Laura Philipp showed her class in the bike and run sections of the PTO 2020 Championship at CHALLENGEDAYTONA® to claim third place and $50,000 in the richest triathlon race ever.
The 33-year-old German defied considerable discomfort in the latter half of the race to clock 3:30:00 over the 100km course to be narrowly edged out of second place by compatriot Anne Haug.
“Really amazing,” Laura said of her performance, which left her 5:05 behind winner Paula Findlay. “I didn’t know I was third. I had really bad cramps after the bike. I am really proud of my head and my legs, so it’s amazing.”
Laura was well behind the leaders after the 2km swim on Lake Lloyd, which she completed in 26:55, but she then launched a superb comeback on the 80km bike section on the Daytona International Speedway®.
Her outstanding time of 1:53:11, the second fastest ride, enabled her to shoot up the rankings and she built on that with a brilliant run of 1:07:23.
At one stage she looked set to take second place behind Paula Findlay after overtaking Kimberley Morrison, but Anne was soon snapping at her heels and Laura couldn’t prevent her compatriot passing halfway through lap two.
This is what Laura used to grab her spot on the podium:
Swim
Goggles: Form
Wetsuit: Sailfish Ultimate
Speedsuit: Sailfish Rebel
Trisuit: Castelli PR Speedsuit
Bike
Bike frame: Canyon Speedmax CFR Disc
Frame size: S
Aero Bars: Canyon
Front wheel: SwissSide 800
Rear Wheel: SwissSide Disc
Front tyre: Schwalbe Pro One TT
Rear tyre: Schwalbe Pro One TT
Tyre and Tube type: Tubeless
Power meter: SRM
Crank length: 170mm
Helmet: Uvex race 8
Cycling shoes: Northwave
Eyewear: Visor
Gearing: 54/42
Saddle: Self made!
Run
Shoes: New Balance Fuel Cell RC Elite
Eyewear: Uvex Sportstyle 228
