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Abu Dhabi Triathlon Team lived up to its billing as one of the world’s top endurance squads this weekend posting three top-10 finishes at the Ironman World Championship - the sport’s pinnacle event in Kona, Hawaii.
The UK’s Rachel Joyce, the team’s sole entry in the women’s professional category, snatched an impressive fifth, one better than her 2009 showing, with a time of 9h18m48s. The event was won by Australia’s Mirinda Carfrae, with Switzerland’s Caroline Steffen and Abu Dhabi International Triathlon winner, Julie Dibens of the UK, rounding off the podium slots.
In the elite men’s category, Abu Dhabi duo Pete Jacobs and Faris Al Sultan clinched ninth and tenth respectively, capping a second consecutive double top 10 finish for the two at the gruelling invite-only event.
Jacobs clocked a time of 8h23m26s and Al Sultan, captain of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA)-backed outfit, finished in 8h24m04s, just under 15 minutes off the pace of now two-time champion Australia’s Chris McCormack.
“To have the team perform so well, and after such a demanding season, is credit to all involved and serves as a clear indication of just how far we have come and how much we have overcome in the last 12 months,” said Al Sultan, the 2005 Ironman world champion, who also had podium finishes in 2004 and 2006.
“I am very satisfied with my performance although I had initially hoped to finish in the top five, but due to injury I suffered in early summer, I missed a lot of running workouts. In spite of this, the short distance between me and Chris isn’t much and this gives me a lot of hope that I can do better next year.”
With a top-five finish, it was Joyce who was the surprise star, having spent the first half of the season out with injury.
With the women’s category visibly shaken by the last-minute withdrawal of race favourite and three-time champion Chrissie Wellington of the UK, Joyce seized the advantage and got off to a scorching start in the energy-sapping 3.8km Kailua Bay swim and appeared to be heading for a shock win by coming out of the water first.
However, a lack of training due to the early season injury became apparent as Joyce fought gallantly to hold her place, until she was overtaken Dibens and Steffen in the latter stages.
“This was a perfect finish for me in a season filled with a lot of ups and downs,” said Joyce. “My preparation during the winter worked well but then I injured myself early on which prevented me from training for six weeks.
“As it took a while to improve on my athletic performance, I was also diagnosed with an iron deficiency just before Hawaii. Unsure whether I could fully recover in time, I am just happy that everything worked well in the end,” she added.
In the men’s category, it was fourth Abu Dhabi star, Andi Böcherer, who suddenly found himself in the lead during the early stages of the 180km bike despite coming out of the water in 21st place.
With his lung-bursting efforts to overcome quick-starting American swim specialist Andy Potts, Böcherer reached the 60km mark of the wind-lashed bike stage ahead of the rest of the field to win a special prize of US$5,000. Unfortunately, due to tiresome 3h55m-marathon effort, Böcherer – a short course specialist - ended up 52nd overall.
“I felt perfect in the opening stages of the cycle,” said Böcherer. “This gave me the confidence to bolt from the group, and fortunately it worked.
“The effort I put in on that though was probably too much as the race got tougher with the wind and the heat. However, I did achieve my goal of finishing the race this time after failing to do so before. And the US$5.000 prize also comes as a great reward,” he added.
Jacobs meanwhile showed guts and determination at the 42km marathon stage as he registered the third fastest time in the event’s 34-year history. This more than made up for his 32nd ranked time on the bike of 4h47m4s as he erased Al Sultan’s 15-minute advantage to eventually finish one place ahead of his teammate and mentor.
“The swim was perfect,” said Jacobs, who came out of the water in third position. “Unfortunately, the big group caught up with us as Faris and I received a penalty for drafting, and we lost a lot of time there. I knew that I was capable of having a strong run but such a fast time even surprised me! I am definitely happy with the result.”
Having competed in more than 40 top international events this season, including the Ironman and 70.3 series and the French Championships, the Abu Dhabi Triathlon Team, created by ADTA to further the emirate’s performance athletics’ credentials globally, will take a deserved rest before training begins for the 2011 Abu Dhabi International Triathlon, running March 13th in the United Arab Emirates’ capital.
The team will return shortly to its training base in the Oasis City of Al Ain, Abu Dhabi’s second city, as the crack squad gets ready for a multi-continent, multi-event 2011 season.
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