Giant-sponsored triathlete Timo Bracht had his best-ever finish at the Ironman World Championships Saturday, surviving the heat in Kona, Hawaii, to finish fifth.

Bracht, a two-time European Ironman champion, improved on his two consecutive sixth-place Ironman Worlds finishes in 2009 and 2010. Despite getting off to a tough start in the swim, the German put in a gutsy ride on his Giant Trinity Advanced SL and then moved up from 22nd to fifth during the run. His overall time was 8:20:12.

In the women’s race Spaniard Virginia Berasategui, riding the new Liv/giant Trinity Composite W for the first time, finished 10th.