Moffatt, Alexander show class to claim Geelong title

In hot and windy conditions Beijing Olympic bronze medalist Emma Moffatt proved she was a class above the rest of the women's, and some of the men’s, field in today’s IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong, taking the win by more than 13 minutes.

Moffatt, whose focus now turns to the 2014 Commonwealth Games, led the race from wire to wire dominating the competition in the women’s race and finishing top ten overall.

“That was tough, the course is tough and the weather conditions out there made it really hard. Right now I don’t feel really good, but hopefully in a few days I’ll be able to reflect positively,” Moffatt said.

The dual Olympian exited the water with a four minute lead, a lead she extended to just under ten minutes on the bike, before running on strongly to take her first win over the 70.3 distance.

The men’s race turned out to be a battle between three time IRONMAN World champion Craig Alexander and fellow Aussie pro Tim Reed.

“We had Commonwealth Games gold medalists, dual Olympians, world champions in that field and they all pushed me today. I love racing here in Geelong, the waterfront here is beautiful, and I’m really happy to notch up another win,“ Alexander said.

“Those conditions out there today were brutal. I’ve never had a head wind that strong during a run, when we had it at our backs it felt like we were running 3 minutes per kilometere, but into it felt like we were running at 5 minutes per kilometere. Everyone out there today is earning their money.”

The men’s race played out as expected with Clayton Fettell leading out of the water with Courtney Atkinson and James Seear hot on his heels.

Young Tasmanian James Hodge took the lead early on the bike and held onto a slim advantage over Craig Alexander, Peter Robertson, Casey Munro and Tim Reed until the 60km mark.

It was at the 60km mark of the bike leg that Alexander and Reed took control of the race building a 1:25 buffer over Hodge with just under a minute back to Robertson.

Out onto the run Alexander showed his class dropping Reed on the second lap to take the title by just over three minutes.

Both Robertson and Hodge fell victim to the fast finishing Melbourne Commonwealth Games gold medallist Brad Kahlefeldt who recorded a blistering 1:18:29 run leg to fill out the podium.

Following the elite men and women the age group competitors fought their own battles, in tough conditions, to reach the finish line in Geelong.

Results
Men
1.         Craig Alexander              AUST          25:14          2:16:54         1:20:40         4:05:59

2.         Tim Reed                         AUST          25:19          2:17:01         1:24:11         4:09:33

3.         Brad Kahlefledt              AUST          25:07                                 1:18:29         4:10:41

4.         Peter Robertson             AUST          25:11          2:20:08         1:25:01         4:13:53

5.         Casey Munro                  AUST          25:10          2:24:42         1:22:24         4:15:20

Women
1.         Emma Moffatt                AUST          26:48          2:32:28         1:28:27         4:30:57

2.         Rebecca Hoschke           AUST          36:36          2:36:13         1:26:29         4:43:10

3.         Lisa Marangon                AUST          30:51          2:37:53         1:37:58         4:50:14

4.         Jessica Fleming               AUST          32:46          2:38:30         1:39:33         4:54:15

5.         Tineke Stewart               AUST          35:46          2:42:36         1:34:45         4:56:33

Television coverage:
A one hour special will air on 7Mate, Sunday, 23 February at 2.30pm.