Originally published at: The Intensity Dials Up in Taupo as the Men Take to the Course at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship - Slowtwitch News
Photos by Kevin Mackinnon
OK, things were buzzing for “ladies day” here in Taupo yesterday. It is hard to describe how much more intense, crowded and, well, buzzing Taupo was today as a roughly 3,200 men started their race in Lake Taupo. (Even the helicopter seemed to be getting in on the action, determined not to miss a second of the men’s race action.)
You can read a blow-by-blow account of today’s racing in Ryan Heisler’s race recap.
Here’s my take on the day’s action based on my view from behind the camera.
Today the waka delivered men from Ngāti Tūwharetoa and the haka ceremony once again set the stage perfectly, adding more to the unique experience and sense of community that this world championship has engendered all week.
Once we’d all been “welcomed” to the lake, it was time for the racing.
When it was time to get the racing started, once again the top seeds all lined themselves up to the left of the swim start, with defending champ Rico Bogen lining up furthest to the left.
Greg Harper, the son of former pro triathlete Dean Harper, led the men out of the water. He was about 12 seconds up on Aussie Josh Amberger and France’s Olympic bronze medalist Leo Bergere, but the pack with many of the pre-race favorites, including Hayden Wilde, Rico Bogen, Kyle Smith, Jelle Geens and Justus Nieschlag were all about 30 seconds apart.
It wasn’t long before a lead pack of eight had formed. What was surprising about the lead cyclists was that it was a bunch of short course specialists who were pushing the pace, including local hero Hayden Wilde …
… The man Wilde beat to the silver medal in Paris, Leo Bergere …
… and yet another Olympian, Jelle Geens.
Defending champion Rico Bogen was in the mix, but wasn’t making it look easy to stay with the leaders.
Surprisingly Taupo’s very own Kyle Smith wasn’t his usual aggressive self at the front of the bike. Turns out he’d had COVID last week, so was still recovering from that as he hit the race course today.
Another surprise was the impressive riding by 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Henri Schoeman, who stayed with the leaders the hard way. While the rest of the group remained pretty much bang on the legal distance (as gauged by the Race Ranger tech being used), according to IRONMAN’s Matt Lieto, who was with the lead group a lot more than I was, Schoeman was almost always about 20 m behind the wheel in front, dangling close to being dropped.
As often seems to be the case in tight races, Mathis Margirier, who was pushing the pace in the lead group for much of the ride, was the one who got a drafting penalty, effectively putting him out of contention because …
… By the 80 km point of the ride it was clear the winner was going to come from the lead group.
Wilhelm Hirsch was one of the athletes in the first chase group that was led, for most of the way, by Kristian Hogenhaug (who spent so much time at the front he would eventually get dropped by the group). Even if you weren’t with the leaders, you weren’t taking in any of the spectacular scenery along the route.
Once out on the run, Wilde surged clear. After the race Wilde admitted that the incredible crowd support made it really hard to slow down.
Jelle Geens said after the race that along the way someone in the crowd told him to “believe the Paris scenario” (Wilde cracked in the last 1,100 m of the run at the Olympics and was passed by Alex Yee.) Not long after he heard that, Wilde started to struggle ahead of him.
Meanwhile, Bergere quickly decided who couldn’t go with Wilde or Geens.
“I decided to run my own race and to try to have to the the best tempo,” the Frenchman said after the race.
Meanwhile, the race to see who would be the top German was being played out as Justus Nieschlag started to pull ahead of the defending champ …
… Rico Bogen. (In the end, Nieschlag would take fifth, with Bogen seventh.
Think this guy is happy?
“I’ve been in this sport for very long time and I actually never made the podium (at a world championship),” Geens said after the race. “I came fourth twice in short course, and now, in my first try and a middle distance and I got it.”
It might not be the last, either.
“Paris was my last short course race,” he said. “To be honest, the last year and a half was quite tough for me, mentally … So, I really want to move to middle distance and see what I can do there.”
I can let him know now – a lot.
That blazing intitial pace ended up being too much – in the end the “Paris scenario” repeated for Hayden Wilde, who truly gave it all to get across the line.
“It was brilliant,” he said of the day when being interviewed for one of New Zealand’s television networks. “I loved every moment … I gave it everything, but yeah, it’s been a long season and, you know, I put it out there. I wasn’t going to shy away from it and had a crack at it. I was not bad for my third time at this distance.”
“It seemed like every inch of the run course was covered with people supporting me,” Wilde continued. “It was hard to slow down. To have a world championship in Taupo is awesome. It’s so great for the country – everyone knows our sport right now. It was so cool to give it a crack in front of the home town.”
Another bronze medal to go along with the Paris Olympic one from earlier this year for Leo Bergere. This one came without quite as much pressure.
“In Paris I was putting a lot of pressure on myself, but I was also feeling that the whole country was expecting a medal from one of the members of the French Team,” he said after the race.
Bergere thanked the crowd for all the support after he crossed the line.
“New Zealand is such a beautiful country and people are so welcoming,” he said.
Kyle Smith thrilled the crowd with his fourth.
Ninth was more than enough to assure Gregory Barnaby of the top slot in the IRONMAN Pro Series. You can read our profile on the Italian below:
It was Olympic day on the podium at today’s 70.3 worlds. A sign of things to come?
