Jordan Jones led the Riptide Elite Team to an impressive showing at the Littlefoot Triathlon today.  Presented by Riptide Multisports and held within Bear Creek Lake Park, the race is the first triathlon of the year with an open water swim in Colorado.

Jones was positioned in 6th place coming out of the 53′ water, but moved up to 1st by the second lap of the 2-loop bike course.  A  former NCAA Division I Regional qualifier in the 5,000m, Jordan headed out onto the run knowing  his best miles were ahead of him.

Following Jones was Josh Merrick in 3rd, registering the fastest run split of the day.  Elite developmental athlete Ryan Borger followed in 5th, an excellent result for the newest member of the Riptide Elite team.  Dan Mackenzie followed just 5 seconds behind in 6th.  Matt Balzer rounded out the top-10, and Tate Behning finished 11th, Cyrus Severance 15th.

The Riptide Junior Development Team had a great day of racing as well.  Tyler Volz, just 20 years old finished 18th overall, including pros.  19-year-old Chris Athey finished in 23rd, registering the fastest bike split among age-group competitors.

Full results here.

Amy Dannwolf finishing at Escape from Alcatraz.

Riptide’s newly minted pro, Amy Dannwolf, finished 8th overall at the iconic Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon on Sunday May 2nd. Dannwolf positioned herself well on the 1.5 mile swim that starts with a leap off a ferry anchored next to Alcatraz. She lost a couple of places on the bike, but was able to use a strong run to finish in 8th in a star-studded field that included past World Champions and Olympic medalists.

Fellow Riptide athlete, Jordan Jones, finished in 11th place overall, using swift bike and run splits to move up after a lackluster swim. The men’s field featured many Olympians such as Bevan Docherty, Hunter Kemper, and Andy Potts, as well as former Ironman World Champion Chris “Macca” McCormick .

Jordan Jones finishing at Escape from Alcatraz.

The Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon is the Boston Marathon of triathlon, with 1800 athletes across the globe all facing the once thought impossible 1.5 mile swim across the San Francisco Bay from Alcatraz. The bike leg is 18 miles of steep, winding hills through some of San Francisco’s most scenic neighborhoods. The run is nearly as infamous as the swim, 8 miles across soft sand, steep stairs, through tunnels, and of course the 2 to 3 minute climb up the “sandladder” – like running up a sand dune with oddly placed wooden beams across it.
Dannwolf and Jones are both looking forward to returning to the race in 2011.
Next on tap for Jones is Riptide’s Littlefoot Triathlon on May 16th. The following weekend he’ll race in Ixtapa Mexico at the ITU Ixtapa Continental Cup. Dannwolf is aiming to race again at the New York City Triathlon July 18th, but first must recover from chondral softening in her knees that should sideline her for the next couple of months.
Also racing last weekend was Matt Balzer and Josh Merrick at the Avia Wildflower Triathlon held in Bradley, California. Merrick finished in 24th place and Balzer 29th. It was Balzer’s first time covering the half-Iron distance of 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run. Wildflower is a notoriously challenging course, with steep and long climbs on both the bike and run legs.

Full Escape from Alcatraz Results here.

Full Wildflower Results here.

Boulder Running Company Denver Tech Center

Co General Manager of the Tech Center store, Brock Quimby, has been a major Riptide supporter for two years now.  Make sure to say hi to him when you stop in.

Another person to talk to at the store if you want incredibly knowledgeable advice is Michael Aish.  Michael is a 2 time Olympian for New Zealand.  He has won the Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon in 2:13 and perhaps more impressively has run 13:22 for 5k and 27:46 for 10k, both on the track.

Michael Aish jokes with Riptide's Amy Dannwolf at the Tech Center BRC

More photos of the new Boulder Running Company Tech Center store:

Competitive runners and triathletes will appreciate the selection of racing flats

Men's Shoe Selection

The team was lead by Jordan Jones on the men’s side and Amy Dannwolf on the women’s, both taking home 2nd place finishes. Both Jones and Dannwolf utilized their much-improved swims to place themselves in the mix from the gun. Jones used the second fastest bike split of the day to move up past teammates Adam Truex and Matt Balzer, and into 2nd place. Dannwolf exited the swim in 2nd place and maintained that position until the finish.

The Riptide Elite Team placed many within the top-10 with Tate Behning in 3rd, Joshua Merrick in 4th, Matt Balzer in 6th, Adam Truex in 7th, Cyrus Severance in 10th, and Cailee Andersen in 14th. Adam Truex had the fastest swim of the day and Tate Behning had the fastest run.

The Riptide Junior Team got their season off to a great start with several impressive finishes. Thomas Hill and Taylor Fogg lead the way with strong placings overall. 14-year-old Fogg was the 5th overall female, including pros and elites!

Taylor Harp and Morgan McCormick again proved themselves as strong up and coming talents taking 2nd and 3rd respectively in the female 16 & under category. Lindsay Schmidt, a perennial leader on the Riptide Team, finished 1st in the 17-19 age group. James Hill, who has shown big improvements in the pool over the winter finished 1st in the 16 & under category.

After sweeping the Mile High Duathlon Series in 2008, Josh Merrick showed that he is still the class of Colorado duathlon with a dominating course record setting performance.  Taking it hard from the gun, Merrick gained more than a 20 second lead on the first run.  Next behind him were fellow Riptide athletes Jordan Jones at 22 seconds back and Tate Behning at 25 seconds pack.

On the bike Merrick continued his push, putting in the 2nd fastest bike of the day to enter the final run with over a minute lead on the field.  Jones was gapped midway through the bike by Justin Hurd but battled back over the final miles of the 30k bike to enter the final run in 2nd place.

From there Merrick ran the fastest 2nd run of the day to finish in a new course record of 1:11:54, obliterating the previous course record of 1:13:59.  Jones held on to 2nd place, finishing in 1:14:38.  Behning meanwhile was running to the 2nd fastest final run to put himself into 5th place.  From there Riptide had strong performances from Dan MacKenzie in 9th, Matt Balzer in 11th, and Cyrus Severance in 14th.

On the women’s side Jocelyn Petrella showed her fitness with a 2nd place finish.  Petrella started quickly with the 2nd fastest women’s first run of the day.  Onto the bike she held strong, only being passed by eventual winner Uli Bromme.  With a strong 2nd run Petrella earned her podium finishing in 2nd.  Amy Dannwolf also competed with a 12th place finish.  Petrella is primed to race at the ITU Oklahoma City Pan American Championship next weekend along with Riptide athlete Pete Mallett.

With over 400 finishers, the Barkin’ Dog Duathlon is the largest duathlon in Colorado and is consistently the largest duathlon in the Western United States.

Merrick and Jones go 1-2.

Petrella finishes 2nd.

The race was marked by the cancellation of the swim for age group competitors due to dangerous water conditions in Tampa Bay. Winds caused significant chop and waves that professionals were tasked with battling before setting off on the bike.

Jocelyn Petrella had the highest team finish of the day in 16th place. Petrella exited the water in 19th, lost a few spots with the 20th fastest bike of the day, but rallied to a 38:45 run.

On the mens side, Matt Balzer and Dan MacKenzie were the first Riptide athletes out of the water with Jordan Jones following one minute behind after a tough swim. On the bike, Jones pulled through the field and got off the bike seconds behind Balzer. Jones hit the pavement running and recorded the 7th fastest run of the day, covering the 10k run in 32:53 at 5:18 pace. This placed him in 19th at 1:55:02. Mackenzie was next to finish after a solid 33:42 placing him in 28th. Balzer finished in 33rd place.

On the elite amateur side, Bethany Handley, Amy Dannwolf, and Cyrus Severance raced. After dedicating her off season to improving her run, former University of Tennessee swimmer Handley rode solidly and posted the 3rd fastest amateur women’s run. Handley finished in 16th and looks forward to getting in the water for her next race, where she will be a formidable opponent to any amateur woman in the country.

Less than 2 minutes back was Dannwolf in 24th place, a solid placing in the competitive elite amateur women’s field of 62. Riptide’s emerging women’s program is off to a strong start to the season and hopes to finish much better when the race includes a swim.

Severance finished 33rd out of 69 elite amateur males. The lack of a swim was a slight disappointment to Severance who worked extensively on his stroke throughout the winter. Watch for him to place well in his next race at CapTexTri.

Matt Balzer and Dan MacKenzie are set to compete in the 2009 Lima ITU Triathlon Pan American Cup tomorrow, March 29th, in Lima Peru.

The race features a 2 lap Pacific Ocean swim, hilly 8 lap bike course, and finishes with a 3 lap run. Team Riptide has 2 of 3 male US athletes competing. They will be squaring off against a South American dominated field that is in prime shape and finishing off their summer racing season.

Balzer is coming off a 5th place finish at Florida’s Great Escape on February 15th while MacKenzie finished 13th at the Miami International Triathlon on March 15th.

The full start list for the event can be found here