Austalian Regan Hollioake experienced a golden day today; thanks to a strong marathon in which she outclassed everyone, she won Ironman New Zealand in a time of 8:51:30.
During the swim, however, it was other women who led the field – not entirely surprisingly: Alanis Siffert and Fenella Langridge took 48:24 minutes for the 3.8 kilometers and then led the field. At 2:18 minutes, Jocelyn McCauley then followed in third and, another minute behind, Hollioake, Gabrielle Lumkes and Nina Derron followed in a chasing group.
On the bike, it quickly became apparent that Langridge could not keep up with Siffert, so the Swiss went solo almost immediately into the lead. Yet that didn’t last long either, as McCauley had already turned her deficit into a fourteen-second lead within thirty kilometers. In the kilometers that followed, that lead built to about a minute and McCauley was chased by a group with Hollioake, Derron and Siffert.
From that point on, it became a lonely bike ride for McCauley, as her lead continued to grow and until T2 she would not see anyone again. There she hung her bike in the racks with a lead of 5:41 minutes over Derron and Hollioake, who were still riding together, while the gap of the fourth woman, at that time Lumkes, had increased to almost nineteen minutes.
During the marathon, it was quickly apparent that McCauley would have a tough time against a fast running Derron and Hollioake. For her part, Derron first grabbed a small lead over Hollioake, but both women saw their gap to McCauley decrease by minutes. After about 12 kilometers, Derron took over the lead in the race, directly followed by McCauley, while Hollioake followed by a minute and a half.
Yet crucial kilometers then followed, as halfway through, Hollioake in turn had taken over the lead and from then on the run became a solo ride to victory. She won the race in 8:51:30. McCauley, who managed to resist Derron’s attack, finished second in 8:56:52. Derron finished third in 8:57:48.
