Zipp News

Markus joins the club; Brownlees conquer

Markus Fachback, Zipp athlete and 28-year-old member of the Commerzbank squad, achieved his first ever Ironman victory on Sunday at Ironman Regensberg.  On achieving his maiden win, Fachback said his strategy was to "take every risk."  But fortunately for the young German, he was in control for nearly the entire race.  He stayed up front on the bike leg, always within the first three places.  Riding a Zipp 808 Firecrest Tubular front and Super-9 Disc rear, he conserved energy for the run, which he knew would be the most important component against the field.  He unleashed his impressive running talents immediately out of T2, taking the lead within the first four kilometers of the run, and staying in front all the way through the marathon.  Fachback is the youngest member of the seven members of the Commerzbank Triathlon Team, and with this win, each one of them has achieved an Ironman win as a team member.

Meanwhile in London, the Brownlee brothers did what they did best in ITU racing - run in for victory.  Alistair took the victory at the Dextro ITU WCS race in London, while his younger brother Jonathan held on for third.  As podium finishers at the London race, both brothers earned automatic spots to compete at the Olympic Games in London next year, which is proposed to be held on the same course.  As usual, the Brownlee brothers began with a strong swim, and set to work on their bikes, equipped with Zipp 404 Firecrest Tubular wheels and SRAM RED components.  And although the Brownlees expected to face many attacks on the bike in an effort to limit the effects of their fearsome run splits, fate had a different twist in store.  It was Alistair himself who would wind up in a breakaway, which gapped the chase group by a full minute by the time the racers reached T2.  Yet despite the effort, Brownlee had fresh enough legs to rip a sub-30-minute 10k run, winning the race without a competitor in sight.  Brother Jonathan battled behind him, valiantly holding on for third place and the final Olympic spot.

Finally, Team Saxo Bank-Sungard did battle at the Tour of Denmark.  On Saturday's Time Trial, Saxo teammates Richie Porte and Gustav Larsson took the first two spots on the podium, riding Zipp 808 Firecrest Tubular front and Super-9 Disc rear wheels on the SRAM RED-equipped TT bikes.  Saxo member Michael Mørkøv took third overall, just 29 seconds behind the winner.