Race Coverage

Fairmont, Bertam Blast & Des Moines...

Wednesday, 23 June 2021 00:10

FAIRMONT TRIATHLON - A pair of fast teens won this year's Sprint tri last Saturday, while the Olympic race featured a terrific performance by men's winner TIMOTHY BONTRAGER. We love to see sub-2-hour clockings and Tim rocked a 1:57:49, which reminds us of the fast times that DAVID HOLDEN used to turn in there.  

ANDREW KERSHAW's 2:01:13 second place effort was also pretty dang impressive.

Bontrager's Winners Circle mate was Iowa's SARA WENSINK, who dominated the women's competition.

Back to the Sprint, which was won by 15-year-old phenom NOAH BILLINGS, who had to run down South Dakota's KEVIN MITCHELL, a multiple winner here. The victory was Billings second of the year.

The women's Sprint was won by GRACE BUSCH, 18, who has been impressing us since she was a 13-years-old, yet hadn't raced often enough to be included in the JOY conversations. Busch outpaced tri-vetrean TERESA VAN HYFTE (SD) for her 58-second win.

This year's tris had 50 finishers.  RESULTS

BERTRAM BLAST - Pre-race faves JAKE KEEHAN and recently surgerized BETTINA KEPPERS lived up to their billing last Sunday in the 5th edition of BB Off Road Triathlon. Conditions were surprising accommodating. The forecasted rain kept some volunteers from showing but almost all of the 120+ sign-ups made the morning trek to wilderness-y Bertram Chain of Lakes Regional Park. ...

Instead of hard rain, there was only occasional mistiness and the temps were coolish (low to mid-60s).

The Duathlon competition was won in course record time by DEREK WACHOWIAK. JEN NEUMAN, whose career resume includes an even dozen multisport victories, took the women's du title. RESULTS

DES MOINES TRIATHLON - Billed as a 70.3, the bike route had to be severly abbrevated for reasons we are not clear about. The day was very hot and humid, but several Minnesotans managed to turn in stellar efforts. 

Here are a few of the "stellarest" ones:

TED and DANI TREISE - These young pros from Minneapolis managed to hold their own against established stars. Ted finished 21st, whick placed him ahead of ten fellow pros. Dani placed 11th in her race, beating seven professional women.

- RACHEL ZILINSKAS - The UM graduate student followed up her amateur win at St. George North American 70.3 Championships with another win at Des Moines. Get this: Her margin of victory over the 2nd place female amateur was 12:36! The 2019 Most Improved honoree is the current Triathlete of the Year frontrunner in Minnesota, and could find herself in the US Athlete of the Year discussion this fall.

- KATIE DEREGNIER proved on Sunday that her 2nd place performance at Buffalo Olympic was totally legit. She won her 30-34 AG by a 2:15 margin and placed 6th overall in the women's amateur race.

- DIANE HANKEE - The 44-year-old cracked the overall amateur women's Top 10 (8th) and placed 2nd in her AG.

- JULIA WEISBECKER (top photo) - At 55, she still finished in the overall women's Top 15 (14th), winning her AG y a hefty 6:58 margin. She certainly appears to be heading for a Minnesota Grand Master of the Year nomination. Who knows, she may garner  USAT 2021 GMOY NOMINATION when the dust settles at season's end.

Lots of Minnesotan raced hard and well at Des Moines, braving conditions that were similar to those experienced at Buffalo. MTN applauds them all.  RESULTS

Des Moines photo - KRISTINA SWENSON, MIKE BUENTING, ANDY ZABEL.