Lance Armstong's Ironman race series debut on U.S. soil at the Lonestar 70.3 in Galveston, Texas was the big news of the weekend, but his 7th place finish--dropping a spot in the final steps of the race--showed everyone that the hot, humid and breezy conditions took a toll on all the participants.
Timothy O'Donnell won the event in 3:47:40 after coming up short the two past years. Sebastian Kienle pushed himself to the limit for his second-place finish, collapsing after crossing the line 23 seconds after O'Donnell.
As expected, Armstrong made his move on the bike, but couldn't pull away from the elite pro ranks. He told the Houston Chronicle that he was shooting for a 3-minute gap off the bike, but had to make do with 41 seconds. He seemingly had 6th-place locked up but Jordan Jones,
In the women's race, Kelly Williamson of the U.S. beat Yvonne Van Vierken, finishing in 4:13:27, a solid 5:20 ahead of Van Vierken. The win makes Williamson the U.S. Champion.
TOP-10 RACE RESULTS - PRO MEN
| Name | Country | Swim | Bike | Run | Finish | Div. Rank | Overall Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Odonnell, Timothy | USA | 00:23:20 | 02:07:48 | 01:14:10 | 03:47:40 | 1 | 1 |
| Kienle, Sebastian | DEU | 00:26:10 | 02:03:43 | 01:15:29 | 03:48:03 | 2 | 2 |
| Schildknecht, Ronnie | CHE | 00:24:33 | 02:08:08 | 01:13:27 | 03:48:49 | 3 | 3 |
| Raelert, Michael | DEU | 00:23:17 | 02:09:26 | 01:14:54 | 03:50:08 | 4 | 4 |
| Poulat, Stephane | FRA | 00:23:20 | 02:05:52 | 01:20:30 | 03:52:35 | 5 | 5 |
| Jones, Jordan | USA | 00:24:32 | 02:11:20 | 01:15:13 | 03:54:31 | 6 | 6 |
| Armstrong, Lance | USA | 00:23:38 | 02:05:10 | 01:22:38 | 03:54:32 | 7 | 7 |
| Vanhoenacker, Marino | BEL | 00:23:32 | 02:07:13 | 01:21:12 | 03:54:55 | 8 | 8 |
| Jurkiewicz, Jeremy | FRA | 00:23:22 | 02:08:34 | 01:20:40 | 03:55:28 | 9 | 9 |
| Zeebroek, Axel | BEL | 00:23:19 | 02:12:39 | 01:16:31 | 03:55:43 | 10 |
10 |
TOP-10 RESULTS - PRO WOMEN
| Name | Country | Swim | Bike | Run | Finish | Div. Rank | Overall Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williamson, Kelly | USA | 00:25:46 | 02:26:52 | 01:18:04 | 04:13:27 | 1 | 24 |
| Van Vlerken, Yvonne | NLD | 00:28:34 | 02:23:09 | 01:23:49 | 04:18:47 | 2 | 29 |
| Marsh, Amy | USA | 00:25:51 | 02:24:44 | 01:26:10 | 04:20:16 | 3 | 34 |
| Snow, Caitlin | USA | 00:27:10 | 02:30:36 | 01:21:10 | 04:22:03 | 4 | 38 |
| Shapiro, Margaret | USA | 00:27:10 | 02:26:56 | 01:28:18 | 04:25:27 | 5 | 48 |
| Piampiano, Sarah | USA | 00:30:08 | 02:23:23 | 01:29:48 | 04:26:43 | 6 | 51 |
| Beranek, Anja | DEU | 00:26:12 | 02:24:09 | 01:35:26 | 04:29:12 | 7 | 56 |
| Wurtele, Heather | CAN | 00:27:14 | 02:28:27 | 01:30:32 | 04:29:34 | 8 | 57 |
| Donavan, Jessie | USA | 00:34:17 | 02:24:57 | 01:27:11 | 04:30:00 | 9 | 60 |
| Tetrick, Jennifer | USA | 00:28:02 | 02:25:12 | 01:34:13 | 04:31:09 | 10 | 64 |
EVERYMANTRI COVERAGE FROM LONESTAR 70.3
Pro Triathletes Talk About Racing Against Lance (video)
Check out Lance Armstrong's Bike to Run Transition (video)
Armstong Gives up 6th Place at the Finish (video)
Winner Tim O'Donnell Explains His Successful Race Strategy (video)
Preview - Armstrong Weighs In on Panama 70.3 Experience (video)
Preview - Does Armstrong Love Running as Much as Cycling (video)
Lance Armstrong Compares Ironman to Tour de France (video)
Preview - Armstrong Shoots for a 1:14 Run at Lonestar 70.3 (He came up 8:38 short) (article)
Photos: Ironman
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