Race Recap – Ironman 70.3 Subic Bay

Swiss Ruedi Wild and Czech Radka Kahlefeldt won the IRONMAN 70.3 Subic Bay in the Philippines last weekend amidst a field thick with seasoned pros. Trizone looks at how these fierce races played out.

Subic Bay 70.3 Men’s swim

In the pristine Subic Bay of the Philippines, a fierce Aussie field of Sam Betten, Craig Alexander, and Tim Reed were joined by Michael Raelert, Sven Riederer and Ruedi Wild in the swim’s lead pack. Betten set a fierce pace as usual, and the large lead group travelled together in a thick pack through the first transition.

Subic Bay 70.3 Men’s bike

As the group progressed into the bike leg, a clear chase pack formed just 1:20 behind the leaders, led by Tim van Berkel. As the race motored forward, so did Aussie comeback king Jake Montgomery, creating a huge lead of over one minute as he approached T2. Not far behind were fellow Aussies Tim Reed and Craig Alexander, plus Riederer and Wild.

Fierce cyclist German Michael Raelert was given a five-minute drafting penalty which affected his placing dramatically, but he appealed and was moved from seventh place to fourth by the end of the race.

Subic Bay 70.3 Men’s run

The Philippines is well-known for its ferociously humid climate, and the Subic Bay event was no exception. Montgomery may have pushed too hard in the bike as he slowly fell back in the run, overtaken by Riederer, Wild, Reed and Alexander.

Riederer began struggling too, and the heat overcame a number of the men, seeing Wild make it to the finish line in 3:48:24, just 33 seconds ahead of Craig Alexander. Tim Reed came in third, creating an Aussie-dominated podium.

1. Ruedi Wild (CHE) 3:48:24
2. Craig Alexander (AUS) 3:48:57
3. Tim Reed (AUS) 3:50:17
4. Michael Raelert (DEU) 3:51:17
5. Sven Riederer (CHE) 3:52:04

Subic Bay 70.3 Women’s swim

Radka Kahlefeldt from the Czech Republic was gearing up for a win from the start, and was keen to keep Swiss Caroline Steffen at arm’s length after a fierce battle at last year’s race. Unfortunately for her though, Steffen fought back just as fiercely from the start, and the powerful duo created an impressive lead in the swim.

Subic Bay 70.3 Women’s bike

The battle continued throughout the bike, and as T2 loomed, the two competitors had a huge 4:39 lead on Australian Dimity-Lee Duke.

Subic Bay 70.3 Women’s run

Despite the heat, the women fought fiercely and created a breathtaking lead in the run, the leg that would become the deciding factor. Even though she fought fiercely, Caroline Steffen was unable to maintain her lead and was overtaken. Radkha Kahlefeldt ran to victory in 4:22:55, with Caroline Steffen coming in second in 4:25:55. Unable to keep up with the fierce duo’s pace, third place went to Duke, finishing almost 20 minutes behind the leaders in 4:41:57.

1. Radka Kahlefeldt (CZE) 4:22:13
2. Caroline Steffen (CHE) 4:25:55
3. Dimity Lee Duke (AUS) 4:41:57
4. Kate Bevilaqua (AUS) 4:47:29
5. Sarah Lester (AUS) 4:59:19

Caroline Steffen posted on twitter: “Big congrats to the champ @radkavodickova and @TheDuke912 Always good fun to race with ya.” Steffen also reposted a great photo on her Instagram with the text “Female Pro Radka Kahlefeldt shares a tender moment with friendly rival Caroline Steffen after capturing the elusive Subic Bay title for the first time.” This photo, and kind sentiment between the two rivals helped make the Subic Bay 70.3 a true nail biter early in the season.