Britain’s four-time Kona queen Chrissie Wellington has spoken of her relief at recovering the bike she rode to glory at Ironman Hawaii 2011, which was stolen from an office building in Chessington last July.
“This Cannondale Slice has huge sentimental value,” she tells 220. “I tend to like to keep many of the things I compete in or on, and having won the World Championships – and my final ever professional race – this bike means that it is incredibly special to me. I nicknamed it Phoenix given the crash I had on it only two weeks before Kona.”
Shadrack Graham-Blake, 36, of Freston Road, London, was convicted of the theft at Kingston Crown Court last Friday (5 December) and sentenced to 28 weeks in prison for burglary after pleading guilty. He was captured on CCTV breaking into the office building after concealing his face.
Chrissie Wellington rode ‘Phoenix’ to victory in her final race at Kona 2011 despite crashing hard just two weeks before the race on a training ride in Boulder, Colorado. She suffered severe road rash on her left leg (see photo above) yet managed to run down Caroline Steffen (SUI) with a marathon time of 2:52:41 to take victory in the final race of her career.