Van Lierde, Bartlett top IM Lanzarote
Frederik Van Lierde of Belgium drew away from race-long rival Christian Kramer of Germany on the run and Nikki Bartlett of Great Britain built a huge lead with a dominating bike split and held off Maja Stage Nielsen of Denmark on the run to take top honors at the 28th running of Ironman Lanzarote.
Van Lierde overcame a 1:12 deficit to swim leader Andreas Raelert with a race-best 5:01:32 bike split that gave him a 5 seconds lead on Christian Kramer of Germany. Kramer then then surged to a 27 seconds lead through 16 kilometers of the run before Van Lierde retook the lead by 12 seconds halfway through the marathon. Speeding away to a 4th-fastest 2:53:23 run split, Van Lierde finished in 8:51:16 with a 4:52 margin of victory over Kramer (2:58:21 run) and 9:39 over 3rd place Emilio Aguayo Muñoz of Spain (3:00:07 run).
The win was Van Lierde’s 9th Ironman victory as his resume includes 5 Ironman France wins and a triumph at the 2013 Ironman World Championship in Kona.
Bartlett started her day in 6th place with a 2:27 deficit to swim leader Rachel McBride of Canada, and also trailing Dede Griesbauer of the U.S., Emma Pallant of Great Britain, Stage Nielsen, and Nina Derron of Switzerland. On the bike, Emma Pallant seized the lead by 3 seconds over Stage Nielsen and 1:07 over Bartlett at 37km. By 59km, Bartlett took the lead by 24 seconds on Pallant, and 1:23 on Nielsen. On the long climb up to Mirador, Pallant retook the lead by a few seconds on Bartlett. But at the apogee at Mirador del Rio, Bartlett surged ahead by 1:48 over Pallant and 3:58 over Stage Nielsen while Derron, Lundstrom, and McBride fell more than 10 minutes arrears.
On the way back to transition, Pallant suffered a leg cramp and had to drop out.
After a dominant 5:38:00 bike split, Bartlett had an 8:12 lead on Stage Nielsen and an unassailable margin on Lundström, Derron, McBride, Schulz, McBride and Lenny Ramsey.
After a women’s 4th-best 3:14:52 run, Bartlett finished in 9:59:10 with a 4:31 margin of victory over Stage Nielsen and 11:38 over 3rd place Lenny Ramsey of Netherlands, who passed a passel of competitors with a by-far women's best 2:58:49 marathon.
Bartlett thus earned her first Ironman win after 3rd place finishes last year at this race and Ironman UK.
MEN
Emerging from an extended break, 42-year-old star Ironman Andreas Raelert of Germany led the swim in 49:13 which gave him a 2 seconds lead on Emilio Aguayo of Spain, 1:12 on Frederik Van Lierde of Belgium and Christian Kramer of Germany, 1:15 on Philip Graves of Great Britain, 1:15 on Alessandro Degasperi of Italy and 1:16 on Ivan Raña of Spain.
Despite losing a water bottle in the first kilometers, Raelert maintained the lead. The he stopped for a minute to deal with a derailleur problem but still kept the lead by 15 seconds over a chase group including Van Lierde, Kramer and Aguayo.
Riding in light rain and freshening winds, at kilometer 37 Raelert held a 25 seconds lead on Kramer, 27 seconds on Van Lierde, 31 seconds on Aguayo, 34 seconds on Jaroslav Kovacic of Slovenia and 1:27 on Degasperi.
After 83 kilometers, Van Lierde took the lead by 3 seconds on Raelert, 34 seconds on Kramer, 40 seconds on Kovacic and 2:32 on Aguayo, with Degasperi at +7:12 amidst a group falling further back. By 107km, Van Lierde and Kramer rode together 7 seconds ahead of Kovacic, 1:12 on Kramer, and 3:02 on Aguayo.
At 145 kilometers into the bike leg, Raelert stopped for technical issues and finally dropped out from the competition.
After a race-best 5:01:32 bike split – a testament to the relentless hills and whipping wind for a man more accustomed to 4:20 bike splits on more forgiving terrain – Van Lierde, Kramer and Kovacic arrived in short order at T2 with a 2:30 lead on Aguayo, 12:39 on Anders Christensen of Denmark, 13:40 on Roman Deisenhofer of Germany, 13:49 on Morten Brammer Olesen of Denmark and 17:38 on Degasperi. Swift runner Diego Van Looy of Belgium had 23:04 to make up as he began the run.
Halfway through the marathon, Van Lierde opened a 12 seconds lead on Kramer, 1:37 on Kovacic, 5:48 on Aguayo, 12:46 on Olesen and 14:23 on Degasperi. At 26km, Kovacic fell off the back.
After a race-best 2:53:23 marathon, Van Lierde finished in 8:51:16 with a 4:52 margin of victory over Kramer (2:58:21 run split) and 9:39 over 3rd place finisher Aguayo (3:00:07 run).
WOMEN
Rachel McBride of Canada sped ahead of the pro women with a 53:35 swim split, which gave her a 56 seconds lead on Dede Griesbauer of the U.S., 1:20 on Maja Stage Nielsen of Denmark, 1:25 on Emma Pallant of Great Britain, 4:22 on Nina Derron of Switzerland, 5 minutes on last year’s Lanzarote 3rd place finisher Nikki Bartlett of Great Britain, and 6:03 on Asa Lundström of Sweden.
McBride, who could not ride a time trial bike due to an elbow injury suffered in a crash a few weeks ago, led the field for 24 minutes before Pallant took over. Art 37 kilometers of the bike leg, Pallant led Stage Nielsen by 3 seconds, Bartlett by 1:07, McBride by 6:02, Griesbauer by 6:34 and Derron by 6:36. After 83km, the deck shuffled slightly as Pallant led Bartlett by 2 seconds, Nielsen by 2:19, Derron by 8:29 and Griesbauer by 9:05, while McBride faded to 6th, 9:30 off the pace.
At the top of the long climb up to the top of Mirador del Rio, Bartlett took charge and led Pallant by 1:48, Stage Nielsen by 3:58, Derron by 11:33, Lundström by 12:43 and McBride by 12:48.
After a women’s-best 5:38:00 bike split – 12 minutes better than the next best effort by Stage Nielsen – Bartlett arrived in T2 with an 8:12 lead on Stage Nielsen, 17:35 over Lundström, 18:07 on Derron, 21:14 on McBride, 22:00 on Jenny Schulz of Germany and 27:48 on Lenny Ramsey of Netherlands.
After a women’s 4th-best 3:14:52 marathon, Bartlett was the only woman to break 10 hours, finishing in 9:59:10 with a 4:31 margin of victory over Stage Nielsen (3:12:51 run) and 11:38 over Lenny Ramsey, who came from well behind to take 3rd place with a by-far women’s-best 2:58:49 marathon. Schulz took 4th place, 13:30 behind the winner, and Lundström was 5th, 20:03 back of the winner.
Ironman Lanzarote
Lanzarote, Gran Canarias, Spain
May 25, 2019
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.
Results
Men
1. Frederik Van Lierde (BEL) 8:51:16 S 50:25 T1 3:09 B 5:01:32 T2 2:49 R 2:53:23
2. Christian Kramer (GER) 8:56:08 S 50:25 T1 2:37 B 5:02:08 T2 2:38 R 2:58:21
3. Emilio Aguayo Muñoz (ESP) 9:00:55 S 49:15 T1 2:54 B 5:05:27 T2 3:14 R 3:00:07
4. Morton Brammer Olesen (DEN) 9:05:12 S 52:40 T1 3:06 B 5:13:09 T2 3:08 R 2:53:11
5. Diego Van Looy (BEL) 9:07:43 S 59:38 T1 3:15 B 5:15:17 T2 3:07 R 2:46:29
6. Miquel Blanchart Tinto (ESP) 9:09:25 S 52:37 T1 2:44 B 5:24:29 T2 2:38 R 2:46:59
Women
1. Nikki Bartlett (GBR) 9:59:10 S 58:31 T1 3:27 B 5:38:00 T2 4:18 R 3:14:52
2. Maja Stage Nielsen (DNK) 1:03:41 S 54:55 T1 3:15 B 5:50:03 T2 2:39 R 3:12:51
3. Lenny Ramsey (NLD) 10:10:48 S 1:05:14 T1 4:50 B 5:57:45 T2 4:02 R 2:58:49
4. Jenny Schultz (GER) 10:12:40 S 1:02:01 T1 4:55 B 5:55:05 T2 2:49 R 3:07:51
5. Asa Lundström (SWE) 10:19:13 S 59:38 T1 3:06 B 5:54:52 T23:03 R 3:18:36
6. Nina Derron (SUI) 10:20:41 S 57:57 T1 3:16 B 5:56:55 T2 2:53 R 3:19:42
