Image: Sergio Betancort
With a fine rain, the 1,757 triathletes who started this morning in the twenty-second edition of the Ironman Lanzarote Canarias Triathlon have been received. It is the first time in history that the start and the first kilometers of the Ironman have been rained out, which is making one of the most prestigious triathlons in the world even harder. SAR Alexía of Greece together with GordonWayne, the first winner of an Ironman, were in charge of starting the nearly 1,800 triathletes, which represents a new record of participants.
The professional triathletes have tried to make a difference from the moment the starting gun of the race was fired. With a strong pace they have selected the group of triathletes who would march at the head of the race. In the men's category, the Spaniard Miquel Blanchart has been occupying the head of the race and demonstrating that he is one of the triathletes to take into account in this edition.
Stephen Bayliss, Faris Al-Sultan and Philip Graves, have been the first to leave the water and are the ones who command the men's classification of the Ironman Lanzarote. The German Faris Al-Sultan, is making a journey from less to more, taking the first place in the refreshment area of El Golfo.
More surprising can be considered the first position of the Dutch Hanneke De Boer, who has left the water in the first place and heads these moments the general, despite not being in the group of professional triathletes. The Spanish Saleta Castro left the water in the second position and barely lost thirty seconds with respect to the head of the race. Melissa Dowell and Bella Bayliss, completed the first positions of the women's category.
Despite the rain, wind and cold in the area of Puerto del Carmen, thousands of people have come to the starting line to enjoy one of the most emotional moments of the Ironman Lanzarote. The triathletes are currently facing the 180 kilometers of the bike route and that is being harder due to the rain that falls in the southern part of the island.
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