Matt Chrabot had a wire to wire win while Lauren Goss sealed the deal on the run at the Captain Morgan’s IRONMAN 70.3 St. Croix.
Chrabot out front all day
It was a sign of things to come when Matt Chrabot (USA) exited the water of Christiansted Harbor with close to a minute leads on Drew Scott (USA) and Richie Cunningham (AUS). The former swimmer backed up his winning swim with a solid ride that lead to him extending his lead to two minutes on Cunningham and Scott.
Once on the run, Chrabot put the hammer down and ran away from the field and left Scott and Cunningham to fight it out for second. Cunningham surged to the front in the opening half of the run while Scott hung off the back keeping the pressure on the veteran Cunningham in front him.
Chrabot claimed the 2015 IRONMAN 70.3 St. Croix title by a winning margin of over seven minutes. Cunningham prevailed over Scott in the fight for second, crossing the finish line 31 seconds before Scott who grabbed the final step on the podium.
Goss gets it done on the run
As expected, Dr. Amanda Stevens show the way in the point-to-point swim in St. Croix but had Lauren Goss (USA) for company just three seconds later. The leading pair tore away from the field on the bike that saw Stevens dismount her bike first with Goss trailing by a mere seven seconds. Kristy Jahn (USA) was next into transition but was 5:45 in arrears to the leading duo.
A swift transition netted Goss a 10-second lead as the two women hit the run course. Into the run, Goss expanded her lead as she ticked off the miles. Stevens faltered badly and would be eventually be passed by Jahn before the first half of the run was completed. Goss's unrelenting pace had the field going backwards and she would go on to cross the finish line and capture the title. Jahn was under no threat from behind and claimed second while Stevens hung on to the last place on the podium.
Top 5 Pro Men
1 Chrabot, Matt USA 0:24:54 2:21:28 1:21:28 4:09:57
2 Cunningham, Richie USA 0:25:52 2:23:04 1:26:45 4:17:21
3 Scott, Drew USA 0:25:47 2:22:44 1:27:56 4:17:53
4 Neef, Sebastian DEU 0:27:15 2:21:15 1:34:16 4:24:39
5 Luft, Mikolaj POL 0:28:08 2:30:12 1:31:22 4:31:41
Top 5 Pro Women
1 Goss, Lauren USA 0:26:06 2:43:32 1:29:04 4:40:31
2 Jahn, Kirsty USA 0:31:02 2:43:59 1:29:40 4:46:56
3 Stevens, Amanda USA 0:26:04 2:43:27 1:41:05 4:52:41
4 Basso, Anne FRA 0:31:01 2:50:35 1:40:43 5:04:51
5 Donavan, Jessie USA 0:33:39 2:50:15 1:45:49 5:12:20