Ben Hoffman sprints for the win and Alicia Kaye claims the IRONMAN 70.3 Calgary title.
Hoffman surges for the win
Ben Hoffman (USA) knew he would be in for a challenge with Andy Potts (USA) in Western Canada this weekend and Potts delivered as expected. Potts was out of the water first with Damon Barnett (USA), Jordan Brydan (CAN), Matt Lieto (USA) and Ben Hoffman less than a minute off the leaders' pace.
Hoffman made use of a strong ride that placed him just two seconds behind Potts at the conclusion of the bike. Lieto was third, 1:55 back, while Brydon, Daniel Bretscher (USA), and Justin Metzler (USA) rolled into T2 over 3 minutes off the pace.
For much of the run Potts and Hoffman ran together and away from the field leaving the win to be determined between the two of them. A late surge by Hoffman allowed him to nip Potts at the finish line by a mere 2 seconds for a hard-fought win with Metzler finishing off the podium.
Kaye declared winner
The women’s race wasn't without some controversy when Magali Tisseyre (CAN) was first to cross the finish line, but was disqualified after the race for missing a portion of the swim course. Alicia Kaye (USA) was subsequently awarded the win, with Malinda Elmore (CAN) and Lauren Brandon (USA) jumping up to second and third place finishes.
Top 5 Pro Men
1 Hoffman, Ben USA 0:26:05 2:05:01 1:16:21 3:50:43
2 Potts, Andy USA 0:25:21 2:05:55 1:16:16 3:50:45
3 Metzler, Justin USA 0:26:12 2:08:52 1:18:48 3:57:01
4 Lieto, Matt USA 0:26:03 2:06:48 1:21:39 3:57:57
5 Leiferman, Chris USA 0:26:49 2:10:46 1:17:45 3:58:20
Top 5 Pro Women
1 Kaye, Alicia USA 0:27:00 2:16:46 1:25:13 4:12:09
2 Elmore, Malindi CAN 0:35:55 2:24:35 1:21:35 4:26:12
3 Brandon, Lauren USA 0:24:51 2:18:23 1:40:33 4:27:06
4 Lidbury, Emma-Kate USA 0:26:23 2:23:17 1:36:14 4:29:50
5 Spitler, Erin USA 0:35:45 2:23:23 1:27:48 4:30:21