Max Neumann took a fantastic victory in the Asian Pacific IRONMAN Championship in Cairns. Max made his debut over the full Ironman distance and immediately went on to win in a time of 8:13:08. His fellow countrymen Tim Van Berkel (AUS; 8:15:58) and Josh Amberger (AUS; 8:18:39) rounded out the podium.
Outstanding all-round performance
A perfect start of the race saw Max Neumann exiting the water in 2nd place as part of the leading group. Together with Amberger and Polizzi, he had an advantage of 2’ over the first chase group.
On the bike, Neumann kept riding at the back of the leading group in the first 90k. A few kilometers after the turn around half way through the bike course, Max played things smart by not pushing himself too much. He kept riding at his own pace and settled himself inside the chase group, 1’40 behind leader Amberger with 50k to go. Finally, the BMC-Vifit athlete entered T2 in 2nd place as leader of the chase group, 1’35 down on the lead. Right from the start of the run, Max found his rhythm and dropped his fellow chasers. Steadily, he reduced the deficit to Amberger. Once he had passed the 10k mark, the difference dropped fast and just before the half way mark of the run, Neumann was able to make the pass for the lead. From that point onwards, the Aussie was in control of the race as he kept extending his lead to a maximum of 3’42. In the final 10k, Van Berkel came a little closer, but Neumann kept his cool in the hot conditions to break the tape in his very first full distance IRONMAN. The BMC-Vifit athlete came home in a winning time of 8:13:08, posting the fastest running split of the day in 2:50:06.
Never expected to win in my first Ironman
After closing out his debut in winning ways, Max Neumann looked back as his fantastic victory. “Today felt pretty good. You never expect to win your first IRONMAN race on your first try. Thank you to the whole team, who helped me during this weird COVID-period. Everything is just incredibly supported and honestly, I couldn’t have done this without the support of the BMC-Vifit team. I hope to race a couple of times more this year and finish off a weird year on a high.”
At Outlaw X Triathlon in Nottinghamshire, it was Katrina Matthews who took home the victory. In a cold “Battle of the Brits”, Katrina finished the race in a time 4:03:13. Nikki Bartlett (GBR; 4:05:39) crossed the line in 2nd with Fenella Langridge (GBR; 4:10:00) snatching the final podium spot.
Coming off a win in IM70.3 Tallinn three weeks ago, Katrina Matthews toed the line at Outlaw X supported by the Professional Triathletes Organisation. A very cold morning in Great Britain saw the swim shortened to 750m. After the swim, Katrina came back to shore in 3rd place, 1’11 back of leader Hall. In the first part of the bike, Matthews formed the first chase group, together with Langridge. In the second part, Matthews found her good rhythm as she chased down Hall, accompanied by Bartlett. Once the duo caught up with Hall, they immediately broke away to enter T2 with a 3’ lead. Right from the start of the run, Katrina pushed hard to open up a gap over Bartlett. In the first 7k, the BMC-Vifit athlete had an advantage of 50”. Another 7k later, that difference had grown to 1’30. Towards the finish line, Matthews kept extending that lead to cross the finish line in first place after 4:03:13.
Really happy with how it went
Afterwards Katrina Matthews looked back and was very satisfied with her race. “I am really chuffed to take the win at the Outlaw X Triathlon with a full PTO backed female field. When I jumped on my bike, Lucy Hall was already a chunk away ahead. Langridge, Bartlett and I worked well together. Once on the run I felt confident straight away. I am really happy with how it went. It was a lovely run course here. It felt great again to represent the BMC-Vifit Pro Triathlon Team. A fantastic weekend for the team with the win of Max Neumann in IM Cairns as well. I am really chuffed for the whole team.”
