Building on her third-place showing at Ironman 70.3 Vietnam in March, Xena pushed for the lead from the moment she came out of the water. But when a late puncture derailed her P5-fuelled attack, the Cervélo athlete found herself nearly four minutes behind leaders Lauren Brandon and eventual winner Radka Kahlefeldt.

Do warrior moms let challenges like these stop them? No way! Xena dug deep and produced a strong 1:27:44 run, which moved her all the way up to second spot after Lauren Goss was disqualified for failing to serve a blocking penalty.

“Absolutely stoked with my performance,” Xena said after the race. “Still some work to do to get back to full speed but def heading in the right direction...Proud of what I achieved in the last few months.”

Rest assured, Xena: We at Cervélo are proud of you too!

IMAGES COURTESY: STEF HANSON (WITSUP)