BOULDER, Colorado – On a day that hit a Rocky Mountain high of 95 degrees, 2008 Olympian Matt Reed was hot enough to set a new Boulder Peak race record and defeat two men with eight world championships between them.

“This race means a lot to me,” said Reed, who successfully defended his 2007 crown and broke out of a short-term slump during his preparation for the Olympic Triathlon in Beijing next month. “This race has a lot of history and I think this year’s field was the best ever. I’m very happy to win a race in the home town of my sponsor Crocs. And the heat today was a great preparation for what I know will be a sizzling day in Beijing.”

On the same melting hot day, first year Canadian pro Angela Naeth overcame a four-minute deficit on the swim to pass two-time Under 23 World Championship silver medalist Jasmine Oeinck a mile and a half from the finish on the 10k run to take the $6,000 first prize.

“It feels awesome to get my first pro win,” said Naeth, who moved to Boulder this summer to train with coach Chuckie Veylupek. “This was my first race back after breaking my toe at the Boise 70.3.” Naeth's closing 39:13 run gave her a 40-second margin of victory over runner-up Oeinck and a 2:10:07 finish – the fifth fastest women’s time in Boulder Peak history.

Reed, on the road to recovery from inevitable exhaustion after a spring streak that included wins at Miami, the second US Olympic Trials in Tuscaloosa, St. Anthony’s, and a clutch second place finish at Richards Bay ITU World Cup and a fifth at the ITU World Championships in Vancouver, was back on the winning form Sunday after a rare DNF at Hy-Vee and a frustrating day at Life Time Fitness in Minneapolis last weekend.

The 33-year-old home town hero overcame the third-fastest swim with a race-best 59:41 bike and a 32:51 run beside the boiling hot, shadeless reservoir to finish with a 37-second margin of victory over runner-up and 5-time ITU World Champion Simon Lessing.

Lessing’s 1:52:29 time was no slouching performance – it also broke his own 2003 course record by four seconds.

“I haven’t raced the Olympic distance since Los Angeles last September,” said Lessing. “So today’s swim (2nd in 18:11) was a happy surprise and I felt strong on the bike (2nd in 59:54). The first mile
of the run didn’t feel very good, so I told myself ‘Don’t be crazy, don’t try to catch Matt and blow up. Keep a steady pace and hold on to second.’”

Reed's 1:51:52 finish cut 41 seconds from Lessing’s 2003 course record and earned the 6-foot 5-inch Kiwi native and recent US citizen $6,000 for the win and a $1,000 bonus for overcoming the pro women’s 14-minute 30-second starting handicap and become the first pro athlete to cross
the line.

While Reed remained calm and typically understated after his performance, wife Kelly Reed saw good omens in her husband’s return to form. “Javier Gomez (the Beijing Olympic pre-race favorite) won’t know what hit him when Matt races in Beijing,” said Kelly, who finished off her prediction with a single sound effect -- . “Boom!”

In a performance that would have won eight of the past 10 Boulder Peaks, Brian Fleischmann’s 1:53:12 effort could only take third place, with Australian Paul Matthews taking fourth in 1:54:57.

Underlining the excellence of the field and Reed’s achievement, three-time ITU World Champion Peter Robertson of Australia took fifth, 4-minutes and 16-seconds behind Reed. Reed’s 32:51 run on the Boulder Reservoir soft pack dirt and relentless microwave heat looks even
better when compared with Robertson’s 33:41 effort.

Still, Reed says his current race is only a pale reflection of his anticipated fitness for Beijing. “I’m just getting back my form,” said Reed. “But there’s still no spark in my legs. I am going to train20at
sea level leading up to Beijing and should be ready for the battle in August.”

While Naeth was thrilled with her come from behind win, runner-up Oeinck took heart from her performance. Number one, her two Under 23 World Championship silver medals came on extraordinarily cold and wet days in Hamburg and Vancouver, and the 5-foot 11-inch, 145-pounder
admits she is still a work in progress on triathlon’s typically sizzling days.

“After Vancouver, I rested a bit coming into Hy-Vee and had to drop out in the heat,” she said. “After that, I didn’t feel much urgency about returning to training. After all, my next big goal is making the team for London in 2012. “

But, she added, “I decided I needed to figure out how to beat the heat, so I came here to deal with it today. My nutrition adviser Bob Seebohar gave me some race day drinks for the bike, and I grabbed ice at every aid station and I worked out some ideas about strategy racing in the heat today. I let Amanda Stevens get the ($250) bike prime to the top of Olde Stage Road because I learned the race was long and hot last year when I faded to third and I didn't want to use up all my energy early on. So I passed Amanda on the rollers on 63rd Street halfway
through the bike and led out on the run. When Angela passed me, I had no fight. She was running fast (39:03) and I was just hanging on (40:56).”

All in all, said Oeinck, “I was proud of how I raced today. Now I’m really happy I’m going to a Dave Matthews concert tonight in Denver.”

17th Boulder Peak Triathlon
Boulder, Colorado
July 20, 2008
S 1.5k/ B 42k/ R 10k

Pro Men's Results
1. Matt Reed (Boulder, CO) 1:51:52
2. Simon Lessing (Boulder, CO) 1:52:29
3. Brian Fleischmann (Colorado Springs, CO) 1:53:12
4. Paul Matthews (AUS) 1:54:57
5. Peter Robertson (AUS) 1:56:08

Pro Women's Results
1. Angela Naeth (Prince George, BC) 2:10:07
2. Jasmine Oeinck (Colorado Springs, CO) 2:10:47
3. Amanda Stevens (Colorado Springs, CO) 2:11:57
4. Tracy Robertson (Colorado Springs, CO) 2:15:08
5. Leah Daugherty (Stafford, VA) 2:15:31
6. Emily Finanger (Boulder, CO) 2:17:20