Ironman Round-up: IRONMAN 70.3 Lanzarote and IRONMAN 70.3 Portugal-Cascais

By Wires September 5, 2017

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Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote

In long-distance triathlon everything is about recovery. James Cunnama seemed to be in perfect condition when he hit the start line at the Club La Santa IRONMAN 70.3 Lanzarote only three weeks after winning the inaugural IRONMAN Hamburg. The 34-year-old South African was in the mix from the start and able to control the race on a tough course. While Germany’s Markus Rolli (who had to be disqualified later due to a violation of the run course rules) and Spain’s Emilio Aguayo Munoz teamed up with Cunnama on the bike to drop the rest of the strong pro field, the South African stormed to the front on the run immediately. He ran to a superb victory.

Lucy Charles was probably expecting a tough battle in the women’s race when she returned to Lanzarote after winning the full-distance event here in May. The British favorite was ready to battle it out in the water and on the bike, where she’s particularly strong. When Charles came off the bike, everything seemed to be set for a great day, but there was something she couldn’t have imagined: Germany’s Anne Haug is well-known for her Olympic-distance speed, but it was a surprise to see her just flying through the run course. Once she had her running shoes on, the two-time Olympian stormed to the front, nailing a fantastic run split to take the victory in the first IRONMAN 70.3 of her career.

Top 5 Pro Men

1	Cunnama, James	ZAF	3:47:07
2	Munoz, Emilio	ESP	3:50:20
3	Rolli, Markus	DEU	3:50:50
4	Vandendriessche, Ken	BEL	3:57:15
5	Strange, Thomas	DNK	4:00:15

Top 5 Pro Women

1	Haug, Anne	DEU	4:12:38
2	Charles, Lucy	GBR	4:20:32
3	Herlbouer	AUT	4:29:34
4	Tondeur, Alexandra	BEL	4:33:05
5	Noguera, Anna	ESP	4:35:39

Ironman 70.3 Portugal-Cascais

Olympic silver medalist and 2007 ITU world champ Vanessa Fernandes from Portugal and Denis Chevrot (FRA) took the wins at the inaugural IRONMAN 70.3 Cascais.

The day saw a superb race in the Baia dos Pescadores in Cascais. For France’s Denis Chevrot the debut race in Portugal was a day to remember. He came out of the water in first place and led until kilometer 20 when Swiss Philipp Koutny caught up with him. Things developed quickly when the two started battling at the front, racing hard and dropping the rest of the male pro field. Five kilometers after Koutny had made the pass, Chevrot took the lead back. This was the beginning of a duel with a lot of changes at the front. Koutny jumped off the bike first, but on the run course it was Chevrot who had the fresher legs, moving into first and taking the win.

On the women’s side, a brilliant comeback from the former ITU world champion and Olympic silver medalist Vanessa Fernandes dominated a close race. Swede Annie Thoren was the first woman out of the water, and she had already passed kilometer 80 when she had to undergo a penalty and pass the lead over to Austria’s Sylvia Gehnboeck. Thoren fought hard on the run to get back to the front, but after five kilometers she eventually fell back. Spaniard Sarah Loehr moved into the runner-up position early and attacked for the lead. It looked like she could make it, until Fernandes started dominating the race as she did so often during her ITU career. With six kilometers to go, the 31-year-old, five-time ITU European champion moved into the lead to be crowned the inaugural IRONMAN 70.3 Cascais champion.

Top 5 Pro Men