Image: Sergio Betancort
The twenty-second edition of the Ironman Lanzarote Canarias Triathlon had it all. Rain first thing in the morning, wind that made the bicycle route tougher, and heat in the foot race, which ended up disorienting the suffering triathletes. 1,727 took the start at 07:00 hours, under a fine rain that did not detract from the expectation to enjoy one of the most spectacular moments of the race.
The German Faris Al-Sultan, who had won his age group in 2009, returned to Lanzarote to participate in the Ironman as a professional and fulfilled the predictions that placed him as one of the favorites for the final victory. After completing the 3.8 kilometers of the swimming segment in the first positions, he took advantage of the first kilometers of the bicycle race to take the lead. A position that he would not abandon until crossing the finish line, with a time of 8:42:40.
The Spaniard Miquel Blanchart has made a race from less to more and as they say in sports jargon he has been picking up "corpses" along the way. After completing the 180 kilometers of the bicycle he was losing more than ten minutes with respect to the leader, cutting almost four minutes in the first six kilometers of the foot race. Some stomach problems have prevented him from continuing with the comeback, having to stop in one of the bathrooms. He has recovered to finish in second position with a time of 8:52:08. The podium was completed with the third place of the Estonian Kirill Kotsegarov (09:04:09)
Miquel Blanchart assured after crossing the finish line that he will return to the Ironman Lanzarote and that "the effort made has had the reward of second place". The Spanish triathlete has highlighted "the extraordinary route of the Ironman Lanzarote and that makes it one of the toughest".
Kristin Móller, winner of the women's category
The German full house in the Ironman Lanzarote 2013 was completed by Kristin Möller, a triathlete who scored the victory and, like her compatriot Al-Sultan, fulfilled the initial predictions. Möller took advantage of the bicycle segment to sentence the race and score the victory. Her time at the finish line was 9:37:35, going under ten hours, which is a success for the women's category.
The Dutch Heleen Bij De Vaate (10:09:31) had to settle for second place, after making a superb foot race. The Spanish Saleta Castro, who spends long training seasons in Lanzarote, completed the podium of honor in the women's category. Castro made a time of 10:14:28.
Men and women of "iron"
The Ironman Lanzarote is characterized as a test in which triathletes propose personal challenges, with crossing the finish line being the main objective of many of the participants. Until twelve o'clock at night the finish line located in the tourist town of Puerto del Carmen has hosted the arrival of triathletes. All of them have become the men and women of "iron" of the Ironman Lanzarote 2013.
[More sports information at LanzaroteDeportiva.com->www.lanzarotedeportiva.com]
