Helle Frederiksen has taken bronze in the 2014 Austin Lifetime Tri. In an impressive and exciting display of Olympic Distance racing, Helle (2:01:47) finished right behind winner Sarah Haskins (2:00:53) and Alicia Kaye (2:01:31).
Helle seems to have a 2014 season ticket to the tri podium, collecting top-three spots in all her races so far. In April, she won the Ironman 70.3 San Juan. She also finished second in the Ironman 70.3 Monterrey, the Miami Lifetime Tri and the St. Anthony's 5150.
The downtown Austin course featured a 1500m non-wetsuit swim, a 4-loop city course with three 180-degree turns in each lap, and a flat and fast 10km run to wrap things up. Helle was in the mix from the beginning. Out of the water in fourth position, she jumped on the bike 40 seconds behind race leader Haskins. A fierce bike leg saw Helle starting the run in third place, behind Kaye and Haskins. While Haskins moved past Kaye to take the win, Helle remained in third until the finish.
Helle thoroughly enjoyed today’s two hours of “super hard, honest racing” with Sarah Haskins and Alicia Kaye. “We just push each other so hard. It’s the little things that determine whether you finish first, second or third. Today I got the third spot. I am happy to get on the podium. But it was super, super tough. We had some different conditions today with a lot of rain in the morning, so the course was slippery. With four laps you just have to be careful in the turns, but I managed to stay on my bike. I felt really strong; my training is really paying off. Today was not my day to win, but that day will come.”
