Jeff Symonds takes the hometown victory at Challenge Penticton
Carrie Lester wins the women's title over Canada's Karen Thibodeau.
Penticton’s Jeff Symond’s pulled off a dominant but hard fought victory today in front of his hometown.
Symonds started the day coming out of the water in second position, just one second behind Australia’s Chris McCormack in the pro race.
Once on the bike and essentially his backyard, Symonds rode away from the rest of the men’s field with a 4:43:26 race best ride. Even more impressive was the fact that Symonds suffered a bike crash (pictures courtesy of @Jeff Symonds on twitter) as he was heading back into town near the end of the ride.
Undeterred, Symond’s negative split the marathon (1:24:16/1:23:15 – total of 2:47:31) to take the inaugural Challenge Penticton title in 8:29:57. American Scott DeFilippis took second (8:44:48), and New Zealand’s Jamie Whyte third (8:56:08). Canadian’s Adam O’Meara (9:08:34) and Anthony Toth (9:10:14) finished 4th and 5th respectively.
Multi-time World Champion Chris McCormack did not finish the run but it looks like he provided support to the champion despite his own struggles.
“@MaccaNow thanks for the encouragement on the run. It was an honor to be out there with you. Hope to see you here again next year.” – by @Jeff Symonds
Top 10 Men
| 1 | Symonds, Jeff (CAN) | Pro | 00:55:37 | 04:43:26 | 02:47:31 | 08:29:57 |
| 2 | DeFilippis, Scott (USA) | Pro | 00:59:01 | 04:56:03 | 02:45:54 | 08:44:48 |
| 3 | Whyte, Jamie (NZL) | Pro | 00:57:20 | 04:51:47 | 03:03:35 | 08:56:08 |
| 4 | O’Meara, Adam (CAN) | Pro | 00:58:52 | 05:05:17 | 02:59:45 | 09:08:34 |
| 5 | Toth, Anthony (CAN) | Pro | 01:04:19 | 04:58:25 | 03:03:59 | 09:10:14 |
| 6 | Champness, Nathan (CAN) | Pro | 01:01:49 | 04:50:46 | 03:13:18 | 09:10:54 |
| 7 | Bagg, Chris (USA) | Pro | 00:58:48 | 04:54:37 | 03:16:54 | 09:14:01 |
| 8 | Langfield, Andrew (USA) | Pro | 01:01:44 | 05:13:45 | 03:09:43 | 09:28:28 |
| 9 | McIntosh, Dan (USA) | Pro | 00:58:47 | 05:07:15 | 03:24:51 | 09:34:35 |
| 10 | Gleeson, Dylan (CAN) | 25-29 | 01:04:54 | 04:55:25 | 03:31:16 | 09:35:41 |
In the women’s race, Canmore’s Karen Thibodeau led the swim (58:47), but race favourite Carrie Lester from Australia was just 12 seconds behind. And while she struggled to a third place finish last month at Ironman Lake Placid, she was much stronger today. Lester took control with a 5:07:53 ride, and with a sizeable lead she ran 3:17:01 to take top spot in 9:27:26. Thibodeau easily secured second in 9:41:42, and fellow Canadian Jen Annett finished third (9:58:23).
Top 5 Women
| 1 | Lester, Carrie (AUS) | Pro | 00:58:59 | 05:07:53 | 03:17:01 | 09:27:26 |
| 2 | Thibodeau, Karen (CAN) | Pro | 00:58:47 | 05:19:12 | 03:20:21 | 09:41:42 |
| 3 | Annett, Jen (CAN) | Pro | 01:09:22 | 05:21:06 | 03:24:47 | 09:58:23 |
| 4 | Luebke, Jennifer (USA) | Pro | 00:58:55 | 05:34:09 | 03:36:10 | 10:13:34 |
| 5 | Furness, Erin (NZL) | Pro | 01:09:15 | 05:34:44 | 03:26:05 | 10:13:57 |
