Story and photos by Cameron Elford
June 24, 2007 --
Battling a chilly swim and wind-whipped Lake Coeur d'Alene, Ukraine's Victor Zyemtsev topped a field of 2262 starters today at the Ford Ironman Coeur d'Alene, in northern Idaho, by running down Canada's Tom Evans, who attacked at the beginning of the second loop on the two-loop bike course, in the closing miles of the marathon.
Contributing to pre-race anxiety in the days before the event, gusty conditions had produced significant lake chop throughout the week, and race morning was no exception, with strong winds forcing athletes to battle whitecaps on the two-loop swim before cool, race-morning temperatures in the low 50s gave way to sun and moderate conditions, with highs in the 60s as more than 2000 athletes finished this spectacular event that boasted a new bike course this year, winding north through the rural roads of Hayden Lake rather than west to the border with Washington State, as in years past.
"The new course is a mix of [Ironman] Wisconsin and Lake Placid," said eight-time Hawaii champion Paula Newby-Fraser, describing the mix of short, sharp hills and longer climbs that characterize the new Idaho bike course.
The city of Coeur d'Alene, in the northern Idaho panhandle, has a rich, and at times unsettled, history. In the latter half of the 19th century the burgeoning city was sustained by the rich natural resources that surround the region - forestry, mining and fur trading.
However, as the region's social backdrop has evolved, so has its economic base, mitigating Coeur d'Alene's dependence upon natural resources and promoting four-season tourism, driven by spectacular Lake Coeur d'Alene, which delimits the town's southern edge, and the Coeur d'Alene National Forest to the east.
It's into this new paradigm that the Ironman fits, calling Coeur d'Alene home since 2003 and underscoring the region's mounting credentials as a top spot for recreational activities from Ironman to skiing to boating and golf.
In 2007, Ford Ironman Coeur d'Alene, on June 24, served as the U.S. championship for the pro men (as it did last year for the pro women; this year, the pro women will race at Ironman USA Lake Placid, in New York, leaving the 2007 CDA women's title to be contested by a strong and talented age-group field), and a powerful international men's field turned up to challenge Zyemtsev's 8:23:29 course record, set in 2005.
Lining up against Zyemtsev was Colorado's Michael Lovato along with Kiwi Bryan Rhodes, the two-time winner of Ironman Malaysia, Ironman Canada champions Tom Evans and Jasper Blake and Australian Luke McKenzie.
Rough conditions make for a tough swimAs expected, Rhodes, trailed closely by McKenzie and Evans, led the field out of the water in 51:29, and the Kiwi consolidated his advantage as he rode out of town after the nearly 20-mile opening out-and-back section along the lake. But Zyemtsev, after a 54:21 swim, was hovering in fourth just 2:45 back with Blake over four minutes down and former IM CDA champ Lovato over seven minutes off Rhodes' pace after a tough 57:25 swim.
However, also as expected bike powerhouse Evans, along with McKenzie, quickly closed the gap to Rhodes as the athletes approached Hayden Lake on lap one of the windy bike. And when the top men rolled back through downtown Coeur d'Alene at the end of lap one, Zyetsev has nearly erased the margin to the three leaders and Lovato was similarly making up time, moving into fifth by mile 56.
But as the top men again headed onto the out-and-back section along the lake to begin lap two, Evans and McKenzie attacked off the front, dropping Rhodes, who had fallen to fourth place, by mile 70 and opening nearly a two-minute advantage over Zyemtsev.
Playing to their strengthsAs he did at IM CDA in 2005, Zyemtsev, a strong runner who ran 2:49:15 here en route to his 2005 victory, sought to minimize his deficit on the bike while Evans, accompanied by McKenzie, played to his strength by building a lead before the run.
By T2, Evans' attack had dropped McKenzie, and the Canadian headed through the first mile of the marathon with more than two minutes on the Australian while Zyemtsev was more than seven minutes back, Rhodesy 8:15 down, Lovato 12:20 back, in sixth, and Blake 16 minutes off the pace.
And although Evans is known more for his cycling than his marathoning strength, the Penticton, BC, native pushed the pace on the run, slowly adding to his advantage through the opening miles of the two-loop run course. But quickly making up ground was Zyemtsev, who began pouring it on soon after finding his run legs to cut Evans' lead to just under three minutes by mile 15. Further back, Lovato was making amends for a mediocre swim by moving into third place, 5:42 off Evans' pace and three minutes behind Zyemtsev.
Ultimately, however, the Ukrainian's metronome-like pace proved too much for Evans on the day, and Zyemtsev captured the lead from Evans at mile 23 to defend his 2005 title with an 8:33:32 finish. Evans, with a gutsy effort that began with his break on the bike hours earlier, held on for second place just a minute back in 8:34:34, while Lovato, with an impressive 2:49 run split took third.
The top age-group athlete, finishing 13th, was Mac Brown, 29, from California in 9:24:31.
Young tops among women's fieldWith no female pros racing, the spotlight was on the age-group women. First across the line was Canadian Kim Young, 33, with an speedy 57:34 swim -- made even more impressive given the choppy water conditions -- a 5:52:15 bike on the hilly course and a 3:32:41 marathon for a 10:27:55 finish. In second place was Washington State's Haley Cooper, and third was California's Solette Kummer.
Race notes- Due to the choppy swim conditions, athletes were given the option of skipping the swim and completing a duathlon instead. 57 athletes opted to do the du, and they were sent off to complete the full bike and run courses at 9:30, 10 minutes after the swim cut-off. While these athletes were timed and provided with results they were not eligible for Kona slots or age-group awards.
- The Ironman has been embraced by Coeur d'Alene, and the city has agreed to host the event through 2012.
- Athletes were competing for 80 slots to the Ford Ironman World Championship in Hawaii on Oct. 13, 2007.
- The men's pro race featured a $50,000 pro prize purse.
- For more on the event, check out www.ironmancda.com
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Ford Ironman Coeur d'Alene
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
June 24, 2007
2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile runMen1. Victor Zyemtsev (UKR) 8:33:32
2. Tom Evans (CAN) 8:34:34
3. Michael Lovato (USA) 8:40:39
4. Jasper Blake (CAN) 8:46:09
5. Bryan Rhodes (NZL) 8:46:38
Women1. Kim Young (CAN) 10:27:55
2. Haley Cooper (USA) 10:42:57
3. Solette Kummer (USA) 10:43:08
4. Amy Mcgrath (USA) 10:43:43
5. Staci Studer (USA) 10:44:48