Laurens Verluyten and Lydia Dant are the champions of the Club La Santa Volcano Triathlon 2024, the oldest triathlon event in Spain. The Belgian and the British have achieved victory with times of 01:58:26 and 02:10:12, respectively. In the race, which celebrated its 40th anniversary, more than 500 professional and amateur triathletes participated.
At 8 a.m. local time and from the saltwater lagoon of Club La Santa, the Volcano Triathlon started on a mostly sunny morning. In the swimming segment, the Spaniard Víctor Manuel González took the lead in the race, followed by Sybren Baelde and César Vera just seconds behind. On the women's side, the Belgian Audrey Bams started leading, with Caroline Nowak and Lydia Dant following closely behind.
After completing a kilometer and a half in the water, the triathletes faced 40 kilometers on the bicycle on a route that passed through Caleta de Caballo, Soo, Caleta de Famara and Teguise. In this section, there was a total change among the first classified and Laurens Verluyten proved to be the fastest, with Sybren Baelde and Nicholas Ward in second and third place. In the women's category, Lydia Dant took the lead in the race at the beginning of the cycling segment, with Lina Schink and Audrey Bams trying to get closer and overtake her without success.
The last 10 kilometers, those corresponding to the foot race, were decisive in determining the champions of this Club La Santa Volcano Triathlon. Among the male triathletes, Laurens Verluyten clung to a first position that he maintained until the end of this segment. Sybren Baelde and Nicholas Ward competed and pushed to snatch the victory from Verluyten, but none of them could take the victory. For her part, the British Lydia Dant imposed a very high pace for her pursuers, proclaiming herself the winner of the race with a total difference of ten minutes compared to Audrey Bams. Lina Schink closed the podium with a meritorious third place.
As for the relay race, the winning team was Latitud 29, with a time of 00:21:34 in the swimming segment, 01:10:15 on the bicycle and 00:36:07 in the foot race.
Throughout the Volcano Triathlon there was music and different recreational activities for the enjoyment of the spectators. As a preview of the race, Club La Santa organized an institutional cocktail on Friday afternoon that was attended by authorities such as Adrián Ornia, president of the Canary Islands Triathlon Federation, and Héctor Fernández, CEO of the Lanzarote Foreign Promotion Society. Meanwhile, 80 boys and girls between 7 and 17 years old participated in the Volcano Kids.
The celebration of this event keeps Lanzarote and the Canary Islands in a position of reference in the national and international sports scene. The Club La Santa Volcano Triathlon is a highlight on the calendar since its first edition, in 1984, remaining the longest-running triathlon competition in Spain. In addition, the support and collaboration of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, Turismo de Lanzarote, European Sports Destination, the City Council of Teguise and that of Tinajo has been key to the success of the event.
After the completion of this Volcano Triathlon, in three weeks the Club La Santa IRONMAN Lanzarote will be held, the oldest race in Europe of said circuit and whose registrations are still open at https://www.ironman.com/im-lanzarote-register.
Results
Men's category
1. LAURENS VERLUYTEN (BEL) – 01:58:26
2. SYBREN BAELDE (BEL) – +0:33
3. NICHOLAS WARD (ESP) – +1:52
Women's category
1. LYDIA DANT (UK) – 02:10:12
2. AUDREY BAMS (BEL) – +10:38
3. LINA SCHINK (GER) – +11:42
Relays
1. LATITUD 29 (ESP) – 02:11:05
2. ÉCHALE PAPAS (ESP) – +7:43
3. MACHINES POWER (ESP) – +20:40