By Rebecca Roozen
June 24, 2007 -- After leading the men out of the water and off the bike, the early two-thirds of the sunny day in Zurich belonged to Switzerland’s Mathias Hecht. But the courageous Ronnie Schildknecht heard from hometown friends on the other side of the fence how close he was to Hecht two kilometers into the run and went for it. “I knew maybe that at that pace [gaining 20 seconds per kilometer] that I could catch him and it would work,” said Schildknecht, who won the inaugural Ironman70.3 Switzerland three weeks ago. “From then on, I just pushed more and hard.” And by lap two of the three-loop course, Schildknecht had the day’s main leader right where he wanted him, with a little from his friends.
The sun scorched through the nearly cloudless sky, presenting athletes opposite weather from the storms earlier in the week. But Schildknecht didn’t mind the heat; in fact, he said he enjoyed the almost-80-degree weather. But he did have a bit of trouble on the 112-mile bike course. “In the third lap, I was really cramping,” he said. “Too much carbs I think, and I had to slow down a lot. I couldn’t do anything about it, but then I said let’s start the run, and let’s see!”
The Suisse copter hovering above Lake Zurich created the only tiny bit of chop for athletes early this morning. The giant mass of 1850 yellow swim caps flooded the otherwise calm and wetsuit-legal waters after the custom cowbells had been rung.
The men’s race
The early sunny skies left a glare on the water and left spectators wondering which three men led the rest of the pack. Forty-four minutes later we found out it was Suisse Mathias Hecht, followed closely by Aussie Matthew Clarke and Hungarian Balazs Csoke. Last year’s IM Switzerland champ, Stefan Riesan, vocalized his confidence with the race Thursday, “I am even in better shape than last year. I know the results during my trainings and I know that I am ready to defend my title.” Perhaps his 51st place out of the water was a foreshadowing for the rest of the day. At 3:20 into the race there was no word on Riesan’s whereabouts. A severe nerve problem that he said began after 5K on the bike was what did him in at the beginning of the third bike loop, where he dropped from the race.
Hecht held strong, however, and created space for himself right off the bat as he pulled away from Aussie Matthew Clarke and Hungarian Balazs Csoke after 25 kilometers of cycling. Clarke kept his distance about 2:45 ahead of Csoke, and the rest of the pack chased about four minutes behind the leading trio. At almost the two-hour mark, Hecht gained even more ground, leaving Clarke behind for good. Romain Guillaume and Igor Nastic rode over a minute behind third-place Csoke. Deservedly so, Hecht was the first man in T2, with a 4:34:12 bike split. Schildknecht, Tim Berkel, Romain Guillaume, Patrik Hugelshofer and Paoli Stefano followed.
A few minutes into the footrace, Hecht and Schildknecht found their rhythm, but it was Schildknecht who turned up the heat. At about the halfway mark of the marathon, stirring some excitement into what was seemed to be a one-man race, Schildknecht closed the gap and took the front spot. Beyond the battle of Switzerland’s finest Ironmen, Hungary's Jozsef Major moved into third, with about 30 minutes remaining for the men. Schildknecht’s 8:25:00 finish “is the greatest moment in my triathlon career here in my neighborhood,” he said. “I mean, I train here. It is emotionally my biggest moment.” Fellow countryman Hecht took second—for the second consecutive year—in 8:32:48; Major made up nearly 10 minutes in the final 15K for third place in 8:40:05.
Laurent Jalabert makes his Ironman debut, and loves it
Former pro cyclist, Laurent Jalabert, of France, rode to victory in many one-day and stage races in his cycling days. Since retirement, he ran the 2005 NYC Marathon and finished in 2:55:39. Today, Jalabert came out of the water in 966th place in his Ironman debut. About three hours in, he moved up 730 spots from his 1:16:27 swim and left another 100 competitors behind him with less than 40K to go on the bike, leaving him 91st overall and 22nd in his age group. His obviously skillful 4:39:16 bike split and blazing 3:11:38 marathon put Jalabert in 22nd overall for the day. "I am very pleased with my race today, it was wonderful,” he said. "Yes, I hope I qualify for Hawaii as I love doing Ironman now."
The women’s race
New Zealand’s Gina Ferguson and Switzerland’s Sibylle Matter and Simone Burli were the first women to dry land, 54 minutes in. After her second-place swim, Matter led the ladies on bike after about 20 kilometers; Ferguson stuck to her for a tight second, and Alison Fitch made gains for a close third. Matter held her ground at about two hours in with Ferguson, Burli, Miriam Moser, Fitch and Rebecca Preston in hot pursuit. But as the women approached the 50-kilometer marker, Fitch worked her way to less than a minute behind Matter with Preston in third.
The women continued their tug-of-war for the front as Preston took the lead with fellow Aussie Fitch 35 seconds back. The former race leader, Matter, settled into third, 51 seconds off the front, and local Suisse athlete Nicole Klingler pushed her way to fourth. Preston was first into T2, with Matter less than one kilometer between her and the leader after four kilometers of the footrace.
Preston held off till the finish with a 9:20:43 for her second consecutive win at IM Switzerland. Matter took second in 9:26:06, and Fitch claimed third in 9:31:47.
“I was very happy with my day,” Matter said. “All except the final 5 kilometers. I was happy with my swim and felt really good on the bike. I felt it was a very fair race for the women today. I even thought I would win after I passed Rebecca on the run, but then she went by me so fast after three kilometers, I just couldn't keep up!"
Ironman Switzerland
Zurich, Switzerland
June 24, 2007
2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run
Women
1. Rebecca Preston (AUS) 9:20:43
2. Sibylle Matter (SUI) 9:26:06
3. Alison Fitch (AUS) 9:31:47
4. Gina Ferguson (NZL) 9:41:26
5. Sonja Tajsich (GER) 9:42:25
Men
1. Ronnie Schildknecht (SUI) 8:25:00
2. Mathias Hecht (SUI) 8:32:48
3. Jozsef Major (HUN) 8:40:03
4. Martin Leumann (SUI) 8:48:28
5. Tim Berkel (AUS) 8:40:09