Potts and Wellington dominant at Timberman

Sunday, 17 August 2008 21:55

The Timberman 70.3 race was important for a few reason. The first was that, like Simon Thompson in Boulder, Andy Potts was not flying around an ITU circuit. Sooner or later these guys end up on the 'dark side' and race the 70.3 series which, one could argue, is designed with the ITU crew in mind. That said the other important point to take out of this one is the form of the smiling assassin Chrissie Wellington.

Andy Potts was all dominant in this event. He swam biked and ran faster than any other professional in the field and he did so easily. The reason these ITU guys can race the 70.3 series so well is they are not scared of the swim. In fact, they are supreme swimmers. That is always going to get them out ahead of the field. In Potts' case at Timberman, he did not look back. Potts finished the race with a clear 10 minute lead over some very fast athletes including Michael Lovato and Torrenzo Bozzone who did not finish.

In women's triathlon there are a few stand outs getting around right now. Names like Carfrae, Granger are consistently at the forefront of their sport. Chrissie Wellington is the the best female athlete racing triathlon at the moment. There can be no denying this fact. She wins races, but she also challenges the men. We saw it last month in Europe where she was second overall in France and at Timberman yesterday she came in a staggering sixth place. This begs the question of when she will win a race outright. Like Paula Newby Fraser did in the late 1980's early '90s Wellington is closing the gap between males and females on the course. It was also good to see Karen Smyers racing at Timberman. Still making the top 10 (9th) at age 46! Read our interview with Chrissie.

Men's Results