Sam Osborne of New Zealand and home star Ellie Salthouse took the wins at IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong this weekend, as both came out on top ahead of strong fields in Victoria.
In the men’s race, Osborne just managed to hold off Britain’s Tom Bishop, who secured his slot at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in his first race of the season.
In a battle between two top Aussie pros, Salthouse just beat compatriot Grace Thek, with the pair pulling clear of the rest of the field in a close battle on the run.
Osborne clinches first middle distance win
An off-road athlete by trade, Osborne was at the front of the race throughout in Geelong, with the Kiwi leading out of the water just ahead of Bishop, home favourite Steve McKenna and Finn Henrik Goesch in a front group of seven.
Out on to the bike, McKenna and Bishop traded the lead over the early stages, with defending champion Mike Phillips making his way back up to the front pack by the 27km mark.
Remarkably, despite the firepower of Bishop and Phillips, who are notoriously strong riders, the front pack of eight remained intact into T2, with the race coming down to a run battle for the win.
First out of the gates was McKenna, before Bishop made his move that was only matched by Osborne and the pair pulled clear at the 7km mark.
As the gap to the rest of the field continued to grow, Bishop and Osborne were locked side-by-side, and it wasn’t until the final 5km that the Kiwi managed to open up a slender lead.
Winning by just over ten seconds in the end, Osborne took the tape, with Bishop securing a slot to the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Taupo alongside him in second and Goesch coming home in third.
Salthouse powers to victory on the run
Exiting the water with more than a minute deficit, Thek and Salthouse were left playing catchup in the women’s race all day, as Dutch pro Lotte Wilms entered T1 with a healthy gap out of the swim.
On to the bike, Wilms settled into a fast early pace but was caught by Hanne De Vet of Belgium at the 27km mark, with the pair then trading turns in a bid to hold off the fast moving Salthouse who was gaining behind.
Maintaining a gap of close to a minute back to the Australian, De Vet and Wilms rode together until just over halfway, before the Dutch pro again pulled clear and came into T2 alone.
One minute down on to the run, De Vet also entered T2 solo, but had Salthouse and Thek, plus Hannah Berry, within a minute of her as the battle for the podium commenced.
Over the initial stages of the run, it quickly became clear Salthouse was the fastest runner on course, with the Australian closing in on De Vet, then Wilms, before entering the lead after 7km.
Behind her, Thek was making similar progress, and the race for the win looked set to be between the pair as Thek moved into second with 10km to go.
In the end, Salthouse’s aggressive first 10km paid off, with the Australian maintaining a comfortable cushion over her counterpart for the rest of the run as she came home for the win.
In second, Thek picked up a solid podium, whilst Wilms managed to finish in third after spending so much of the day at the front of the race.
IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong – Sunday March 24 2024
1.9km / 90km / 21.1km
Pro Men
- 1. Sam Osborne (NZL) – 3:41:26
- 2. Tom Bishop (GBR) – 3:41:38
- 3. Henrik Goesch (FIN) – 3:42:36
- 4. Mitchell Kibby (AUS) – 3:42:53
- 5. Steve McKenna (AUS) – 3:43:19
Pro Women
- 1. Ellie Salthouse (AUS) – 4:07:18
- 2. Grace Thek (AUS) – 4:08:16
- 3. Lotte Wilms (NED) – 4:10:22
- 4. Radka Kahlefeldt (AUS) – 4:11:31
- 5. Hannah Berry (NZL) – 4:11:44
