Weekend recap from racing in Asia

At Ironman 70.3 Taiwan, Australian Sarah Crowley used her impressive bike split (2:22:35) to create a gap on the rest of the professional women. After posting the fastest bike, Crowley also managed to set the fastest run and took a commanding win. Grace Thek (AUS) finished eight minutes back in second, and Els Visser (NLD) finished in third.

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Tough yet beautiful course here in Taiwan | It’s great to go back to where I kicked off my time with Cameron Watt and the @thehillsdistrict in 2016 and repeat a win #thehillsdistrict | What a fabulous journey so far | Thanks Cam ?? . . . . . #SarahCrowleytri #AeroHair #MyCanyon #teamoakley #oneobsession #sram #zippspeedweaponry #precisionhydration #womeninsport #womensempowerment #triathlon #tritraining #protriathlete #tri365 #triathlete #swimbikerun #MyAdventures #solestar #bringyourbike #aerolikeadrop

A post shared by Sarah Crowley (@sarah_stan_crowley) on Mar 24, 2019 at 1:48am PDT

In the men’s race, South Africa’s Bradley Weiss, a former Xterra (off-road) world champion, held onto the win in a close finish. He was followed by Cyril Viennot (FRA) and Luke Mckenzie (AUS). The podium finishers were separated by less than three minutes.

Unfortunately, Cody Beals (CAN), the 2018 Ironman 70.3 Taiwan champion, was forced to withdraw from the race due to illness.

Related: Beals wins Taiwan, Wurtele repeats at Campeche

At Ironman 70.3 Davao in the Philippines, Markus Rolli (GER) led the race from start to finish to take the win. Behind him, it was a battle for the podium places between the Aussies – Tim Reed, Craig Alexander, Sam Betten and Tim Van Berkel. It was Alexander who won the battle for second, finishing just three minutes behind Rolli. Van Berkel was next across the line in third.

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Yesterday's podium at the @alveoim703davao – so proud to stand next to the legend @crowiealexander and @timberkel ! Congrats to every finisher out there 🙂 ?: @asiatrilive . . . #AlveoIM703 #IM703Davao #ironman #podium #davao #philippines

A post shared by Markus Rolli (@markus.rolli) on Mar 24, 2019 at 11:58pm PDT

In the women’s race, it was a battle between Radka Kehlefeldt (CZE) and Caroline Steffen (SUI) for much of day. The two came out of the water together, half a minute behind the leader, and then made their way to the front of the race on the bike. Off the bike, Kehlefeldt and Seffen ran side-by-side, but it would be Kehlefeldt who would prevail and take the win. Steffen finished second, and Kirralee Seidel (AUS) finished third.

Super League Triathlon Qualifier – Bali

On the men’s side, Ryan Fisher (AUS),  Raphael Aurelien (FRA) and Anthony Pujades (FRA) qualified for the 2019-2020 Championship series. On the women’s side, it was Sandra Dodet (FRA), Danielle De Francesco (AUS) and Felicity Sheedy-Ryan (AUS) who qualified for the Championship series.