Race Coverage
Big Bike Splits...
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Tuesday, 01 July 2014 06:10
Nicole Heininger (photo) proved on Sunday that a big bike split can trump the fast swim/run combination.
On paper, Nicole Heininger and Christina Roberts were the likely picks to finish 1-2 in the women's race at Lake Waconia. The wild card was Heidi Keller-Miler, now 49, who won this race in 2012.
HKM, though, hasn't finished a tri since September of 2012. Injuries and the demands of life have kept her on the sidelines since then. The fact that she was unable to finish at Trinona three weeks ago also clouded the issue. Was she ready to return to racing, and to reassert herself as one of our region's premier masters triathletes.
The answer to that question is "Yes." Her swim an bike splits on Sunday were solid, and though her run wasn't her best, her ultimate 3rd place finish had to be encouraging. It was great to see her back on the scene. We hope that she races often enough to garner a Master of the Year nomination, an award she's won on multiple occasions, and a spot on Team Minnesota.
Heininger was a surprise runner-up at LWT in 2013. Launching from a later AG wave, it was not discovered until the awards presentation that she actually had the 2nd fasterest women's time. That result earned her a BOUS invitation and helped her earn the Rookie of the Year trophy....
On Sunday, she needed less that 52 minutes to cover the rolling 20-mile bike course. That allowed her to overtake the early leaders--Roberts and Keller-Miler--and giver her the cushion she needed to stay in front during the run. Her ultimate finishing time was 1:35:33, eclipsing her 2013 clocking by almost three minutes. More significantly, her margin over Roberts, who is racing like a banshee this season, was 2:26.
To the surprise of no one, Matt Payne won the men's race, capping a four race/four win month. Matt, who looks great in "Man-pris," was the amateur winner here in 2013, as well.
The race for 2nd was between Brooks Grossinger and Josh Blankenheim. This battle was decided on the bike course, with Brooksie coming out on top.
Hot on Blankenheim's heels were Sean Cooley, who was only eight seconds back, and Kevin O'Connor, who finished twelve seconds after Sean.
It's always cool to witness the emergence of new tri talent. The surprise performance of the day may have belonged to Alice Flanders (photo R) of Crystal.
A talented nordic skier, Flanders previous tri results have been few and non-head-turning. On Sunday, however, the 22-year-old finished 4th overall in the women's race. How cool is that!
If she races well in three or four more tris/dus this season, she could earn a Rookie of the Year nomination.
The event was skillfully produced by Final Stretch and the weather, though breezy, was cooperative.
