Cannondale Wins at Ironman

Chrissie Wellington Is World Champion! Again!

Course Records Fall as Cannondale Athletes Ride Strong in Kona

Chrissie Wellington, aboard her Cannondale Slice, put in a fast bike leg on her way to a third straight Ironman World Championship and a course record time of 8:54:03. The impressive performance was topped by only 22 of the fastest men!

Coming out of the water in 8th place, Chrissie built up a lead of over eleven minutes on the bike. “I knew going into the race the competition was going to be tough and the bike was going to be my ace in the hole,” said Wellington. “Throughout the tough conditions my Cannondale Slice performed flawlessly as if it was the wind beneath my wings.”

Finally showing signs of fatigue towards the end of the run, Chrissie struggled in the finale of the marathon, but the win was never in question. The only thing in doubt at that point was whether Chrissie would break Paula Newby-Fraser's seventeen-year-old course record.

"The first kilometers of the run were difficult for me and then I found my pace, but then I struggled towards the end," Chrissie said at the post-race press conference. "It was only until the last five miles that I changed my watch over to cumulative race time and saw that I was on track for the course record, but those were the most difficult miles of the race for me[…] I do hope that my course record will be broken. That's the benchmark that shows that we can get faster."

A hard-charging Mirinda Carfrae started the run in 9th place, but set a new run course record of 2:56:51 to come in second, twenty minutes behind Chrissie. Her impressive finish is all the more spectacular considering that the race was her first-ever at an Ironman distance. As to whether she could one day beat Chrissie, Mirinda replied, "I think anything is possible and she's only human. I certainly hope so, I don't think it's going to happen any time soon. She's basically taking on the pro men."

Supermom Sandra Wallenhorst also used a strong run to net herself a top-ten finish, coming in 8th to round out the impressive day for Cannondale-sponsored women.

On the men's side, Swiss Ronnie Schildknecht passed 32 competitors on the bike on his way to 18th place overall. Likewise, Miki Weiss put in a blazing bike leg of 4:30:04 and passed 68 people on his way to 25th. With no official ranking available at press time, Weiss' bike leg appears to have been second-fastest of the day!

Cannondale triathletes compete, win, and set world records and fastest splits aboard the Cannondale Slice. The Slice features class-leading aerodynamics to achieve higher speeds. It is one of the absolute lightest triathlon bikes on the planet and has the best stiffness-to-weight ratio in the industry. In addition, the S.A.V.E. tube shapings soak up road buzz and leave you fresher for the run. Chrissie says so... imagine what it can do for you!