While the temperature on Friday, March 28^th was near 80 F under beautiful, sunny skies, Saturday brought a front with rain and wind…not to mention the cold.  Yes, the sun was out on Sunday, but the race start temperature was a mere 45 F with winds this race has not seen in 8 years.  The temperature did not climb appreciably, and the winds only got stronger.  Participants in this 8^th annual Powerman Alabama and 9^th annual Whistlestop Duathlon deserve a huge applause for this battle. 

Pro Men
With late cancellations from Aussie Jonathan Hall and Denmark’s Henrik Svarre, the men’s pro field was the least international field to date.  The unfortunate world climate seemed to affect travel for men and women professionals that normally kick off their season in the USA.

The pro races started first, and Jay Cech and Greg Watson moved to the front. Cech finished the first run a few seconds in front of Watson, and those two, along with Cam Widoff, Tim Luchinske, and Eric Schwartz, were the first group on the bike within seconds of each other, and more than 30 seconds in front of sixth place.

The bike belonged to Widoff, who increased his lead over Watson and Luchinske. But near the end of the first lap of the two loop course Widoff accidentally dropped his bottle, which is considered to be abandoned equipment under USAT rules, and comes with a two-minute time penalty. Under USAT pro rules Widoff should have been required to come to a complete stop, and then have a two-minute penalty assessed after he finished the race. However, he was given a two-minute stand down penalty on the course before he was allowed to continue (and he was not assessed an additional two minute penalty after finishing).

The mix-up in the penalty assessment resulted in another close finish at Powerman Alabama. Widoff was out of Watson's view when he earned a penalty, but Watson passed him back to move into first. Widoff rode back into first and had a 39 second lead going into the final 8k. Watson slowly gained on Widoff over the hilly two-loop final run, and passed Widoff 1.5 miles from the finish line. But Watson cramped on the next downhill and had to walk, putting Widoff into the lead again. Watson made one final charge on the last uphill, and Widoff wasn't able to stay with him. Watson's cramps were less severe on the downhill finish and he managed an eight second victory, making him the first man to win two Powerman Alabama titles. Widoff's second place finish was his best in three visits to Alabama.

Tim Luchinske, who won this race as an amateur in 2000, and then got married after that race, finished third.

Pro Women
Because of a calf injury Desiree Ficker didn't commit to this race until just four days earlier. But Ficker led at the end of the first run and took any potential drama out of the race with a bike split that was three minutes faster than her nearest competitor. With a 32:16 final 8k she won in a time of 2:39:09. Local pro Deanna Frank finished the bike with a 42 second lead over Heather Haviland, and she extended that by another minute on the last run to finish second. Haviland finished third, and Kim Loeffler, one of three first year pro women in the race, finished fourth.

With her win Ficker became the third woman to win this race two times. Deanna Frank, the top amateur woman in 2001, improved upon her fourth place finish in 2003.

Age Group Race
Almost 1000 racers registered for the Powerman Alabama or its’ shorter sister, the Whistlestop Duathlon, this past weekend, but over 100 did not race…likely due to the rough winter in much of the USA and the unusually cold and windy weekend. 

Powerman Alabama was the first chance for US athletes to qualify for the 2003 Duathlon World Championships, to be held in Switzerland August 29-31. Four slots were available in each age group, and slots could be passed as far down as eighth place.  Athletes also qualified for the world famous Powerman Series Championship, Powerman Zofingen, being held in Zofingen, Switzerland in September 2003.

The men's race went to John McGovern (age 39) of Westchester, New York. McGovern was a competitive athlete in his younger years, but as he had a family and started his own business McGovern's weight topped out at 202 pounds. That was high enough, and he returned to endurance sports and then duathlons two years ago, and his weight is now down to 168. McGovern had the fastest bike split, and then ran scared over the final 8k, not knowing if anyone was gaining on him or if somebody in another wave was faster. His time of 2:30:17 gave him an 18 second win over 21 year old Daniel Williams. Brock Butler, Shannon Kurek, and Bruce Erskine rounded out the top five.

Sabine Bildstein finished in 2:43:41, which gave her a whopping nine-minute victory among the women. She built that lead with a strong run and bike. Gabrielle Hauck finished second. Lynn Patchett, 52 year-old Mary Dunn, and Cate Fenster were third, fourth, and fifth.

The winners of the Whistlestop Duathlon (a race ½ the distance of the Powerman, held along with the Powerman race) were:  23-year old Gergely Arki of Evansville, IN with a time of 1:18:26, and local racer Lori Goldwebber, age 39, in a time of 1:32:31.         

Powerman Alabama served as the first 2003 race in the Powerman Duathlon International Series.  For more information on the International Powerman Association and related events, visit www.powerman.org. 

The next races in the Powerman series are: Powerman UK/Ashbourne on 6 April 2003

 World Cup race Powerman Holland, being held in Venray on 27 April 2003.

2003 Powerman World Ranking d.d. 03-04-2003

2003 Powerwoman World Ranking d.d. 03-04-2003