The stunning surrounds of Qujing belies the challenge of a tough course on top of its 1900 m elevation. This brought about a conservative approach from a small field for the second IRONMAN 70.3 Qujing, in southwest China.
The experienced David Dellow and Australian-based New Zealander Guy Crawford pushed out of the swim at the front of the field, and broke clear early on the bike to open a six-minute buffer on the chasers. In tough conditions at altitude, Dellow’s 1:23 run was more than enough for a victory in 4:01:43, finishing two minutes clear of Crawford. Australian Mitchell Kibby closed with the best run of 1:20 to grab third, just 33 seconds behind Crawford.
It was a similar story in the women, with American Kelsey Withrow and Denmark’s Michelle Vesterby pushing clear out of the swim, to open a five-minute advantage over Kate Bevilaqua off the bike. The challenges of a hilly ride and the altitude demanded a circumspect approach with Withrow’s 1:35 run by far the strongest on the day as she pushed clear in a solo effort to win in 4:33:26. She was more than seven minutes clear of Bevilaqua who run into second, with Vesterby a further three minutes back in third.
Top 5 Pro Men
1 Dellow, David AUS 04:01:43
2 Crawford, Guy NZL 04:03:30
3 Kibby, Mitchell AUS 04:04:03
4 Croneborg, Fredrik SWE 04:09:32
5 Shearer, Nathan AUS 04:12:20
Top 4 Pro Women
1 Withrow, Kelsy USA 04:33:26
2 Bevilaqua, Kate AUS 04:41:15
3 Vesterby, Michelle DEN 04:44:35
4 Wassner, Laurel USA 04:49:34