Dye, Kaye Repeat At TriRock Philadelphia

There was no tri, only du in Pennsylvania today as weather forced a swim cancellation at the 11th annual Johnson & Johnson TriRock Philadelphia Triathlon presented by Philadelphia Insurance Companies (PHLY). Americans Cameron Dye and Alicia Kaye continued their domination of the annual event, each taking home the victories and a share of the $25,000 pro prize purse at the event despite this year’s modified bike-run format. This is the fourth-straight win for Dye and second-straight for Kaye.

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Due to heavy rain and flooding in the Philadelphia area throughout the week, the water quality at the race venue, Fairmont Park, was deemed unsuitable for activities involving direct contact with the water. Organizers announced athletes would compete in a 24.8-mile bike followed by a 6.2-mile run, beginning with a time-trial format from inside transition. The unique start to the day meant that the professionals were racing against the clock, with no easy way to tell were they were in relation to their competition.

In the men’s race, Dye dominated from the get-go, posting a day-best 56:29 bike split. Davide Giardini entered T2 52 seconds off the pace, followed by Jason West and Nick Brodnicki. Once on the run, West set a blistering 5:06/mile pace to overtake Giardini and run the fastest 10K of the day at 31:43. West’s effort was not enough to catch Dye, who finished with an overall time of 1:30:45.

“It was different, but great. You go out hard on the bike because you feel really good without your legs being tired from the water, and I feel like I rode well,” said Dye. “It’s a high note for my career. To win once is awesome, to repeat is super tough, so to win this race four times in a row is one of my bigger accomplishments.”

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The women’s race began with a bang as Sarah Haskins set her sights on unseating returning champion Kaye. Haskins made her statement by posting a 1:04:16 bike split, 5 seconds ahead of Kaye and 8 seconds ahead of Dani Fischer. The three spent much of the run with similar overall times until Kaye surged and pulled away from the competition with a 35:29 run split to finish in 1:40:47. Haskins and Fischer settled for second and third, respectively.

“It was better than expected. Finally the sun is shining and the rain is gone,” said Kaye. “My biggest competition, Sarah Haskins, started a few minutes behind me which was challenging. My mental strategy was to not think about it and just race hard. Someone told me I was even with Haskins when I finished lap one of the run, so I thought anything you’ve got, just lay it on the line. I went after it, and came away with the win.”

The pros weren’t the only ones on the field, Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky also raced in the Sprint event on Saturday. More than 750 Team Johnson & Johnson participants raised $508,000 for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and with additional supporters the event raised a grand total of $568,000 over the weekend.

RELATED VIDEO: Alicia Kaye On What Draws Her To TriRock Philly

TriRock Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Penn. – June 28, 2015
24.8-mile bike, 6.2-mile run

Men
1. Cameron Dye 1:30:45
2. Jason West 1:31:11
3. Davide Giardini 1:32:33
4. Alex Willis 1:33:44
5. Michael Poole 1:35:19
6: Chris Lutz 1:36:31
7. Jonathan Fecik 1:36:54
8. Dan Feeney 1:37:20
9. Nick Brodnicki 1:38:16
10. Spenser Popeson 1:38:54

Women
1. Alicia Kaye 1:40:27
2. Sarah Haskins 1:42:25
3. Dani Fischer 1:43:46
4. Ellie Salthouse 1:43:50
5. Robin Pomeroy 1:45:26
6. Kristen Marchant 1:45:48
7. Sindead Odwywer 1:46:23
8. Laurel Wassner 1:46:26
9: Bria Edwards 1:46:45
10. Carly Johann 1:47:29