Cave, Bozzone On Top At 70.3 Miami

Fresh off her Kona title, Leanda Cave added another win to her stellar season, while Terenzo Bozzone showed he is on the comeback trail by taking the men’s victory at 70.3 Miami. Despite hurricane conditions on the East Coast, the water temperature was warm and the race went off without a hitch.

Men’s Race
Times were fast for the men’s event, where windy and flat conditions made for a quick race. Francesc Godoy (ESP) was first through the swim in Biscayne Bay, near the Port of Miami, in 22:29. Bozzone (NZL) came out of the water in 22:44 in a big group with Nils Frommhold (GER), Christian Ritter (GER), Andres Castillo Latorre (COL), Alberto Casadei (ITA), and Felipe Van de Wyngard.

On the windy bike, Horst Reichel (GER) used a race-best 2:03:55 to make up for a slower 23:37 swim. Massimo Cigana (ITA) laid down the second-fastest bike split (2:03:56) after lagging with a slow 26:44 swim.  Bozzone came into T2 after a 2:04:47 bike with Jan Van Berkel (CHE), who biked a 2:04:12. Reichel, Frommhold and Cigana trailed them by a little over a minute.

But, it all came down to the run, where Bozzone cemented his win with a 1:12:04 half-marathon, finishing in 3:42:17. Van Berkel ran a 1:13:48 to keep take second in 3:43:52, while Reichel ran a 1:13:46 to take third (3:44:14). James Cunnama (RSA) ran a blistering race-best 1:11:31 to come from behind after a 2:05:27 bike and a 25:25 swim. Cunnama ran through the field to take fourth in 3:45:27. Frommhold held onto fifth (3:46:11) with a 1:15:56 run.

Women’s Race
Most people who won the 70.3 championship and the Ironman title just a month apart, might not be particularly fresh two weeks later. And Cave even joked on twitter in the morning, “Not a lot of me is thrilled about racing today. I’m hoping this triple shot of coffee will turn that around.” Apparently it worked.

Cave (GBR) led from close to the start, coming out of the water in 23:51. While Jodie Swallow (GBR) came out of the water ahead (23:23), she later dropped out after the bike. Carla Moreno (BRA) trailed the two of them by a minute after the swim, but also dropped out after the bike – leaving Cave virtually uncontested.

Cave biked a 2:15:44, but Lisa Huetthaler (AUT) made up some time after a 26:39 swim with a 2:14:50 bike, coming into T2 a little under two minutes down on Cave. Margaret Shapiro (AUT) and Lisa Mensink (USA) trailed Cave by over two minutes after biking 2:17:03 and 2:17:09, respectively.

Cave ran a 1:24:45 to hold onto the win in 4:07:27. Shapiro ran away from Mensink with a 1:24:31 to get the third in 4:09:47. Huetthaler put down a fast run (1:24:13) to get close to Cave, but came in second (4:08:48). Shapiro earned third. Mensink ran a 1:26:39 to take fourth (4:12:19). But, the fastest run of the day was a blistering 1:20:08 from Corinne Abraham (GBR), who made up a slow swim and bike to get the fifth spot in 4:14:04.

Ironman 70.3 Miami
Miami, Fla. – Oct. 28, 2012
1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run

Men
1. Terenzo Bozzone 3:42:17
2. Jan Van Berkel  3:43:52
3. Horst Reichel  3:44:14
4. James Cunnama  3:45:27
5. Nils Frommhold 3:46:11

Women
1. Leanda Cave 4:07:27
2. Lisa Huetthaler  4:08:48
3. Margaret Shapiro  4:09:47
4. Lisa Mensink 4:12:19
5. Corinne Abraham 4:14:05

Complete results.