Del Corral, Vesterby in Lanzarote
Victor Del Corral passed fading long time leader Philip Graves halfway through the marathon to take the win at Ironman Lanzarote Canarias. Michelle Vesterby took charge of the women's race early on and earned the win.
Four Brits dominated the swim with Daniel Halksworth exiting the water first in 47:55. He though had Philip Graves, Stephen Bayliss and Oliver Simon right on his heels.
Graves though dispatched his swimming buddies in no time and dominated the bike from beginning to end. He actually appeared to be on the path to break the bike record, but he slowed down towards the end with some cramps and reached T2 in 4:48:40 – second best on that course. Del Corral meanwhile had moved into second position with a very solid 4:54:31 bike split and word had it that this Spaniard could really run.
Del Corral moved up on Graves with swift steps and the young Brit looked to be really struggling. Corral moved into the lead at the halfway point of the run and Graves dropped out soon after. Bayliss was now running in second place and that is how they would finish. Del Corral ran a 2:50:09 on the way to a 8:44:39 winning time, with Bayliss in second in 8:53:37 and Sergio Marques in third in 9:02:58.
Michelle Vesterby was first out of the water in 51:43 with the most serious competitors Bella Bayliss and Nicole Woysch about 5 minutes behind.
Vesterby then added even more distance between herself and these chasing two Pros and recorded a 5:39:25 bike split – second best on the day. A bit further back Heleen Bij De Vaate stomped the course in a race best 5:35:53, but she had started the bike almost 14 minutes behind the Dane and was thus still a good distance from the front of the race, but she had moved past Bayliss and Woysch into second place.
Bayliss though ran down Bij De Vaate with a race best 3:14:06 run, but Vesterby was well out of reach. The Dane captured her first Ironman title in 9:58:06, with Bayliss finishing second in 10:06:12. Bij de Vaate rounded out the podium.
Ironman Lanzarote Canarias
Lanzarote, Spain / May 19, 2012
2.4m swim / 112m bike / 26.2m run
Top men
1. Victor Del Corral (ESP) 8:44:39
2. Stephen Bayliss (GBR) 8:53:37
3. Sergio Marques (POR) 9:02:58
4. Bert Jammaer (BEL) 9:04:41
5. Patrick Jaberg (SUI) 9:06:25
6. Petr Vabrousek (CZE) 9:07:30
7. Alvaro Velasquez (ESP) 9:11:13
8. Xavier Diepart (BEL) 9:13:33
9. Rainer Schniertshauer (GER) 9:15:24 * AG
10. Igor Nastic (SUI) 9:20:56 * AG
Top women
1. Michelle Vesterby (DEN) 9:58:06
2. Bella Bayliss (GBR) 10:06:12
3. Heleen Bij De Vaate (NED) 10:17:33
4. Veerle D'Haese (BEL) 10:25:12 * AG
5. Nicole Woysch (GER) 10:37:19
