Markus Fachbach of Germany tops the Ironman Regensburg results 2011 and wins his first Ironman. Mary Beth Ellis on her way to victory.
Andreas Raelert of Germany is favored as the one most likely to finish on top of the Ironman Regensburg results 2011.
Andreas has had an amazing past few years. He started it all off when he first took up the 70.3 distance in 2008 and came in second in the 70.3 World Championships followed by a win at Ironman Florida.
The rest as they say, is history. In 2009 Andreas had a third place finish in Hawaii at the Ironman World Championships and then last year had a second place finish in Ironman Hawaii.
Will 2011 be the year he wins in Hawaii?
Only time will tell. It is going to be a sensational race with the best Ironman talent in the world all coming together in the Fall of 2011 in Kona.
As far as this year goes, Andreas comes off a win in Ironman Mallorca 70.3 and most recently a sensational world record winning time of 7:41:33 in the Roth Challenge long distance triathlon.
When looking over the pro male field for the upcoming race, it is hard to find someone who will challenge Andreas for the win. However there is always the chance that Andreas is not fully recovered from his last big effort in Roth.
In the event he is not at his best it looks like fellow German Markus Fachbach might be able to force the issue if Andreas falters.
Lothar Leder was the first to ever break the 8-hour barrier for the Ironman distance, but it would be a surprise to see him challenge Andreas for the win in this race.
THE PRO MEN START LIST1 Raelert Andreas.......(Germany)2 Goerke Nils...........(Germany)3 Fachbach Markus.......(Germany)4 Brader Christian......(Germany)5 Bischof Marcel........(Germany)6 De Elias Mari0........(Argentina)7 Hadley Brian..........(United States)8 Kovac Matjaz..........(Slovenia)9 Kriegl Flo............(Austria)10 Leder Lothar.........(Germany)11 M?ller Daniel........(Germany)12 Nemcik Marek.........(Slovakia)13 Pedraza Sebastian....(Italy)15 Sickl Heinrich.......(Austria)16 Vallant Rene.........(Austria)17 Wagner Martin........(Germany)18 De Paolis Luca.......(Italy)19 Reichel Horst........(Germany)20 Riesen Stefan........(Switzerland)21 Vytrisal Frank.......(Germany)
As far as the pro women go, there is a Leder who could very well end up on the podium. Nicole Leder is Lothar's wife and is no stranger to the top spot on the Ironman podium as she has won four Ironman races.
However I have to go with Mary Beth Ellis to win this race on the strength of the recent form she showed in winning Ironman Austria in spectacular fashion with a time of 8:43:34.
Much will depend on how well Mary Beth Recovered from her huge effort in Klangenfurt. It seems that more and more Ironman pros are doing more races virtually back to back and at times that second race can end up being a tough race if they are not fully recovered.
I think much of this has to do with gaining enough pro points in order to qualify to compete in Hawaii in the Fall.
THE PRO WOMENRabe Katja...............(Germany)Jesberger Heidi..........(Germany)Streiter Ute.............(Austria)Burow Katrin.............(Germany)Kamenz Annett............(Germany)Monticeli Ariane.........(Brazil)Leder Nicole.............(Germany)Bregar Olja..............(Slovenia)Weerd Mirjam.............(Netherlands)Ellis Mary Beth..........(United States)
THE COURSE
It's always nice to see a one-loop swim course. It reminds me of ironman Hawaii and Ironman Canada which were both one loop courses(and still are)back in the day when I was racing every year.
I guess I like one-loop because I always struggled in the swim and doing the course once was enough for me.
In this race, the athletes will actually be swimming a smaller loop within a big loop. It looks like two loops but it's not really. It's just the unique design of the swim course.
The bike course looks like it will be really fast and for the most part is a fairly flat course with lots of rollers. However there is one good climb that will have to be done twice.
After leaving the swim/bike transition, the athletes will do two loops of the bike course before ending up at a second transition area and the start of the run.
The run is comprised of four-loops and will be spectator friendly which will be a great boost to all the German pros and age-groupers alike who are in this race.
RACE DAY
Andreas Raelert is a great swimmer and almost always will come out of the water in the lead pack, or at least not very far behind. He is an excellent front-runner and often he will get the lead very quickly coming out of the swim/bike transition and is never caught if he is on his game.
Today in great swim conditions it is no different for Andreas and he is less than a minute from the leader at the end of the swim.
TOP TEN MEN IN THE SWIM1 Bartlett David...........00:46:412 Diederen Bas.............00:46:483 Reichel Horst............00:46:514 Fachbach Markus..........00:47:195 Raelert Andreas..........00:47:266 Chevrot Denis............00:47:428 Klein Jean-philippe......00:49:519 Richter Stefan...........00:49:5210 Flander Marton..........00:49:53
On the womens's side, Mary Beth Ellis is right near the front for the women as they make their way around the 2.4 mile course.
As a matter of fact, by the end of the swim Mary Beth is first out of the water. Her biggest threat in this race will most likely be Katja Rabe who has had some very strong results as of late.
Last year Katja was second in this race so she is quite familiar with what it will take to win.
TOP TEN WOMEN IN THE SWIM1 Ellis Mary Beth...........00:49:202 Weerd Mirjam..............00:50:173 Rabe Katja................00:52:344 Jesberger Heidi...........00:52:565 Leder Nicole..............00:52:586 Zingler Katharina.........00:54:587 Paige Becky...............00:55:008 Kamenz Annett.............00:55:529 Haude Inga................00:56:0810 Marquart Anita...........00:56:10
THE BIKE
It is a bit of a surprise that Markus Fachbach has taken over the lead in the bike and that Andreas is currently in third place.
However it appears that Andreas Raelert injuured himself on a training run and may not be 100% for this race. He also may just be taking it easy in order to save himself for the marathon.
It could be big problems for him later on in the marathon as it is a foot-related injury, but we will see.
At 44k Markus Fachbach and Horst Reichel are sharing the lead duties as they go back and forth with Andreas not far behind.
For the women it is Katja Rabe who has taken over the lead at the 26K mark from Mirjam Weerd
So it is official, Andreas will not be competing today and his inury is far worse than first thought earlier on and he has fallen back to about 50th place on the bike and the three leaders at 67k are Markus Fachbach, Horst Reichel and Frank Vytrisal.
In the women's race, Mary Beth Ellis is riding in sixth place almost 4 minutes off the lead, but this could be her race strategy as she is an excellent marathoner.
THE TOP SIX WOMEN At 67kMirjam Weerd...............03:27:33Katja Rabe.................03:27:34Heid Jesberger.............03:27:42Annett Kamenz..............03:28:33Nicole Leder...............03:29:59Mary Beth Ellis............03:32:54
When the men reach the bike/run transition it looks a lot like this is going to be a hard-fought race without anyone pulling away to a huge lead.
TOTAL TIME FOR THE TOP FIVE MEN AS THEY BEGAN RUN1 Vytrisal Frank...........05:29:222 Fachbach Markus..........05:31:053 Riesen Stefan............05:36:514 Reichel Horst............05:39:005 Goerke Nils..............05:42:51
The women's race is tight as well and Mary Beth Ellis has worked herself into third spot as they begin the run.
TOTAL TIME FOR THE TOP FIVE WOMEN AS THEY BEGAN RUN1 Weerd Mirjam.............06:09:532 Kamenz Annett............06:10:173 Ellis Mary beth..........06:12:104 Jesberger Heidi..........06:13:335 Rabe Katja...............06:13:35
THE RUN
By the halfway point in the run Markus Fachbach leads the race by 3:46 minutes and is beginning to pull away with some very strong, controlled running. Frank Vytrisal is running in second place at this point.
At the 17k mark in the women's marathon there is quite a shift in positions. Annett Kamenz is slightly in the lead but Mary Beth Ellis is now stalking her and is only about 30 seconds behind.
Mary Beth has run a smart race today and has just waited for things to unfold in front of her and might well be just biding her time before taking over the lead for good and topping the Ironman Regensburg results 2011 for the pro women.
Unfortunately for Katja Rabe she has stomach problems and has slipped to fifth place and will have to really bear down just to be able to reach the finish line at all.
What a great race by Markus Fachbach. He is around 8k from the finish and has a lead of over six minutes on second place and appears to he heading for the top of the Ironman Regensburg results 2011.
Andreas Raelert is showing his usual class and is cheering on the runners in front of him as they pass by each other on a loop.
Andreas is struggling along on his injured foot but seems intent on reaching the finish line.
Markus Fachbach is the Ironman Regensberg 2011 champion and wins his first Ironman race in a time of 8:29:18!
There is a real battle going on for the other two podium spots between Stefan Riesen, Bas Diederen and Frank Vytrisal.
Stefan Riesen has made a pass and is in second place just 2 seconds in front of Frank Vytrisal as they enter the last few kilometers of the run.
Stefan Riesen finishes in second position in 8:36:54 and Frank Vytrisal finishes in third with a time of 8:37:12.
TOP FIVE MENFachbach, Markus 08:29:16Riesen, Stefan 08:36:54Vytrisal, Frank 08:37:12Reichel, Horst 08:42:07Leder, Lothar 08:45:30
As expected, Mary Beth Ellis has taken over the lead for the women and is likely on her way to victory as her first half marathon time is under 90 minutes as she begins to pull away.
With 9k to go, Mary Beth has increased her lead to over 4 minutes and is running strong.
Mary Beth Ellis wins Ironman Regensburg 2011
It was an excellent effort by Mary Beth and I'm glad she came through as my pick to win the race.
TOP FIVE WOMENEllis, Mary Beth 09:18:55Kamenz, Annett 09:28:23Leder, Nicole 09:30:27Jesberger, Heidi 09:32:42Rabe, Katja 09:44:45
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His win at Challenge Roth does not count towards Kona qualifying. Photo: Steve Godwin