A tough fought victory by Kieran Storch (AUS) and a lead from start to finish by Alanis Siffert (SUI) marked today's exciting racing at Challenge Taiwan, each taking the wins in 3:46:39 and 4:15:27 respectively
With thousands lining the swim course, it was Max Studer (SUI) who came out of the water first in 23:40, neck-and-neck with local athlete Tzu I Pan and Caleb Noble (AUS) eight seconds down. By 20km on the bike Kurt McDonald (AUS) had made up some of his one minute plus swim deficit and was challenging Studer for the lead, along with Noble, Filipe Azevedo (UAE) and Pan. By halfway and Noble had taken the lead but still within the group of five. By 70km this group was down to three, led by Azevedo with McDonald and Australia's Kieran Storch in pursuit. Behind them, New Zealand's Jack Moody was positioning himself for his hallmark run. Having exited the water in 10th, by the end of the 90km, he was sitting comfortably in fourth place, having reduced the deficit from 2:33 to 0:34. While McDonald was first off the bike, it was Storch who set the pace in the run with Moody playing catch-up in second and Azevedo in third. However, Storch had his second victory of the year in his sights, holding off Moody by 15 seconds to take the win in 3:46:39. Azevedo rounded out the podium in third in 3:49:53.
"I hoped if I had my best day, maybe I'd be up there," said Storch after his win. "But I didn't think I could win until I came down the finish chute! I got a small gap on Jack out of T2 but it never got more than about 30 seconds for the whole 21km. I just had to keep the pressure on and I'm so happy I managed to hang on!"
In the women's race, Siffert took an early lead in the swim, exiting the water in 25:55, more than 1:20 ahead of nearest rival Lottie Lucas (UAE), while Nina Derron (SUI) was a further minute back in third. The fastest rider of the day, Derron slowly pulled in Lucas and by the halfway point, had ridden into second place, just over a minute behind Siffert. Siffert came off the bike first with Derron and Lucas hot on her heels, just 15 seconds down. However, once out on the run, Siffert never looked back. Going from strength to strength, she secured the win in 4:15:27, a comfortable 4:26 ahead of Lucas while Derron came in in third in 4:24:44.
"It feels just great, it was an amazing race and I had a lot of fun," said Siffert. "Of course it was really hard but I raced with my heart and gave it all I had. I got a lot of confidence racing off the front from the start to the finish and I'm going to take that with me and build up and hope to have a great next race at The Championship."
1. Kieran Storch (AUS) - 3:46:39
2. Jack Moody (NZL) - 3:46:55
3. Filipe Azevedo (UAE) - 3:49:53
1. Alanis Siffert (SUI) - 4:15:27
2. Lottie Lucas (UAE) - 4:19:53
3. Nina Derron (SUI) - 4:41:34