bevan wins 2013 Vineman 70.3
Posted on Mon., August 12th, 2013
Vineman 70.3 Half Ironman
The Vineman Half Marathon is one of the Classics on the 70.3 circuit and has had a history of attracting very competitive international fields. The race starts at the beautiful Russian River and then takes you araound Sonoma Wine Country, certainly plety of distractions for the wine enthusiasts out there!
Leading into this event I was in some fantastic form, in fact I had held that form from my previous win in Boise, and was beginning to wonder if I could hold it for that long! Needless to say I was eager to get out there and test the legs.
The 1.2 mile swim was OK for me, however coming from an ITU background where the cut off temperature for wetsuit to non-wetsuit is 680 F to WTC rules where it is 760 F, it was certainly a little on the warm side. I've learnt to just accept these new rules even though I might disagree with them, the sport has been around longer than I have and I don't have the energy to fight them. I'm a good enough swimmer to stay out of trouble and I was content to just sit in and “follow the bubbles”, exiting the water with the lead group of 7!
On the 56 mile (90km) bike I hadn't planned on making a move, I had ridden off the front in Boise and discovered it's a hard way to win races. However after 5 miles the legs felt good and I sprung away on a short climb. I thought to myself “Crap, now I have to keep going!” So I put my head down and pushed as hard as I could! After about 5 mins I couldn't see the group behind so tried to settle into a solid rhythm that I knew I could hold to the end. It's very unsettling when you know there is a group behind trying to chase you down, but you don't know how far behind they are! Admittedly I did look behind a few times on the longer straights, and I was relieved not to see anyone.
I finally hobbled into T2 and set out praying I didn't see the group too soon. Finally a large pack of about 8-9 rolled by and I could just see there were some fresh legs in there. It's reassuring to know you are one of the faster runners and have a 2.30 lead on the chasers, however in this sport nothing is a given and you have to work to the bitter end.
I still had that horror film feeling of being chased and knew guys were catching me, however as the run wore on I could feel my legs switch from cyclists legs to runners legs and actually started to pick up the pace. At about the 7 mile mark Tin Reed (AUS) and Terrenzo (NZL) had closed the gap to 1.40, however I knoew they had gone out hard and fast and I had paced myself accordingly, I then began to pull away again and let them battle it out for the minor places.
As I entered the finishing shoot it was a pleasant surprise to hear the announcer say “Record Time” as I crossed in a time of 3:45:10 for a comfortable win and over 2 minutes clear of Tim Reed in 2nd.
Like I said earlier it's not an easy way to win a race but racing like this is certainly going to set me up better for the very competitive fields later on in the year.
Thanks to my sponsors Specialized and Adidas, also my family, friends and supporters, this is all for you. (Note Bevan was riding Keywin Carbon pedals).
