As part of the lead group from the start, Amey held off a fast-finishing Marcel Zamora to take the title on a blisteringly hot day in Andalucia. In the women’s race, Italian Martina Dogana finished strongly to take the title against a battling Tiina Boman.
Starting under the cover of darkness, Amey immediately took the race to his competitors as the field split into packs. With the leaders working together, it wasn’t until a majestic sunrise illuminated the stunning Andalucian countryside that things started to get really interesting.
As the lead group made it’s way towards Medina Sidonia - and the steep 3km climb that awaited them – the pack began to string out. Amey took advantage and helped initiate a breakaway group of three who worked together to take a lead of 90-seconds going through 100km.
This gap continued to grow as the leaders hit the coast, and by the time Amey entered T1 (4:02:56) it had grown to nearly four minutes over the chase group spearheaded by Zamora.
The swim, across the fast-flowing Rio Guadalquivir, served to split this group of three, with Amey leading out of the water.
And from that point onwards it was a battle of attrition.
On the sun-drenched beach and into a headwind, Amey too flight knowing that Zamora has a strong run on him. But Amey can also hold his own on the run, and had a comfortable lead going through the 10km mark.
With the sun at its hottest and a solid headwind challenging the leader, victory was far from secure. And Zamora was working hard. Going through 10km in the second-fastest split of the day (27:30), Zamora put the hammer down in the next 20km.
It wasn’t enough. Amey held off the Spaniard to take the win in 6:09:40, with Zamora in second (6:12:31) and Alejandro Santamaria in third (6:15:12).
The women’s race became a two-horse affair following an accident on the bicycle that left Ironman 70.3 Monaco winner Christel Robin with a shoulder injury that ruled her out of the race.
And the race quickly became a ding-dong battle. Initially it was Tiina Boman who appeared to have the upper hand, the Finnish athlete going through 100km with a 90 second lead (2:39:39) on the chasing Martina Dogana (2:41:24). But Boman couldn’t sustain the early pace, entering T1 twelve-seconds adrift of Dogana (4:28:28).
Boman, however, demonstrated her strength in the water and re-took the lead with a blistering 14:15 swim against the current.
But Boman’s lead was too slim to hold-off Dogana. The Italian immediately re-took the lead, and had built up a lead of 90-seconds through 10km. As Dogana put the hammer down, Boman had answer and the Italian eventually crossed the line in 6:55:48 with Boman second (7:02:32) and Maria Bravo in third (7:56:13)
TriStar200 Andalucia
169km Bike – 1km Swim – 30km Run
Men’s Results
1. Paul Amey (ENG) 6:09:40
2. Marcel Zamora Perez (ESP) 6:12:31
3. Alejandro Santamaria (ESP) 6:15:12
4. Victor Del Corral Morales (ESP) 6:17:04
5. Thomas Darby (FIN) 6:35:19
Women’s Results
1. Martina Dogana (ITA) 6:55:48
2. Tiina Boman (FIN) 7:02:32
3. Maria Bravo Zuniga (ESP) 7:56:13
4. Nieves Infante Velez (ESP) 8:16:20
5. Dolores Fernandez Sanchez (ESP) 8:26:49
Article from Triathlete Europe
http://triathlete-europe.competitor.com/2009/09/12/amey-dogana-win-tristar200-andalucia/
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