarah True can’t buy a break in 2019 – after a year of trials and tribulations at races, she didn’t get far on the bike before experiencing technical problems.Jen Annett was just starting to wind things up for another of her stellar bike rides when she was cut off by a media motorcycle. “We were coming down Palani,” she said after the race. “They were on my left. The guy suddenly slowed down and turned right in front of me. I did not have time to react at all.”She would eventually get another wheel and get back on the bike …… but eventually had to withdraw on the run because of injuries sustained in the crash.Cody Beals was in a great position all the way to Hawi, then had mechanical issues that saw him lose the chase pack.Even super-cyclist Cam Wurf wasn’t able to catch up to Frodeno on this day …Kienle rode with Wurf …As did Lionel Sanders, but even with all that firepower in the chase group Frodeno and Tim O’Donnell were able to stay clear into T2.Charles-Barclay enjoyed an eight-minute lead into T2 … an effort that might have cost her the race.Frodeno led O’Donnell by a couple of minutes, and the super-cyclists (Wurf, Kienle and Sanders) by 4:30 as he finished the bike.
