Berkel and Keat triumphant in fantastic Challenge Copenhagen debut

The Aussies ruled the inaugural Challenge Copenhagen ironman event in the Danish capital Sunday August 15. It was a glorious debut of Challenge Copenhagen with more than 125.000 spectators cheering the 1.600 athletes on in the center of the Danish capital during the marathon.

Heavy rain floods almost all of Saturday threatened the race Sunday morning and for the athletes it turned out to be a battle of not only fitness but also luck as flat tires were all over the two bike loops og 90 kilometres.

Australian rising star Tim Berkel took his second iron-distance win of his career with a 8:07:39 finish after breaking away late on the bike and taking the victory home on the run with a 2:46 marathon finish. Keegan Williams of New Zealand took second place five minutes back with Dane Jens Grønbek taking the bronze almost 10 minutes back.

"The swim was where I wanted it to be, and I came out on the bike with the main guys. I feel bad for Martin being so unlucky in his home race, and it would have been interesting to battle him on the rest of the bike and the run. After Martin pulled out the pack weren’t going that fast, so I had almost 3 minutes on the start of the run. Once I found my running legs I was fine but I hit a big hole on the run after 36 km and the crowd helped me finish the race in style. I’m not sure I would have made it if it wasn’t for the crowd. The spectators and atmosphere was crazy and it is awesome to race in Denmark. The finish line is the best finish line I have ever seen. They played “I’m too sexy” when I came across the line and I had a little chuckle about the song because they played it when I won my first ironman. Today I proved that I can go off the front on the bike and still win. It is really great to be here and I’d love to come back to defend my title next year", says 26 year old Tim Berkel.

Danish favorites unlucky with numerous flats

Two of the Danish favorites had all the misfortunate luck a Dane could have in a race on home soil. European Long Distance silvermedalist Martin Jensen was second out of the water and quickly opened up a huge gap on the bike over the other favorites, including Berkel, Chris McDonald and Williams.

After 25 km he got a flat tire but lost only a minute and surged into a 3:44 lead after 93 km of the bike ride. He had just put down the hammer to get a big advantage off the bike when he got one more puncture and after loosing his spare tire on the cobblestones of Lyngby, the Danish favorite had to pull out after 118 km on the bike with a 4 minute lead leaving the Dane devastated on the side of the road while his competitors blasted by.

Jimmy Johnsen had 3 flat tires and lost 15 minutes on that account, but out on the run the Danish athlete set a blistering pace and finished with a phenomenal marathon of 2:43 - a race best - to cross the line in 6th place.

Keat wins Challenge Copenhagen and breaks 9 hours again

Australian Rebekah Keat recorded her first win in three years despite a crash early on the bike to win Challenge Copenhagen in 8:54:36 again racing an ironman in sub 9 hours.
Belinda Granger finished her 39th ironman in style taking second place 20 minutes back and Swede Camilla Lindholm was 32 minutes back in third position.

“I crashed early on the bike when I cut a corner too sharp and had to make a bunny hop over the gutter with 30 k/hour. I hurt my knee a little and got my front derailleur bent and the front wheel buckled a bit, but it just made me go harder and the weather turned out fine after the first half hour,” says the happy winner who was amazed by the Danish audience on the run.

“My goal was to have the fastest bike split and ride like Chrissie does as I usually don’t ride from the front. I’m happy about it and wanted to prove that my bike is strong and I had a personal best on the bike. I really paid for it on the run though and the crowd was fantastic. The spectators stood three people deep at the turnaround and really kept me in the race and in front the entire marathon. I had a really bad run but I am so happy about this win,” says the 32 year old aussie.

Atmosphere was great

The organizers were thrilled after a race that was a great success with happy athletes and spectators and a world class venue with a finishing area just outside the Danish Parliament.

“We really appreciate all the support from the Copenhageners and to have over 125,000 spectators on the marathon course is absolutely fantastic. We were worried after the heaviest rain fall in Copenhagen in years on Saturday and T1 was a catastrophe on Saturday night but it all turned out nice on race day,” says Thomas Veje Olsen of the Organizing Committee.

“Overall we couldn’t be more satisfied. We have had some challenges in this being the first race but we are ready for next year and already look forward to next year where we hope we will do the race even better and with hopefully 2,000 single starters next year,” Thomas Veje Olsen says.

Top-3 men:

Tim Berkel, Australia, 8:07:39
Keegan Williams, New Zealand + 5:14
Jens Grønbek, Denmark + 9:55

Top-3 women:

Rebekah Keat, Australia, 8:54:36
Belinda Granger, Australia +20:49
Camilla Lindholm, Sweden + 32:19

For full race results – click here: http://results.ultimate.dk/events/2010/triathlon/challengecopenhagen/estandings/front/frameset.php

For further information, please contact race director Thomas Veje Olsen at +45 20 72 50 80