THE BEST OF 2017 TRIATHLON

Vision-sponsored triathletes, using world-class gear like TriMax carbon Si aerobars and Metron 81 wheels, have enjoyed another memorable season with the full list of achievements rolling into 2018. Here are some of our favourite highlights.

No place like home

Denmark’s Michelle Vesterby, known for her vibrant and positive character, had plenty to smile about in August when the 34-year-old won Ironman Copenhagen for the second time. The victory was Vesterby’s fourth Ironman title after wins at Lanzarote (2012), Copenhagen (2015) and Cozumel (2016).

At the heart of Vesterby’s fourth Ironman triumph was a women’s-best 4:48:03 bike split, which gave the Dane a 13:02min lead over Britain’s Corinne Abraham. After a 3:15:05 marathon, Vesterby finished in 9:00:19 to beat Abraham by 7:47mins.

Portuguese triathlete Pedro Gomes enjoyed a consistent season, racking up five podium spots. His successful year began back in March when the 33-year-old bid farewell to his home for the past three years, Arizona, by winning Toughman Arizona (1.9km swim/90km bike/21.1km run).

Gomes then upped sticks to base himself out of Dubai while his wife, Carolina, took a job in London. And it was in England’s capital that Gomes took his second victory of 2017 when winning the Olympic Plus race at the world’s largest multisport event – The London Triathlon – powering around the unique 1.5km swim/80km bike/10km run format in 3:05:47. Gomes also finished third at the Vitoria-Gasteiz Triathlon, the Wings for Life run race and, more recently, the DIT Dubai International Triathlon.

New Zealand’s Terenzo Bozzone has seemingly lit up the professional triathlon circuit forever but, arguably, at 32 he’s still yet to reach his peak. That’s despite entering 2017 with over 35 international titles to his name. Bozzone added two more victories to his glittering CV at Ironman 70.3 Cozumel and Ironman 70.3 Los Cabos before finishing a superb sixth at Ironman Hawaii. Who knows – will 2018 be the year Bozzone wins the Ironman World Champs for the first time?

Canadian conquest

More Vision success came in the form of Canada’s Dylan Gleeson. Gleeson returned to his age-group roots after several seasons on the professional circuit, but he’s clearly juggling his accountancy firm and near full-time training well with overall victory at Ironman Canada. Gleeson was also the first amateur off the bike at Ironman Hawaii.

Another triathlete accustomed to leaving T2 in the lead is uber-bike Andrew Starykowicz. The 35-year-old is revered for his riding power, setting numerous course records… but records were the last thing on Starykowicz’s mind as he entered 2017 still unsure of whether he’d truly be able to rediscover his race-pace following recovery from being hit by a truck in August 2016. It left him with a broken leg and multiple wounds all over his body.

Incredibly, just 250 days later, Starykowicz set the Ironman cycling record for the third time in his career, registering an unbelievable 4:01:14 for the 180km bike leg. On his long road to recovery, there had been one phrase Starykowicz kept repeating: ‘It’s not about how hard or how far you get knocked down, it’s about how high you rise when you get back up.’ He certainly looked down from the stars above Texas.

Other notable Vision 2017 triathlon achievements include: Paul Ambrose hitting the full Ironman and 70.3 top-10 five times; Anna Eberhardt winning Ironman 70.3 Taiwan; and Alessandro Degasperi finishing 20^th at Ironman Hawaii as well as taking second at Ironman France.

We congratulate all Vision-powered athletes for their performances and achievements in 2017 and look forward to more throughout the 2018 season.