Vancouver’s Rachel McBride wins Ironman 70.3 Austin

Vancouver’s Rachel McBride and American Andy Potts took victories at Ironman 70.3 Austin today.

The 34-year-old McBride, was fifth out of the water (27:10) but made her way to the front of the race with a dominating 2:22:07 ride. She maintained the lead with a 1:27:23 half marathon to earn the victory in relative ease (4:20:53). Yvonne Van Vlerken (NED) closed the gap by a few minutes on the run but came up short for second (4:24:03), and Courtenay’s Tenile Hoogland held tough for third (4:25:07).

Pro Women

1. Rachel McBride CAN 4:20:53

2. Yvonne van Vlerken NLD 4:24:03

3. Tenille Hoogland CAN 4:25:07

4. Elizabeth Lyles USA 4:26:04

5. Jennifer Tetrick USA 4:26:35

For the men, Potts surprised no one by leading the swim (22:34). During the bike, TJ Tollakson crushed the bike course (2:08:12) to take the lead, but once on the run Potts made a slow but steady assault on Tollakson and ran a race best 1:14:06 to claim the win in 3:51:29. Tollakson finished second (3:52:07), and Australian Chris McCormack, the two-time Ironman World Champion, took third (3:55:07). Penticton’s Jeff Symonds finished fourth (3:56:29).

Pro Men

1. Andy Potts USA 3:51:29

2. TJ Tollakson USA 3:52:07

3. Chris McCormack AUS 3:55:24

4. Jeff Symonds CAN 3:56:29

5. Brandon Marsh USA 4:01:50