It was a race of attrition as leaders and contenders faltered in the Lone Star State as Richie Cunningham and Sofie Goos won at IRONMAN 70.3 Texas. It came down to the run in Galveston as Richie Cunningham and Sofie Goos ran their way to the wins.
Cunningham waits until the end
Completing the swim, Jimmy Seear (AUS) ran to shore with a six-second advantage over Brent McMahon (CAN) and Brandon Marsh (USA). Over a minute behind the leading trio was Richie Cunningham (AUS), Jonathan Tryoen (FRA), Leon Griffin (AUS), Jeff Symonds (CAN) and Callum Millward (NZL).
Once on the bike, McMahon took the lead and, at the halfway point, the Canadian Olympian held a lead of 45 seconds on Marsh and leads of 1:25-2:11 on Griffin, Symonds, Cunningham, Millward and Seear. At the conclusion of the bike McMahon stretched out his lead to over a minute on Marsh, with Chris McDonald making his presences known entering T2 in third, 2:41 back. Griffin and Cunningham were now 2:54 and 3:02 behind, but still well positioned.
McMahon held the lead for the first six miles, but then fell dramatically off the pace and faded out of contention. Marsh, who was hovering close to McMahon during the opening miles of the run, seized the opportunity, but now had Cunningham in his shadow just seconds back. At mile 12, Marsh and Cunningham were running shoulder to shoulder, but it was Cunningham who broke the finish line tape first in 3:46:11 to take the 2014 IRONMAN 70.3 Texas title. Marsh finished 15 seconds later to grab second in 3:46:26, while Griffin completed the podium with 3:48:42 finish time.
Marsh leads early – Goos at the end
Texan Amy Marsh claimed the early lead in the race with her 26:16 swim time, which put her 56 seconds ahead of Emma Kate Lidbury (GBR) and 59 seconds up on Rachel Joyce (GBR). Sofie Goos (BEL) and Kelly Williamson exited the water in fourth and fifth, 1:03 and 1:53 behind Marsh.
Biking strong, Marsh pulled into T2 with a 1:42 lead on Lidbury. Sarah Piampiano (USA) used her race-best bike split to propel her into third, but was looking at a 3:31 deficit. Marsh stretched her lead over Goos to slightly over two minutes at six miles and, at that point, led Lidbury and Piampiano by over three minutes. In the next mile, though, the wheels fell off the Marsh train and she lost the lead to Goos. Lidbury moved to second, 2:19 back and Piampiano was now running in third, 2:18 off the leader's pace.
Over the closing half of the run Goos continued pull away from the field. Goos stopped the clock at 4:06:23 and had a 4:43 winning margin over Lidbury (4:11:05), while Piampiano rounded out the podium with her 4:11:57 finish time.
Top 5 Pro Men
1 Richie Cunnigham AUS 3:46:11
2 Brandon Marsh USA 3:46:26
3 Leon Griffin AUS 3:48:42
4 Chris McDonald AUS 3:49:01
5 Cody Beals CAN 3:50:42
Top 5 Pro Women
1 Sofie Goos BEL 4:06:23
2 Emma Kate Lidbury GBR 4:11:05
3 Sarah Piampiano USA 4:11:57
4 Jessica Myers USA 4:18:54
5 Kaitlin Anelauskas USA 4:21:25