German pairing Faris Al-Sultan and Kristin Möller dominated the race at Ironman Lanzarote. The men’s swim was led out by Britain’s Stephen Bayliss, who leapt from the water in 47:45, followed closely by Germany’s Faris Al-Sultan, fellow...
German pairing Faris Al-Sultan and Kristin Möller dominated the race at Ironman Lanzarote. The men’s swim was led out by Britain’s Stephen Bayliss, who leapt from the water in 47:45, followed closely by Germany’s Faris Al-Sultan, fellow Brit and Triathlon Plus columnist Phil Graves and Spain’s Miquel Blanchart. The quartet were soon out on one of the toughest bike routes in triathlon and while it was Graves who smashed the course in last year’s event, this time it was the turn of Al-Sultan to do the same. The 2005 Ironman world champion pulled away from his competitors to build an ever-increasing lead over the 112 sun-drenched and windy miles, returning to transition after 4:53:03 on the road, the day’s fastest bike split by nearly 10 minutes. Graves, riding conservatively to avoid a repeat DNF in the race, was second to rack his bike, while Blanchart followed a minute later. Kirill Kotsegarov of Estonia was around another seven minutes back. With time to kill, Al-Sultan ran a strong 2:55:03 marathon to cross the line in 8:42:40, claiming victory and a starting spot at the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii this October. Graves ran solidly but was passed by Blanchart to drop down to third. The Spaniard took second place in 8:52:08, while Kotsegarov also managed to nip by Graves in the finishing straight to steal the final podium spot in 9:04:09. The Brit finished fourth in 9:04:17 while Belgium’s Bert Jammaer, seventh onto the run, came home in fifth (9:06:48) after the day’s fastest run of 2:50:52. The women’s race began furiously fast, with age group athlete Hanneke De Boer of the Netherlands blitzing the 3.8km course in just 54:06. Spain’s Saleta Castro was the first pro to transition with a 54:46 swim. Britain’s Bella Bayliss, who would later pull out during the run, was second pro out of the water in 57:06, behind a pairing of British age-groupers, Melissa Dowell and Andrea Mason. Despite coming 10th from the water, six minutes off the pace, Germany’s Kristin Möller, soon stamped her authority on the race, taking the lead with apparent ease on the bike and like Al-Sultan, only continuing to distance her pursuers. Racking her bike after the day’s fastest split of 5:31:47, Möller began the marathon with 13 minutes in hand over France’s Heleen Bij de Vaate, while Castro was sitting in third around another six minutes back. The status quo remained during the run, but not content to cruise to victory, Möller put in a storming 2:58:37 marathon, claiming the win in 9:37:34. More than half an hour later Bij de Vaate claimed second in 10:09:31 with Castro taking third in 10:14:27. Age-grouper De Boer was fourth with Ireland’s Joyce Wolfe rounding out the top five. Top 10 Men Faris Al-Sultan, United Arab Emirates 8:42:40 Miquel Blanchart, Spain 8:52:08 Kirill Kotsegarov, Estonia 9:04:09 Philip Graves, United Kingdom 9:04:17 Bert Jammaer, Belgium 9:06:48 Michael Wetzel, Germany 9:19:16 Diepart Xavier, Belgium 9:21:59 Alvaro Velazquez, Spain 9:31:13 Andreas Wolpert, Germany 9:33:27 Stephen Bayliss, United Kingdom 10:00:31 Top 10 Women Kristin Möller, Germany 9:37:34 Heleen Bij de Vaate, France 10:09:31 Saleta Castro, Spain 10:14:27 Hanneke De boer, The Netherlands 10:28:45 Joyce Wolfe, Ireland 10:31:45 Barbara Schwarz, Switzerland 10:51:28 Zsuzsanna Harsanyi dr., Hungary 10:59:51 Line Foss, Norway 11:05:41 Lydia Sommerfeld, Germany 11:12:12 Claire Shea-Simonds, United Kingdom 11:12:41