Passuello, Pooley Claim Tough Wins At Challenge Philippines

Italy’s Domenico Passuello and Great Britain’s Emma Pooley took on the challenging hills of Bataan and endured the scorching heat to win the second edition of the Yellow Cab Challenge Philippine Subic-Bataan.

Read the recap from Challenge Family below:

Passuallo, a former professional cyclist turned world class triathlete bagged his first Yellow Cab Challenge Philippines title in the professional field after clocking 4:04:22, while his female counterpart, Pooley, also a former professional cyclist and Olympic silver medalist dominated the women’s field with a recorded time of 4:41:51.

Men’s Race
“The race was really tough and the course was really, really challenging and  hot, windy too, but there are a lot of trees and a lot of aid station where you can always refresh,” said Passuello, a first-time racer in the Philippines.

Finishing just a few minutes behind the new titleholder was Denmark’s Rasmus Petraeus, who clocked in at 4:09:04. The fomer Challenge Phuket champion was first out of the water in 23:42 leading the race early in the competition but was caught by Passuello halfway through the Felt Bike course.

“Rasmus was too strong on the swim and first part of the bike today, so I was pretty scared about thought I beat him on the run. I didn’t know about my time gap when I change in transition (from biking to running) so I pushed hard and a lot in the first 10km run,” said Passuello.

At third place in men’s pro category was Australian Mitch Robbins who clocked a time of 4:13:11, while Sweden’s Fredrik Croenberg finished with a record of 4:14:11 and last year’s second place Australian Michael Murphy finished fifth with a recorded time of 4:33:13.

Women’s Race
Despite not being completely satisfied with her swim performance, Pooley said she really enjoyed the beautiful swim, which included coral reefs and the two historic shipwrecks that Camayan Beach Resort Swim in Subic Bay offers. She made up the lost time on the bike section of the race and regained control to take first. The bike section is considered her strongest suit in this race. Pooley’s bike split was 2:40:38.

“It was tough and but honest course and beautiful. I came back to try and win and I really had a good day!” said Pooley who made a comeback after a third place finish last year 2014 Challenge Philippines.

American Kelly Williamson was first out of the water in 26:57 and took second to Pooley with a time of 4:52:14. Rounding out the podium was Great Britain’s Parys Edwards (4:53:19), Thailand’s Carole Fuchs (5:20:49), Germany’s Katja Rabe (5:24:40) and Swedish Louise Rundqvist (5:26:18).

Challenge Philippines
Camayan Beach Resort, Subic Bay, Philippines – Feb. 21, 2015
1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run

Men
1. Domenico Passuello (ITA) 4:04:22
2. Rasmus Patraeus (DEN) 4:09:04
3. Mitch Robbins (AUS) 4:13:11
4. Fredrik Croneberg (SWE) 4:14:11
5. Michael Murphy (AUS) 4:33:13

Women
1. Emma Pooley (GBR) 4:41:51
2. Kelly Williamson (USA) 4:52:14
3. Parys Edwards (GBR) 4:53:19
4. Monica Torres (PHI) 5:15:18
5. Carole Fuchs (THA) 5:20:49
Complete results.