Csomor, Potts Tops in California

Csomor, Potts Tops in California

Although the venue was the same, the men's and women's pro races at Ford Ironman 70.3 California in Oceanside unfolded quite differently. Andy Potts, the reigning champ, posted the fastest swim split of the day and raced like a true champ to take the men's race by only three seconds. Erika Csomor, however, fought from behind on the bike to overtake her competitors and won handily, beating her nearest challenger by two-plus minutes.

Andy Potts' 22:13 swim got him out of the water first at least a minute ahead of the rest of the field. However, a talented pack of athletes including Craig Alexander, Paul Ambrose and Richie Cunningham flew onto their bikes to chase the American to the Camp Pendleton bike course. Although Potts' bike split wasn't the fast of the day—that title was taken by veteran cyclist and retired Ironman pro Steve Larsen—Potts managed to hold his slight lead on the bike and through T2.

Once on the 13.1-mile run, it was make or break time for Potts, who was being chased by the swift Alexander, who was burning through a 1:12:50 half marathon in an effort to catch Potts. The race quickly became a two-man battle between Alexander and Potts as they left the other men in their dust. With only 400 meters left in the race, Alexander passed Potts, a pass that turned up the fires enough in Potts to give him the final kick needed to overcome Alexander’s surge. In the end Alexander came only three seconds shy of his goal, but that scant amount of time made all the difference to crown Potts the winner for a second year in a row, posting a 3:58:22. Alexander finished in 3:58:25, and the spectators were treated to a nail-biting finish not all that common for long-distance racing. Paul Ambrose rounded out the top three in 4:03:35. David Thompson finished fourth and Cunningham finished fifth.

In the women’s race, Leanda Cave led out of the water with a strong 25:11 swim split, with Michellie Jones and Mirinda Carfrae her nearest chasers. The race dynamics shifted on the bike as Erika Csomor continued to take time out of Cave’s three-plus minute lead on her. Jones and Carfrae were not riding as strong as Csomor, and Csomor’s blazing bike helped win the race for her on Saturday, a win that was also aided by the lead she continued to grow on the run. Csomor took the title in 4:23:14, while Carfrae, who won here last year as well as at the Ford Ironman 70.3 World Championship, biked almost six minutes slower than Csomor, a deficit she couldn’t make up on the run. Carfrae took second in 4:25:51, while Cave finished third in 4:26:40. Jones finished fourth and Samantha McGlone finished fifth.

For complete coverage of the Ford Ironman California 70.3 event, please go to www.ironman.com. Also stay tuned this week for athlete profiles of race winners, Andy Potts and Erika Csomor.

You can reach Betsy Redfern at betsy@ironman.com