Dye & Smith Reign in the Rain at Challenge Knoxville

Rachel McBride arriving to T2 clear of the pack.

Knoxville is the first event of the former Revolution3 Triathlon series to be taking place under the Challenge Family banner. Many things stayed the same: the Revolution3 production team remains in place; the courses are the same; Knoxville being the only event to continually carry a prize purse.

However, the distance at this event for the professional athletes has changed; under Rev3 stewardship, the professional race had been the Olympic, then last year it was the hybrid distance series championship. For 2015, all prize purses are to be contested at the half distance.

25,000 Euros were on the line, to be paid 10 deep. Breakdown and conversions as of today:

  1. 5,000 = $5,695
  2. 2,500 = $2,787.65
  3. 1,550 =  $1,765.45
  4. 1,000 = $1,139
  5. 750 = $854.25
  6. 500 = $569.50
  7. 450 = $512.55
  8. 350 = $398.65
  9. 250 = $284.75
  10. 150 = $170.85

The course at Knoxville features a swim in the Tennessee River; it takes swimmers upstream for a bit before two turns to bring them downstream; depending on flow rates, this can be a very quick swim.

The bike course features some good climbs; Knoxville features numerous ridges that the city is built between. It is a course that requires some ability to spike well above threshold, recover, and be able to spike watts again.

The run course follows a path alongside the Tennessee River before heading into some neighborhoods for the turn-around point. Right around halfway features a good climb that typically separates the chaff from the wheat.

Race day dawned cooler (68 degrees) and rainy; bike handling skills would be just as crucial as wattage. This favors former Olympic-distance racers like Cameron Dye, Kevin Ryan, and the Wassner twinsLaurel and Rebeccah.

The Men

Pros_PreSwim_Knox

Pro athletes on the dock prior to the swim start.

Swim times were expected to be quick, as the Tennessee River flow rates had been rated as “significant” earlier in the week by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Water temperatures, however, meant this race would be non-wetsuit for professionals.

Former collegiate swimmer (and TRS Contributor) Ryan led the way out of the swim with a 24:13 effort. He was followed right behind by Cameron Dye and Chris Lutz just a few seconds later. Eric Limkemann was nine seconds arrears out of the swim. The four of them headed out onto the bike essentially together.

James Hadley found himself in no man’s land, about a minute behind the leaders but with nobody to work with on board the bike.

A chasing group of Justin Metzler, Tony White, Chris Leiferman, AJ Baucco, and Derek Garcia came out of the water three minutes off the pace with 69.1 miles of racing left to go.

By mile 6 of the bike, Dye (Fuji Norcom Straight) had decided it was time to put that short-course power to work, leaving Ryan (unsponsored) and Limkemann (Dimond) behind. At mile 20, he’d extended his lead to 2:00 over this chase group.

Hadley and Lutz were next, 4:50 behind Dye. At six minutes back found a large pack consisting of Metzler, White, Baucco, Lieberman, Garcia, Nick Brodnicki, & Kyle Pawlaczyk. 

Dye continued to put the hammer down, building another minute and a half into his lead over Limkemann and Ryan, leading to a quote from the police lead motorcycle:

Does that boy always ride this fast?

Apparently, the answer on this day is yes: Dye continued putting more time into Ryan and Limkemann, who traded off the second and third positions. Dye was 4:25 up the road. Nearly 8 minutes behind was the large chase group that included Baucco, Metzler, and Thomas Gerlach; would Gerlach be able to unleash a run similar to his smashing Wildflower run?

Unfortunately, Limkemann crashed out in the final miles of the bike. According to his Twitter account, he slid out and hit a mailbox. (Warning: the linked update is graphic.)

Dye arrived to T2 first having unleashed a 2:11:07 bike split in the rain. Ryan was second onto the run following a 2:17:12 ride, six minutes arrears.

8:30 down was a massive run group including Baucco, Hadley, Metzler, White, Brodnicki, and Gerlach.

After 4.5 miles, Dye still led, clipping off miles at a 6:00/mi pace. Leiferman had run through Ryan but was still 6:30 back of Dye; he’d need to close 45 seconds per mile over the next 8.6 miles to bridge the gap.

Ryan was third, but running with the pack including Baucco, Metzler, Gerlach, and White, with Hadley hanging on by a thread 10 seconds further back.

At mile 8, Dye was still cruising out in front. Lieferman kept trying to close the gap, but had only made up 30 seconds over the last 3.5 miles. He’d need a serious falter from Dye and continue to apply the pressure in order to take home the win.

Metzler and Gerlach were battling each other 8:10 off of Dye. Hadley was fifth. Ryan had fallen off pace.

Cam Dye with race announcer Sean English following his victory.

Cam Dye with race announcer Sean English following his victory.

Dye finished the run in 1:21:54, winning in 3:59:27, and taking home his second win in Knoxville. Lieferman was second, closing in 1:18:10. Metzler earned his first podium with his third place finish. Fourth place went to Gerlach. White earned fifth place.

 

Finish Name Prize Swim Bike Run Total Time
1 Cameron Dye $5,695 00:24:16.130 02:11:07.240 01:21:54.996 03:59:27.876
2 Chris Leiferman $2,787.65 00:27:14.933 02:16:20.963 01:18:10.440 04:03:59.620
3 Justin Metzler $1,765.45 00:27:09.146 02:16:26.626 01:19:18.093 04:05:24.540
4 Thomas Gerlach $1,139 00:27:17.196 02:16:17.066 01:20:06.926 04:06:00.546
5 Tony White $854.25 00:27:11.693 02:16:22.873 01:21:23.106 04:07:20.016
6 James Hadley $569.50 00:25:14.606 02:18:28.850 01:22:36.356 04:08:51.093
7 Kyle Pawlaczyk $512.55 00:28:30.826 02:15:04.140 01:23:48.990 04:09:51.293
8 AJ Baucco $398.65 00:27:16.576 02:16:24.993 01:24:20.900 04:10:29.336
9 Derek Garcia $284.75 00:27:11.366 02:16:28.016 01:24:50.733 04:10:56.940
10 Kevin Ryan $170.85 00:24:13.426 02:17:12.983 01:29:23.713 04:13:12.180

The Women

To the credit of the Challenge Americas team, they heard the call of the Fair Starts initiative and gave a thirteen minute gap between the pro women’s start and the first age-group wave to minimize the chance of amateur men interfering with the professional race.

Jennifer Spieldenner was the women’s swim leader, crushing a 25:15 effort. Tapping her toes was Heather Lendway three seconds behind. 60 seconds later came Rebeccah Wassner, Rebekah Keat, and Jenny Leiser.

Onto the bike and it soon the strong, confident riders began to make their move. At mile 6, Spieldenner had already taken some initiative and was pulling away from Lendway. Rebeccah was joined by Laurel in a chase for the front just under a minute back. Rachel McBride was on the gas pedal, three minutes behind and closing hard.

Ten miles later and Spieldenner was still holding the lead. However, Rebeccah Wassner was soon going to latch on at a legal distance, a mere eight seconds behind. McBride had made up two minutes in ten miles and now rode third position.

Keat was trying to stay in contact with McBride another eleven seconds back. Lendway was sliding backwards, now nearly three minutes off the pace.

At mile 22, Rebeccah made her move to the front. Spieldenner lifted her effort to try to stay with her. McBride continued to hold steady in the third position.

Over the next 14 miles, though, McBride and Keat pedaled through to the front. Spieldenner continued to show her tenacity, not letting go of the front of the race. Wassner faded slightly, now 30 seconds behind.

McBride continued to pull hard on board her Diamondback Serios, opening up a 21 second advantage over Keat. Spieldenner was hanging tough in third, a minute behind Keat.

McBride, it appeared, had no timing chip or had a chip that was not registering, as her bike split does not appear. She had a 50 second lead on Keat, who rode 2:29:15, with Spieldenner about 2:20 back after 2:32:40 in the saddle.

Fourth was Rebeccah Wassner roughly 4.5 minutes down. Jeanni Seymour rounded out the top 5 off the bike, needing to make up five minutes worth of ground over the next 13.1 miles.

McBride kept up the pressure on the front of the race, leading at the run turnaround. Keat pulled up at mile 7 with an apparent calf tear (according to Siri Lindley). Meanwhile, Lesley Smith was running like her hair was on fire, opening with a 6:04/mi pace for three miles. Could she make up six positions on the run?

Smith continued her torrid pace, but it became a question of real estate: would there be enough room for her to catch up to McBride?

As it turns out, the answer was yes, with Smith passing McBride with 200 meters to go. Smith ran 1:23:43 to win in 4:31:20. McBride came 2nd, moving up a step on the podium from her effort at Wildflower. Seymour was able to hold off Rebeccah Wassner to round out the podium.

Finish Name Prize Swim Bike Run Total Time
1 Lesley Smith $5,695 00:28:58.526 02:35:42.636 01:23:43.496 04:31:20.046
2 Rachel McBride $2,787.65 Failed Timing Chip Failed Timing Chip Failed Timing Chip 04:31:XX
3 Jeanni Seymour $1,765.45 00:28:46.476 02:33:23.190 01:30:28.500 04:35:08.193
4 Rebeccah Wassner $1,139 00:26:25.543 02:33:49.513 01:32:29.650 04:35:29.196
5 Kristen Marchant $854.25 00:28:46.226 02:33:30.690 01:33:27.190 04:38:22.933
6 Laurel Wassner $569.50 00:28:12.416 02:34:27.316 01:33:28.490 04:39:11.380
7 Jennifer Spieldenner $512.55 00:25:15.236 02:32:40.446 01:38:42.970 04:39:13.723
8 Heather Lendway $398.65 00:25:18.283 02:37:38.020 01:35:16.586 04:40:49.353
9 Katie Thomas $284.75 00:27:20.770 02:36:45.100 01:35:57.210 04:43:55.703
10 Leslie Miller $170.85 00:28:54.186 02:41:23.816 01:31:13.613 04:44:35.526

 

Correction: 2nd Place received 2500 Euros, not 3500 Euros as previously reported. This post has been updated to reflect that change.

Featured image, Swim Photo courtesy of Hannah Heisler.

Rachel McBride T2 arrival courtesy of James Thorp.

 

About the Author

Ryan Heisler
Ryan Heisler is a digital marketing specialist with a specific focus on search engine, social media, and content marketing. He is also a veteran of the specialty running and triathlon industry, having spent a decade managing stores in New England and the mid-Atlantic. He is also a former sports talk radio host at WERS-FM in Boston and holds a law degree from the University of Maine School of Law.