Wind challenges Havasu triathletes

A cool, calm Lake Havasu City morning gave way to strong winds that played havoc with racers’ strategy during the Lake Havasu Triathlon, Saturday.

“Considering the wind, the swim was very hard. And swimming to the (London) Bridge, the sun was in our eyes and that made my goggles fog,” said Cedric Wane, a competitor from Tahiti and a representative of Colorado University.

Yann Caniou, of France and a student at the University of Arizona, said he found his first race in the U.S. “hot and dry” and was taken aback by the wind, which was recorded at around 20 mph by the National Weather Service.

More than 650 athletes took part in the triathlon. Stage one was a 1,500-meter swim from Windsor Beach Four at Lake Havasu State Park, into the Bridgewater Channel, to the London Bridge and back again to Windsor Beach. Stage two was a 40-kilometer bike ride from Windsor Four onto London Bridge Road, north through the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge to Crystal Beach and back again.

The final stage was a 10-kilometer run from Windsor Four, along the shoreline into the English Village, up the steps, across the London Bridge, around the island and back.

The Havasu Triathlon is the first major event of the season and a number of college triathlon clubs were represented, including Arizona State University, Arizona, Northern Arizona, Colorado, Colorado State and the United States Air Force Academy.

Jennie Thorne, of Avon, came out tops in the women’s collegiate division with an unofficial time of 2 hours, 6 minutes, 9 seconds and was followed by Leah Larson, of Boulder, Colo., and Kathy Rakel, of Tucson.

“The waves caused some trouble going to the bridge and on the bike ride it was windy going out. I didn’t feel the wind in the run though,” Rakel said. “This was a nice course, nice steep descents.”

Wane was the unofficial winner on the men collegiate side with a time of 2:10:02.6, followed by Matthew Daugherty, of Boulder, Colo., and Caniou.

In the Olympic category, Kirk Nelson of Longmont, Colo. came in first with an unofficial time of 1:59:31.4. He was followed by Jimmy Archer and Joshua Shadle, both of Boulder, Colo. If Nelson’s time holds up, he will have bested last year’s winning time by 18.6 seconds. The event’s fastest time came in 2005 when Brendon O’Brien won the race in 1:57:39.

In women’s competition, Sarah Groff, of Boulder, Colo., finished in 2:10:21.7. If that time becomes official, it will be fastest in the history of the Havasu Triathlon.

Groff was followed by Lyndsey Clapperton, of Calgary, Alberta, and Luisa Bryce of Phoenix.

The highest Lake Havasu City finisher was Dan Kuch in 23rd with a time of 2:29:13.6. Following Kuch was Aaron Boatman in 2:47:33.3, Sean Housman (2:56:40.4), Alexander Zilberman (3:03:53.5), Dana Balderama (3:26:24.9) and Robb McBride (3:33:04.4).

Local Michael Partain placed third in the Sprint Clydesdale division by crossing the finish line in 1:30:56.6. Another Lake Havasu City man, Ernie Severson, finished the race in 1:48:49.8. The Sprint is a 500-meter swim, 20K bike ride and 5K run.

A number of racers weren’t looking to win titles, they said, they were simply racing to have fun.

“Oh man, that was tough,” said Cody Thompson, of Kingman. “I’m pleased with my performance, especially with it being the first race of the season.”

“Between the wind and the hills, the only thing missing was rain,” said Kingman’s Dan Springborn. “The wind was moving the buoys and I didn’t know where I was going.”

Springborn and Thompson finished side-by-side, just one-tenth of a second separating their times.

A few locals also took part in the relay, where three people competed in separate legs of the race. Ron Chieffo took the bike and convinced his daughter-in-law Lorrie to fly in from Maryland to handle the running leg of the race while his Javalina Cantina co-worker Jill Wolfe swam the Channel.

“Javalina (Cantina) used to do the aid station and this year I though we should have a team,” Ron Chieffo said.

“I’m a runner anyway but I think this was just his way to get his grandson here,” Lorrie Chieffo said after the race.

Jonathon Grinder, of Tucson Racing, who stages the event each year, said racing went off “very, very well. We had lots of athletes under challenging conditions.”

He also noted the increased participation and number of spectators. A direct result, he said, of spring break.

“It’s to Havasu’s benefit, it’s booming here for spring break. I’ve noticed more this year than in previous years.”

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