What an amazing day it was for the BMC-Etixx Pro Triathlon Team powered by Uplace yesterday. Ronnie Schildknecht went on to win Ironman Switzerland for a record breaking 9th time. The Swiss athlete led a strong field in the Zurich to take an historical win in a time of 08:17:04. Timo Bracht (GER; 08:24:13) and Jan Van Berkel (SUI; 08:29:12) completed the pro men’s podium.
Only a few hours later BMC-Etixx Team mate David McNamee took the victory in Challenge Poznan. For David it was the second win in a month's time after his dominating victory in Challenge Galway at the end of June. McNamee took the title in Poland in a winning time of 3:54:22. Chris Fisher finised 2nd and Ignasi Baldenow 3rd.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Over the moon
Chasing a record breaking ninth title in Switzerland and on the hunt for his Kona qualification, Ronnie started his day with a solid swim. The BMC-Etixx athlete wrapped up the swim in 10th place (swim 55:39). In the bike leg, Schildknecht (bike 4:31:01) rode impressive in the early parts and managed to close the gap to the front of the race at the 60k mark. Ronnie than settled into the lead group. In the second half of the bike Deisenhofer made the break, building a lead of almost 5 minutes on the chase group of 4. Ronnie started his run at a blistering pace with Bracht and Van Berkel trailing in his footsteps the first 10k. He patiently bided his time until making his decisive move at the halfway point in the marathon (run: 2:47:07). Schildknecht took over the lead and from that point, the race was Ronnie’s to win. The BMC-Etixx finished strong with more than 7 minute to spare and created real history winning Ironman Switzerland for a 9th time.
Photo credit: Ingo Kutsche
An elated Ronnie looked back on a big day in Zurich: "This is really, really amazing. I am over the moon. I am incredibly proud and satisfied, especially for the team. The swim went well, on the bike I felt good but not super. I was good enough to settle comfortably in the lead group, but I lacked that little extra to break away. But I really trusted in my run and therefore kept my calm not wanting to make the difference on the bike yet. I am very pleased with my marathon. I feel I have made a big step forward again in my running this year. The last 10k were phenomenal. Pure emotion and enjoyment. The support was fantastic out there. I am really looking forward with confidence to the World Championship Ironman in Hawaii now.
David McNamee wins Challenge Poznan
David McNamee secured his second win in a month 's time. After his strong performance in Galway last month, David went on to dominate the race in Poland from start to finish.
David was very pleased with his performance in Poznan: "It is fantastic to take my second win of the season for BMC-Etixx p/b Uplace. I am very happy. The swim was tough, I had to work really hard to hang on. Once on the bike I found my rytme straight away and managed to pull away. I felt good on the bike and could gradually increase my lead. I came off the bike with a solid gap and could really control during the run. I was great to be able to dominate the bike and really enjoy the run. It is a great feeling to go into the next block of training with a win. On Tuesday I travel to Les Angels in France to start my training camp and build up to the European Championship half distance ETU and the world Championship in Kona.
