Newby-Fraser and Pigg Are Top Finishers in Triathlon Event

ENCINITAS —  A hometown advantage helped Paula Newby-Fraser gain a 3-minute 30-second lead through the bike course, as she ran off with her first series victory in the professional women’s race of the Bud Lite U.S. Triathlon Series Sunday morning.

More than 2,250 competitors took part in the event.

Newby-Fraser, 26, of Encinitas, who completed the swim, bike and run course in 2 hours 7 minutes--almost 3 minutes ahead of the second-place finisher--earned $1,800.

She also inched closer to Kirsten Hanssen of Denver in the battle for the $15,000 that goes to the competitor with the most grand prix points at the end of the series.

Mike Pigg won, as expected, for the sixth time in eight USTS races this year. Pigg, 24, of Arcata, Calif., pulled away early in the bike ride and completed the course in 1:51:38, earning $1,800.

Brooks Clark of West Chester, Pa., was second in 1:53:01, and earned $1,300.

Pigg, seeking his third consecutive points title, now leads by a almost insurmountable 238.5 points over second-place Harold Robinson of Walnut Creek, Calif.

In the women’s division, Newby-Fraser was third after the 1.5-kilometer swim, but left the transition area on the 40-kilometer bike ride--which runs through her neighborhood--in second place. Four miles into the ride, she passed swim leader Shannon Delaney.

“A large section of that bike course is the exact way I used to ride to work,” Newby-Fraser said. “I could have closed my eyes and rode most of that bike course. I knew where every hole in the road was. I knew it all.”

What she didn’t know, however, was that entering the final transition to the 10-kilometer run, she had built herself such a lead.

“I had no idea the lead was so huge,” she said. “I only saw the girls at the turnaround, and they didn’t look that far behind. I just kept my head down and kept going.”

Trailing her was a pack of seven women, including Laurie Samuelson of Carlsbad and Hanssen.

Samuelson, 33, who finished second in 2:09:46, said racing on her home course was an incentive for her strong finish.

“I knew I had to run fast to stay ahead of Kirsten,” she said. “I said, ‘There’s no way they’re going to beat me in my hometown.’ ”

Hanssen was wearing a cast on her broken left wrist. She said the cast bothered her in the swim, in which she was the 12th woman out of the water.

“I really enjoyed the swim,” she said, “but I just can’t go fast out there. I had a heck of a time trying to pull my wet suit off.”

Hanssen, 27, formerly of San Diego, made up the lost time quickly and finished third in 2:10:02.

That finish allowed Hanssen to stay ahead of Newby-Fraser by 137.95 points in overall point standings with only two points events remaining.

However, the next event, an ironman race Oct. 22, is an event she has never raced and one that Newby-Fraser excels at.

“I’ve just got to go and try to finish it this year like everyone else has done for several years,” Hanssen said.

If Hanssen hangs tough in the grueling ironman, the women’s points winner may not be decided until the USTS Championships Nov. 12 at Hilton Head, S.C.