On the same day Sam Stosur became the first Australian woman since Evonne Goolagong in 1980 to win a grand slam tennis tournament, Craig ‘Crowie’ Alexander and rising-star Melissa Rollison tore the new Ironman 70.3 World Championships course in Las Vegas, Nevada, to pieces, writing a new chapter in the history of Aussie triathlon.

In hot, windy conditions, Crowie set up his victory with a superb bike leg, despite riding for part of race on Andy Potts’ (USA) spare wheel after there was a mix up in the Shimano support crew van.

After giving up more than a minute to Potts (23:19) in the swim, Crowie (24:45) used every bit of his experience to push hard at the start of the bike to bring the lead group together. But just as Crowie’s hardwork had paid off and lead group had formed, the man from the Sutherland shire sustained a flat tire, forcing him to pull off to the side of the road and change wheels. But, despite the setback, in the typical calm and collected manner we’ve come to expect from Crowie, he was quickly back on his bike and immediately caught back up to the leaders.

However, after rejoining the lead group, the expected attack came from the power bikers Chris Lieto (USA) and Raynard Tissink (RSA). But, again, there was no panic from Crowie, riding comfortably in the lead chase pack alongside fellow Aussies Luke Bell, Joe Gambles, Tim Berkel and Paul ‘Barny’ Matthews.

Up the road, Lieto was doing his best to distance himself from the more fancied runners waiting in the chase pack, with Tissink the only other pro able to keep up with the American. But, a drafting penalty just before T2 left Tissink on the side of the road and four minutes behind the lead chase pack at the start of the run.

Lieto came through T2 with more than a 3:30 lead to the main chase group, which in any other Ironman 70.3 race would be enough for him to hold on during the run for the win, especially with the hilly terrain on Vegas run course. But, with the inaugural Ironman 70.3 World champion in the field, Lieto was a sitting duck to the fast-moving Alexander, who came home in a blistering 1:11:50 to take his second world title and the first on the new Vegas course.

The gallant effort of Lieto during the hot, windy conditions on the bike was rewarded with a second place finish, as his 1:18 run-split was just quick enough to hold Canada’s Jeff Symonds at bay by 39 seconds, who had the race of 26-year-old’s career to run himself into third place after being more than six minutes back on the American through T2.

For the Australian contingent it was an incredible day, with five athletes safely inside the top 10, including Gambles (fifth), Matthews (sixth), Berkel (eighth) and Bell (ninth), who were separated by just four minutes at the finish.

The win installs Alexander as the clear favourite for Kona now, especially with the absence of last year’s winner Chris McCormack. A lot will depend on how the Australian recovers, but with a month to go until the Ironman World Championships, you’d be a brave person to bet against an illness and injury-free Alexander.
For guys like Lieto, Bell and Michael Weiss, with eyes also firmly glued on the Ironman World Championships next month, Vegas will have given them a big boost in confidence that they’re on the right track for a good showing in Kona.

Results
1 Craig Alexander (AUS) 3:54:48
2 Chris Lieto (USA) 3:58:03 (+3:15)
3 Jeff Symonds (CAN) 3:58:42 (+3:54)
4 Michael Weiss (SUI) 3:59:11 (+4:23)
5 Joe Gambles (AUS) 4:00:00 (+5:12)
6 Paul Matthews (AUS) 4:00:26 (+5:38)
7 Raynard Tissink (ZAF) 4:00:53 (+6:05)
8 Tim Berkel (AUS) 4:02:01 (+7:13)
9 Luke Bell (AUS) 4:04:03 (+9:15)
10 Alessandro Degasperi (ITA) 4:05:09 (+10:21)

Thanks to www.firstoffthebike.com for the report