Ironman: A Classic Footrace

So, maybe it's not about the bike after all. The World Championship in Hawaii returned to its roots as a footrace on Saturday when Craig Alexander pounded out a 2:45 marathon to take home top honors। Even with light winds, those who went out strong, gaining big leads on the bike, did so at their peril. In fact, just four of the top 10 overall professional men finishers had a top 10 bike split.

The most striking of the fizzlers was Torbjorn Sindballe. He led off the bike with a segment time of 4:27:40, having averaged 25.11 mph. Yet he finished 46th, 8 minutes and 20 seconds behind women's winner Chrissie Wellington. It was a classic blow-up. Alexander, on the other hand, was 11th off the bike - more than9 minutes back from the leader. But his 6:17 per mile pace steadily took him past the big guns. It was a similar yet not as striking phenomenon for the women.

Winner Chrissie Wellington had a 7 minute lead over Belinda Granger - even after an 11 minute setback from a flat tire - when she came in from the bike. Wellington, of course, held on to her lead, winning with about 15 minutes to spare. Like Wellington, second-place finisher Yvonne Van Vlerken bucked the fast-bike-blown-run bunch. She moved up one spot on the run from her third place bike finish. Granger wasn't so lucky. She sunk on the run, finishing in 17th position. In all, six of the top 10 women finishers had a top 10 bike split.

Will this be an end to the fairings, dimpled aero helmets and slick, super-fast bikes? No. But might some folks be thinking more about their run training in a year's time? After the race on Saturday, the answer almost certainly is yes.

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