Photos: Sergio Betancort
Alessandro de Gasperi with a mark of 8 hours, 52 minutes and 16 seconds and Lucy Gossage (9:49:27) have been proclaimed this Saturday winners of the 'XXVII Ironman Lanzarote' co-organized by Club La Santa and the Cabildo de Lanzarote, which has had more than 1,800 participants. Both triathletes re-edited the title, in the case of the Italian achieved in 2015, and a year earlier by the British.
The podium in the men's category was completed by the three-time World and European champion in the Olympic distance Triathlon, the Spaniard Ivan Raña (8:58:37) and the Frenchman Cyril Viennot (9:01:36). In the women's category, the second position was for the British Simone Mitchell (9:54:29), while the Danish Michelle Vesterby occupied the third position (9:57:11). On the Spanish side, the fifth position of the Galician Saleta Castro (10:04:26) also stood out.
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It was in the marathon when De Gasperi showed his absolute dominance in the toughest and most prestigious long distance triathlon in the World. In the women's category, the impressive performance of Simone Mitchell should be highlighted, who, despite not being a professional athlete, managed to reach the finish line second, but due to the professional classification, the second place was awarded to Michele Vesterby. The third place went to Nikki Bartlett.
The champion De Gasperi commented: "I have to thank Guillaume Romaine because he made me work very hard during the cycling stage. I was very confident in myself but until you cross the finish line you never know what can happen. The last 20 kilometers I had cramps in my legs and it was very hard, but I was able to maintain my pace and achieve what I wanted."
The winner Lucy Gossage could not contain her joy: "The race was tough, but I felt amazing on the bike and the most important thing is that I felt comfortable at the front, without worrying too much about the girls behind; I am very happy."
Top 5 male results
1 Alessandro de Gasperi ITA 08:52:16
2 Iván Raña ESP 08:58:37
3 Cyril Viennot FRA 09:01:36
4 Jens Petersen-Bach DNK 09:04:04
5 Andrej Vistica HRV 09:06:08
Top 5 female results
1 Lucy Gossage GBR 09:49:27
2 Simone Mitchell GBR 09:54:29
3 Michelle Vesterby DNK 09:57:11 (2nd place in standings)
4 Nikki Bartlett GBR 10:01:46
5 Saleta Castro Nogueira ESP 10:04:26