Ethan Brown - Victorious at Pacific Grove Triathlon
For Immediate Release
Ethan Brown victorious at Pacific Grove
Brown showing good late season form
September 12, 2010 – Young American pro Ethan Brown from Lowell Massachusetts grabbed his first professional victory at the Triathlon at Pacific Grove this past weekend. Under sunny skies and warm temps, Brown ran his way in to the lead over friend and USA teammate Steve Sexton to grab the win in an overall time of 1:54:32.
In his own words:
This past weekend I competed in Tri-Cal’s Triathlon at Pacific Grove. This was the 2nd time I’d done this race. In 2008, I finished a disappointing 12th, so I was looking forward to going back for some retribution. Steve Sexton, my friend and also my main competitor at this race, picked me up from the airport in San Francisco and we drove down together. We had an amazingly welcoming and accommodating homestay in Pacific Grove, which is an absolutely gorgeous part of California.
Race day brought near perfect conditions – sunny and 70 degrees. Our race started at noon. It was a very cold swim in the kelp-infested waters, so wetsuits were worn. I got on my TYR Hurricane wetsuit, did a short warm-up and felt ready to go. The 20 or so male pro competitors lined up under the start banner, and we were sent on our way. I ran forward and dove into the cold water and began sprinting. I initially got out fast but lost several spots when I got caught up in a thick patch of kelp. It was a 2-lap swim. Nearing the end of the first lap there were three swimmers beginning to pull away. I was in about 8th spot or so at the back of the small chase group. As we started out on our 2nd loop I felt very strong and decided to go after the 3 guys that had broken away. It took about a half lap of really going hard, but by the last turn buoy I had just bridged up and was sitting on the feet of Kyle Leto and Brian Fleischman. I was able to recover a bit as I drafted of off these lead guys, and I exited the water in 3rd place.
Once we got out onto the bike a lead pack of 6 formed. Five of us had exited the water together, but Steve Sexton was able to bridge up from the 2nd swim pack that was 15 seconds behind. I got my wetsuit off quickly and then hopped on my Parlee z5 and headed out onto the bike course. We began building our lead rapidly. We were working together very well, rotating through the pace line consistently for the most part. The bike course was 4 out-and-backs. Going out we had a massive headwind, but coming back we cruised at 30+ mph with a nice tailwind. Kyle Leto took several monster pulls and really contributed to our quickly growing lead. There were a couple small attacks from Leto and Fleischman, but nothing strong enough to split our pack or drop anybody. Overall it was a very controlled effort. The six of us headed into t2 together and the race came down to the run.
I came out of transition in 4th place and knew right away that I was going to run fast. I felt very strong. I may have gotten a little too excited as I practically sprinted into the lead. The run course was 3 loops along a road and bike path bordering the scenic ocean. I initially opened up a big gap, but I was forced to slow down because I went out so hard. By the end of the first lap I was still holding onto a 5 second lead over Steve Sexton. By this time I had gotten back into a rhythm and began increasing my lead again. At the end of the second lap I was up by 14 seconds. I was beginning to get excited. I have two 3rd’s and four 2nd’s to my name, but I’ve never won a professional race. I continued to feel strong going into the bell lap. My lead was continuing to grow and by the time I could see the finish line I had a 30 second lead. I sprinted down the finish chute and raised my hands in the air as I broke the tape. My first pro win! I did a couple interviews immediately after the race and finally got to stand on that coveted top spot of the podium!
A huge thanks to all my sponsors – TYR, Parlee, PowerBar, Team Psycho, Fitwerx, and FuelBelt. I couldn’t do it without their help!
