In rainy conditions, Tim van Berkel just experienced a great day; after chasing Josh Amberger allday, he showed to be the strongest during the marathon to ultimately win Ironman Australia. He won the race in 8:15:14.
It was initially Josh Amberger who started the day the best, coming out of the water first with a swim time of 48:56. Van Berkel was then well in the mix, as even though he was four minutes behind, he was in the chasing group, along with Ben Phillips, Tim Reed, Joel Woolridge, Fraser Walsh and Jack Moody; all Australians.
On the bike, Van Berkel immediately left those men behind and within ten kilometer he had already created a gap on the rest of the chasing group. He had also shaved more than a minute off his deficit, although that deficit grew again in the following kilometers and the chasing group caught up with Van Berkel again. At the halfway point, Amberger had ridden further ahead and his lead was almost six minutes, while Van Berkel had only Philips and Reed with him.
Actually, not much changed in the second part of the bike, except that Van Berkel rode away from Philips and Reed and so rode solo in second position. When Amberger was first back in T2, Van Berkel followed second at 5:32 minutes. During the run, Van Berkel’s deficit was made up within fourteen kilometer and then Van Berkel immediately passed Amberger. From that moment on, the race was decided and nothing changed anymore. Van Berkel won in a time of 8:15:14, while Amberger crossed the line in second place in 8:26:14. In the final kilometers, Jack Moody passed Ben Phillips and so Moody finished third in a time of 8:35:40.
