Drama-free day: Pontano, Stewart cruise to triathlon victories

From the lack of drama it might appear 2009 Ford Ironman Coeur d’Alene winners Francisco Pontano and Tyler Stewart celebrated Father’s Day on Sunday with a jog in the park.

That’s assuming anyone would consider 26.2 miles of a marathon after a 2.4-mile swim and 112-mile bicycle ride such a simple endeavor, especially with temperatures barely in the 60s and a biting wind out of the south – though the rain held off until evening.

The uncontested runs were the result of the way the two hammered the bike portion of the seventh-annual triathlon, especially Stewart.

The 31-year old from Novato, Calif., destroyed the course bike record to comfortably set a new standard for the 140.6 miles.

“I knew it hurt for a reason,” Stewart said. “Today I felt kind of good and everyone kept telling me I was cutting more and more time on the girls in the first group. By the time I caught them I passed them pretty easily and I (decided) I’ll get myself as much as a gap as I can, that’s what I did.”

She finished in 9 hours, 23.21 minutes, almost 8 minutes faster than the previous best and 8:49 in front of Australian Kate Major with defending champion Heather Wurtele third, 11:03 back.

Joanna Zeiger of Boulder, Colo., won in 9:31.07 three years ago.

Pontano took the lead 20 miles into the bike ride and was never challenged, though the 35-year old Spaniard said through an interpreter that he didn’t feel comfortable he would win his third Ironman until the last kilometer.

“Anything can happen,” he said. “The run lasts a long time, many hours.”

Pontano finished in 8:32.12, almost 9 minutes shy of the course record, but 9:51 in front of T.J. Tollakson of Des Moines, Iowa. German Maximilian Longree had a strong run to finish third, 18 minutes back.

Each winner earned $8,500 out of a total purse of $50,000.

Women

Stewart’s previous Ironman was in November and it was almost her last.

“I did Ironman Arizona and I had a huge health issue, a big thyroid problem,” she said. “I almost died, almost had a heart attack. I dropped out of the race and spent all winter long doing nothing until April.”

She returned to competition in a half-Ironman and her confidence took a hit when she was sixth off the bike and was stunned to think she made her Sunday spin look so easy.

“That was an act because it was not easy,” Stewart said. “I lost a lot of confidence in my cycling (and conditioning) the last six months. When they told me that, I said, ‘Are you kidding?’ Four hours, 59 minutes on a course like that, I never would have imagined that.”

A good 6 minutes behind the leaders coming out of the water, she took the lead not much before the midway point of the bikes.By destroying the previous bike best of 5:15.05, Stewart had a good 10-minute lead starting the run.

Major, a two-time champion, and Wurtele cut deep into her lead in the first half of the run, but after getting within about 3 minutes fell back.

“I sort of raced how I felt,” Major said. “I knew she was a great biker. I tried to hold my pace. I made up like 7 minutes on her but it’s a marathon, not a half so that didn’t help me toward the end.”

Major was one of the few who didn’t complain about the swim.

“I like it like that, sort of choppy, so it was like swimming in the ocean,” she said. “It was my kind of swim, getting hammered (by the waves).”

Wurtele, from Kelowna, British Columbia, was seconds behind Major in the water, went by her on the bike and eventually finished 4½ minutes faster than last year.

“Of course I would like to win,” she said. “These conditions are a lot harder than last year and there is just some stellar competition. I can’t complain, I had a personal best.”

In fourth place, almost 28 minutes back, was 1998 Gonzaga Prep graduate Haley Cooper.

“That was really exciting,” she said. “The time I did would have been second last year but it was a great field so I’m proud. It was really fun. I felt way better than I did last year, on the run anyway.

“I get a little better every year. I’ve never made any outstanding leaps but I’ve never had a plateau so inch by inch I’m getting there.”

Men

Pontano figured he had to win big on the bike but he never gave anyone a glimmer of hope on the run, stretching his lead over Tollakson and anyone else thought to have a chance at the transition.

“The bike is my strong suit,” he said. “To win I really had to have an advantage, 6-8 minutes and not get dizzy. I was feeling well going into the run.”

For Tollakson it was his second straight runner-up finish – he lost by 17 seconds in Arizona, after a third before that.

“I was 6 minutes (behind) out of the water,” he said. “Normally I’m pretty good but the chop today was brutal on me. I started feeling sick in the water and had to back off my pace.”

He dropped only 1:08 on the bike.

“I could have maybe been a little more aggressive and gone after him, but then you’re really sacrificing the run,” Tollakson said. “I kept my own pace, kept it pretty steady, and on the run did the same thing. I kind of gambled that I’d get a break. He had a great race today and stayed out front all day. It’s a good win for him.””