Andrew Starykowics and Helle Frederiksen both took control of the race on the bike to earn their wins at IRONMAN 70.3 Puerto Rico.
Solid day for Starykowicz
Andi Boecherer (DEU ) lead the field out of the water in 24:10 with Ben Collins (USA), Andrew Starykowicz (USA) and Will Clarke (GBR) all within 10 seconds.
Starykowicz took the lead early on the bike and started to distance himself from the field during last half of the 56 mile ride. Dismounting his bike Starykowicz had a 5:27 advantage over Boecherer, 6:21 on Clark and 8:49 on Collins. The remainder of the field was well off the pace and would never be a factor in the podium.
Out on the run, Clarke was flying and quickly grabbed second from a slowing Boecherer, and then placed his sights on Starykowicz up front. As the run reached 6.5 miles, Clarke had reduced his deficit to two minutes, but could only reel in another minute in the second half of the run. Starykowicz captured the IRONMAN 70.3 Puerto Rico title for the second year in a row with a winning time of 3:53:30 while Clarke finish 59 seconds off the pace in 3:54:28. Boecherer finished off the podium with his 4:03:25 clocking.
The Frederiksen show in San Juan
As usual Amanda Stevens (USA) led the small women’s field out of the water with her 24:36 split. Helle Frederiksen (DNK) chased the leader into T1 just second’s back and managed to steal the lead as the pair stormed out onto the bike course.
Once on the bike, Frederickson put the hammer down and effortlessly pulled away from the field with each passing mile, on her way to the fastest bike split on the day. The defending champion pulled into T2 with over ten minute leads on Stevens and Sofie Goos (BEL).
Once on the run, Frederiksen continued her race dominance with a race-best run and won by a commanding 12:24 over Goos, while Stevens rounded out the podium.
Top Pro Men
1 Andrew Starykowicz USA 3:53:30
2 Will Clarke GBR 3:54:28
3 Andi Boecherer DEU 4:03:25
4 Ben Collins USA 4:05:16
5 Edgardo Velez PRI 4:15:02
Top Pro Women
1 Helle Frederiksen DNK 4:14:27
2 Sofie Goos BEL 4:26:50
3 Amanda Stevens USA 4:35:25
4 Heather Leiggi USA 4:45:11