Lassonde stuns Allen in Tagaman

  France’s Cedric Lassonde figured in a bike crash on a pre-course ride, but four days later rode the same bike en route to victory in last Saturday’s 2012 Tagaman Triathlon.

Lassonde pulled off an upset in the men’s division of the weekend road race, beating Australia’s Ben Allen. Lassonde, who finished third in XTERRA Guam, Philippines, and Saipan, competed in his last race of the month and finally won after completing the 2-kilometer swim, 60K bike, and 15k run in 2:52:26, just 20 seconds ahead of Allen (2:52:46).

Before his first win in the quartet of March races, the Frenchman sustained minor scratches on his arm and back after crashing into a motorist near Hopwood Junior High School last Tuesday. While Lassonde suffered only minor damage, the bike didn’t, as its front and back wheels and handle bar broke.

“The bike broke and needed a major fix, but still it was the winning bike. Thank you to Kevin Carey,” said Lassonde, who loaned the road bike from Carey as he only brought a mountain bike for XTERRA.

It was a come-from-behind win for Lassonde, who was more than four minutes behind Allen after the swim leg and chopped off only 34 seconds from the lead in the bike part before finally grabbing the upper hand near DFS Galleria in Garapan in the run leg on his way to the finish line at Micro Beach.

“I felt good heading into the run leg, while I saw Ben slowing down so I just kept pushing myself,” said Lassonde, who submitted 47:09 (fastest) in the run leg from Micro Beach to Oleai Bar and Grill and back.

Allen timed in at 51:28 in the run leg, losing his more than four minutes lead in the swim leg in the waters off Pacific Islands. The Australian, who topped the first three races this month, was first out of the water with his 25:16, while Lassonde had 29:26. Allen was already heading to Koblerville for the start of the bike leg, while Lassonde was still at the swim-bike transition area, getting in gear.

Then in the bike leg (from Micro Beach to Bird Island Lookout, Suicide and Banzai cliffs and back), Allen kept his pace and the lead as he went to the bike-run transition area at Micro Beach and timed in at 1:34:24. The Australian was already at Winchell’s in Garapan for the run leg when Lassonde completed the bike leg at 1:33:50 (fastest).

For the final leg of the road race, Allen gassed out, admitting that fatigue finally took its toll on him after racing in four events in one month.

“Hats-off to Cedric, he really caught me in the run leg. He was really fast and no matter how hard I tried to push myself harder, the legs were not there,” said Allen.

Lassonde’s long strides and good running form were evident as he crossed the finish line, with his chest leaning forward and touching the tape. The 35-year-old later admitted that before doing triathlon, he was a member of France’s U23 track team and ran in 1,500 races.

The Frenchman added that his victory in Tagaman against the 27-year-old and Top 3 finishes in the XTERRA Tour’s Triple Crown made him reconsider his retirement plans.

“I planned on retiring at the end of this year, but after these great races, I am now having second thoughts. I might reconsider and race again next year,” said Lassonde, who works as a D.J. when he is not racing.

Joining Lassonde and Allen in the men’s Top 6 were Germany’s Jens Buder (3:11:09), U.S.’ Will Kelsay (3:12:44) and Guam’s Gabriel Lombard (3:18:25) and Benjamin Dillon (2:52:46).