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Ironman UK, Sherborne Castle - 21th August 2005Rhodsey Takes #1 At Ironman UK!Dear Sponsors and FriendsI have just returned from Sherbourne, England to my training base here in Switzerland and am now able to return email to the over 50plus emails I have received. What an amazing day Sunday the 21st of August was for me - it was like a Dream!! I woke at 3.40am and just felt on. It is hard to describe but you just know when your body is ready to race. I got down to the Transition early, as the race start was at 6am, the earliest Ironman I would have done. As you all probably know there was a 2-hour Time delay as the fog was so thick you could barely see more than one Buoy ahead. It was the longest time I have ever been in my wetsuit before a race start. I kept very relaxed and as we waited; many athletes were complaining but I knew everyone was in the same situation. Finally the Fog lifted and we were underway at 8.10am the latest start to an Ironman I have ever done!! Straight from the gun I took the lead and forced the pace. Nobody was helping me until I did some backstroke and made other swimmers in the bunch take up some of the pace. I ended up leading out of the water in a fast 45:31. I was on a mission and didn't look back. I wanted to spread the field out on the bike so I hammered the first 5miles to the big hill; my chain was slipping up the hill and I smacked my knee making it bleed. I was worried about breaking the new Chain I just had fitted at the bike shop but just kept hammering and yelling out for a Mechanic. At 70k it stopped slipping so don't really know what was going on with it but was really proud that I had stayed focused and had not let this throw me!! I had built a big lead but had never been given a time split so just kept pushing. The last 15miles were so tough and I struggled but was sure that everyone behind me would be feeling these hills as well. The only person I was worried about on the bike was the awesome cyclist Francois Chabaud. I managed to break 5 hours by a minute, which was amazing as the bike was 4miles longer and the toughest I have ever ridden. When I entered transition for the run I asked for a time of my lead. I got the answer, about 10mins, I thought great that's about 2.5k of running. I set off on the run and had a real spring in my step and this was a great feeling as usually you are stuck to the pavement. I just kept pushing and was running the best I had ever felt in an Ironman and at the 21.1k turnaround I ran over 3k before I saw Francois coming the other way and knew I could win if I kept a smooth rhythm. At 24miles they threw a stair bridge at us and this was the hardest part of the run. I walked every step with aching cramp but it wasn't far to home!! As I came to Sherbourne Castle the crowd was huge and I was given a KIWI Flag from a friend of mine. I stopped just before the red carpet and waived and kissed the sky, I was on a massive high crossing the line in elation!! This was MY HAWAII!!!!! I'm back and it was great to have beaten such a quality field of Ironman Athlete's. Thanks to my Awesome Family of Sponsors who have been with me through my Journey. I will answer everyone's emails over the next couple of days. Thankyou again for all your support. Kind Regards - Bryan Rhodes Initial Race ReportAn In-form Bryan Rhodes led from start to finish to take the crown at the Inaugural Ironman UK and in the process has become a three time Ironman winner, carrying the New Zealand Silver Fern sports flag over the line to huge applause in 8:42:14.
Rhodes claimed his third international Ironman victory in impressive fashion, clearing out on the 180km cycling leg before pulling further away in the marathon distance (42km) running leg to win by a whopping 25 minutes in Dorset, south of London.
 He had prepared well for the race, winning the Busingen Triathlon in a week earlier, also courtesy of a strong bike leg. "I'm the first Kiwi to win three Ironman races away from home," an elated Rhodes said. "I guess now it's really time to shift up a gear and join the big time." For Rhodes it was a stunning race, reminiscent of his first two wins where he swam almost out of sight (45:31), solidified his lead on the bike (4:59:17 the only sub-five-hour time on the day) and then cruised home in the run (2:53:55) for a final time of 8:42:14, the only time under nine hours on this tough day. Originally Stephen Sheldrake from New Zealand joined Rhodes out front. The UK’s Stephen Bayliss joined the two and that’s the way it stayed until other ‘uber’ bikers arrived in form of Francois Chabaud, Olaf Sabatschus and Nick Marland. As the bike miles unwound over undulating hills and dales, though, Rhodes just kept cementing his lead until he eventually arrived back at T2 after completing the unique, challenging double loop bike course some 16 minutes ahead of relentless pursuer Chabaud.  In fact Rhodes was caught ‘speeding’ by the local constabulary, running the 50mph zone at 55, and they later set him up, coming to the finish line to ‘charge’ him! (Great stuff you don’t catch Rhodesy out too often!)Behind Chabaud the field included Olaf Sabatschus, Gerrit De Pauw; Julian Jenkinson and then Stephen Bayliss, who found the pace on the bike electric. Chabaud set off with a vengeance on the run, but couldn’t catch the Kiwi, who pulled away for a sizeable win. It was 25 long minutes before Chabaud would reach the line in second, while the gallant German, Olaf Sabatschus, was less than three minutes further back followed by Belgium’s Gerrit de Pauw and then first Englishman, Stephen Bayliss. A personal race report from Bryan will follow soon but right now the winning photo describes the sense of victory and pride felt by Bryan and all his friends and family. Results: Men
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