American stars Skye Moench and Chelsea Sodaro may have failed to make the podium at IRONMAN 70.3 Boulder on Saturday, but both came away with plenty of positives.

For Skye it was the final preparation for a huge eight weeks which includes the Collins Cup, the IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion in St George and of course the IRONMAN World Championship at Kona.

For Chelsea meanwhile it was a return to professional racing after the birth of her daughter (another Skye) earlier this year, and the opportunity to gauge where she is at in terms of competing against the very best again.

Skye gets good prep for huge tests

Moench finished fourth, around 10 minutes back from winner Emma Pallant-Browne. Afterwards, in a message to her fans on Instagram, she reflected on what she took away from the day in Colorado.

“4th for me at Boulder 70.3 today. I chased hard all day, but the ladies up front were absolute next level. Congrats @em_pallant, @taylorknibb, @littlemetztri. The level just keeps going up!

“Overall, some good lessons learned for me and feeling highly motivated going into my race prep for @thecollinscuptri, 70.3 worlds, and Kona!”

Chelsea excited to be back

Chelsea finished sixth on her return to the pro circuit, and was delighted to get the first one out of the way with a view to rapid improvement in the coming weeks.

She said on Instagram: “What a day! Sixth place at IRONMAN 70.3 Boulder and my first race as Skye’s Mom. I know I said I was happy to get to the starting line in one piece, but I’m a competitor through and through.

“I let myself believe again these last few weeks. I told myself that I belonged and that I can contend. I’m so proud of putting myself out there.”

“The field of women today was amazing and I learned that I have some work ahead of me to get back on the podium again. The rust has been busted and I can’t wait to keep getting better. Massive congrats to everyone who raced today!”