It was another day in paradise for Carrie Lester (AUS) and Rodgrigo Gonzalez (MEX) as they took the inaugural titles at the weekend’s Challenge Ixtapa.
While Davide Giardini (ITA) came out of the water in first place but on the run to transition Gonzalez soon took over and Lester led the race from the start, her dominance never in question.
The three loop bike course really challenged the athletes with a lot of hills and a total ascent of 1,600mts but in the words of the pros, a challenging course are always fun and keeps the race fair. The conditions and the course suited both Lester and Gonzalez as they increased their leads in each lap
Gonzalez finished the bike with a two minute lead and was followed by Raul Tejada (GUA), Giardini and Patrick Evoe (US).
When Lester (US) arrived in T2 her advantage was absolute, and the battle was for second and third between Brooke Brown (CAD) and Robin Pomeroy (USA).
The run course was a 3-loop course were the heat and the humidity made it harder, Gonzalez's lead grew on each lap, taking the win in 4:08:45, Tejada secured his 2nd place and Patrick Evoe took over 3rd from the first loop, maintaining his podium spot all the way to the finish line.
“I’d like to thank my friends at Challenge Family, this has been such a great event. The course was tough but at the same time was amazing with some good hills! The people were very supportive, especially in the town centre. I really enjoyed the race!”
An amazing run by Christine Hammond who came off the bike in 4th place, saw her overtake Brown and Pomeroy to secure second place and providing a strong example of determination – she was greeted at the finish line by her 3 month old baby. Lester took out the victory in 4:50:46.
“I’m so happy to take the win,” said Lester. “We’ve had such a great time in Ixtapa, we’ve been made to feel so welcome and part of the family. It was really fun to race over such a challenging course and it’s not often that we can have a race anymore that it’s just us against the course and it’s a fair race. There’s such a big opportunity for races like this in Mexico – I can’t fault the event in any way and look forward to seeing it grow.”
Challenge Ixtapa is a challenging venue, a place to race against yourself just as triathlon should be, a venue to test your abilities and to be challenged by the weather. A super spectator friendly course and an amazing organization where all athletes left happy and ready to come back for next year. For full results, please visit www.challenge-ixtapa.com.
Results: Challenge Ixtapa
Men
1. Rodrigo Gonzalez (MEX) 4:08:45
2. Raul Tejada (GUA) 4:16:32
3. Patrick Evoe (USA) 4:23:33
4. Vinicio Ibarra (MEX) 4:32:22
5. Alistair Eeckman (USA) 4:33:19
Women
1. Carrie Lester (AUS) 4:50:46
2. Christine Hammond (USA) 4:58:15
3. Brooke Brown (CAD) 4:50:30
4. Robin Pomeroy (USA) 05:03:36
5. Adrian Barraza (MEX) 05:09:41
