We present the top 15 female Ironman World Championship finishers on the bike and look closer at their gear. Fastest bike split this year belonged again to Karin Thuerig who cranked out a course record 4:44:20.

Here is a closer look at the top 15 men at the Ironman World Championships aboard their bikes. Want to know what they were using in terms of frames and components? Look no further.

Michael Weiss won it on the bike and Lesley Paterson did it with a fearsome run to take their first World titles on a hot day on a tough new course at XTERRA Maui.

2011 XTERRA World Championship on Maui moved from Makena to Kapalua and pre race action was hot for the 675 entries. Photo Gallery by Timothy Carlson

Michael Raelert stormed to the title at Ironman 70.3 Austin with a 1:11:05 run and recorded a 3:47:48 winning time. Jessica Meyers took the win in the women’s race in 4:29:15.

Reinaldo Colucci broke away late in the run to take the Gold for Brazil at the 2011 PanAm Games triathlon. American Sarah Haskins took charge during the swim and bike and earned the women’s title.

Cody Westheimer is an age grouper who got to the Ironman World Championships with a lottery slot and his video diary of his day in Kona touched many of us. We had a few words with this very creative man.

If Josiah Middaugh had not flatted and carried his bike some of the last mile at Ogden, he might have won XTERRA USA Nationals. His take on the strong men’s field at Kapalua.

Ironman sponsor K-Swiss throws a casual celebration at Huggo’s on the Rocks after the Ironman World Championship awards ceremony. Photo Gallery by Timothy Carlson.

We have added a new sub website to slowtwitch called We Noticed and there you are actually able to directly contribute images and videos. Have a look.

We are starting a new interview series on slowtwitch where we chat with random age groupers and Bob Schloegel from Kansas City is our very first guest along those lines. Bob races in M45-49 and actually happens to be quite fast.

Who’s the best selling author among all triathletes ever to grace Kona’s pro podium? If we’re right, it’s probably not who you think. It’s the fellow who wrote the book reviewed herein.

We again present the top male 15 athletes overall finishers during the run and talk about their running shoes. Fastest runner again was Aussie Pete Jacobs who managed a marathon time of 2:42:29 and finished in 2nd place.

French age grouper Nicolas Hemet went 9:03:11 in Kona and was 45th overall, but in the strong M30-34 age group that meant 8th place. But Nicolas still seems to be in a content place.

The Newton MV2 is Newton’s first zero-drop shoe. At 5.8oz it’s a pure racer. It’s a shoe for the select few, the most efficient among us. Even for Newton it’s a departure from the norm.

It is again time for our annual top 15 Ironman Hawaii features and we start this year with the top 15 female finishers during the run in Kona. The fastest run split of the day belonged to Mirinda Carfrae who clocked a course record 2:52:09.

Approaching XTERRA Worlds in Maui, Lance Armstrong reflects on the motivation behind his return to tri, the mechanics of his triathlon ability, and the part he’s playing in bicycle safety and advocacy.

European 70.3 Champion Andreas Böcherer came to Kona to get a feel for this famous event and returned to Europe with a very fine 8th place. He had a few words with slowtwitch about his experience there.

Belgian age grouper Sam Gyde has been racing Ironman events since 2007 and went sub-9 for the first time in Florida in 2010. In Kona this year he won his age group in 8:50:09 but surprisingly that might not be his trip highlight.

Dmitry Polyansky recorded his second World Cup victory with a fine run in Tongyeong today. Jessica Harrison also pulled away early in the run to take the women’s title and her first World Cup win.

The thrill of victory, the agony of da feet as competitors cross the line on Alii Drive after a day of derring-do. Photo Gallery by Timothy Carlson,

The 29-year-old Australian was an up-and-coming talent and actually had some fine results. Then he broke into the orbit of the greats with a 2nd at the 2011 Ford Ironman World Championships in Kona.

Matt Fitzgerald writes the first Krakauer-style book ever in triathlon. It’s two protagonists, Dave Scott and Mark Allen, have filed suit against its publisher. I’ve read the book, and here’s my impression.

Wellington’s 2:52:41 marathon was 32 seconds slower than Carfrae’s; Alexander’s 2:44:03 was 1:34 slower than Jacobs’ run – but both were fast enough. Photos by Timothy Carlson.