Brent McMahon had to dig deep on the run, while Melanie McQuaid used her strength on the bike to make it a Canadian sweep at IRONMAN 70.3 Boise.
McMahon fights back for win
Josh Amberger (AUS) lead the men’s field up the boat ramp at Lucky Peak Reservoir with his 24:03 swim. Kevin Everett (USA) and Brent McMahon (CAN) followed just seconds back with Luke Bell (AUS), Guy Crawford (NZL), Maik Tweksiek (DEU) and Trevor Wurtele (CAN) exiting the water 1:10 to 2:33 off the leader's pace.
Once on the bike, the race tightened up with Amberger, McMahon, Everett, Bell, Wurtele and Twelsiek riding within one minute of each other at the halfway point. Bell reached T2 first, with McMahon, Wurtele and Twelsiek 10 to 33 seconds back. The remainder of the field was over 2:30 behind with some very fast runners ahead of them.
Once on the run the fireworks quickly erupted as the lead exchanged hands a number of times throughout the 13.1 miles. First MaMahon grabbed the lead in the opening mile from Bell, then Wurtele took a turn out front at five miles. Bell overtook Wurtele at nine miles, with McMohon slipping back to third, 40 seconds in arrears. Wurtele forced his way into the lead once again shortly after 11 miles, but McMahon staged a miraculous recovery to move to second, only five seconds off the pace.
McMahon's "never-say-die performance" earned the Canadian his second IRONMAN 70.3 victory in seven days in 3:57:47. Wurtele proved, once again, that he can hang with the best of them to notch a second-place finish just 15 seconds after the winner. Bell finished off the podium in 3:58:48.
McQuaid too tough to catch
Melanie McQuaid (CAN) had Kate Bevilaqua (AUS), Jen Fletcher (CAN) and Lisa Lyles (USA) chasing her by seconds as the women’s race headed into T1. Putting the hammer down hard on the bike, McQuaid put time on all the women as she rode through the Idaho countryside. McQuiad, a three-time Xterra world champion, carried a 5:50 advantage over Lyles, 8:43 on Erin Green (USA) and 10:18 Bevilaqua as the women’s race filed into T2.
Once on the run, McQuaid cruised to her first IRONMAN 70.3 win of the season in 4:24:07. Lyles could never claw back much of the time she spotted McQuaid on the bike and had to settle for second (4:28:55), 4:49 behind McQuaid. Sue Huse (CAN) used the race-best run of the day to propel her to a podium finish in a time of 4:37:26.
Top 5 Pro Men
1 Brent McMahon CAN 3:57:33
2 Trevor Wurtele CAN 3:57:47
3 Luke Bell AUS 3:58:48
4 Josh Amberger AUS 4:02:17
5 Maik Twelsiek DEU 4:02:49
Top 5 Pro Women
1 Melanie McQuaid CAN 4:24:07
2 Liz Lyles USA 4:28:55
3 Sue Huse CAN 4:37:26
4 Kate Bevilaqua AUS 4:37:50
5 Olesya Prystayko UAS 4:42:34