SKYE MOENCH (USA) AND ANDI BOECHERER (DEU) EARN VICTORIES DURING THE IRONMAN VR12 PRO CHALLENGE
By Wires
June 22, 2020
– Over 9,000 athletes from 117 nations registered to compete in IRONMAN VR12 an IRONMAN 70.3 half-distance simulation with 5 km Run, 90 km Ride, and 21 km Run
– More than 1,900 age-group athletes registered to compete in the third IRONMAN Virtual Racing Championship Series event
– More than 107,000 people from around the globe have now joined IRONMAN Virtual Club platform
TAMPA, Fla. (June 20, 2020) – The 12th edition of the IRONMAN® VR™ Pro Challenge saw Skye Moench of Salt Lake City, Utah and Andi Boecherer of Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany take top honors in the professional women’s and professional men’s races, respectively. Three professional women and three professional men took to the virtual pavement battling it out for IRONMAN VR12 Pro Challenge bragging rights. Athletes undertook an outdoor 5 km run in a setting of their choice, before hopping on their trainers to tackle a 90 km bike ride on a portion of the iconic IRONMAN World Championship bike course in stunning Kona, Hawai`i, utilizing Official Virtual Cycling partner ROUVY’s augmented reality.
Skye Moench (USA) took the professional women’s victory with an impressive performance, finishing the 5 km run and 90 km bike in an overall time of 2:41:41. Kelsey Withrow (USA) followed Moench, finishing in second place with a combined time of 2:48:12. IRONMAN VR5 Champion Judith Corachán (ESP) rounded out the group with a time of 2:54:57.
Professional women’s results:
| RUN TIME | BIKE TIME | OVERALL TIME | ||
| 1. Skye Moench | USA | 00:17:57 | 02:23:44 | 02:41:41 |
| 2. Kelsey Withrow | USA | 00:19:17 | 02:28:55 | 02:48:12 |
| 3. Judith Corachán | ESP | 00:18:33 | 02:36:24 | 02:54:57 |
In the men’s professional race, IRONMAN VR8 Champion Andi Boecherer (DEU) narrowly edged out the field with an overall time of 2:24:03. Behind Boecherer was Matt Russell (USA), finishing in second clocking a time of 2:26:32. The 2013 IRONMAN World Champion, Frederik Van Lierde (BEL) dealt with some technical internet difficulties at the start of the bike portion, but ultimately finished and rounded out the men’s group with a time of 2:31:15.
Professional men’s results:
| RUN TIME | BIKE TIME | OVERALL TIME | ||
| 1. Andi Boecherer | DEU | 00:15:56 | 02:08:07 | 02:24:03 |
| 2. Matt Russell | USA | 00:16:22 | 02:10:10 | 02:26:32 |
| 3. Frederik Van Lierde | BEL | 00:16:12 | 02:15:03 | 02:31:15 |
The full broadcast of both the professional women’s and professional men’s IRONMAN VR12 Pro Challenge can be viewed, HERE.
In total, over 9,000 athletes from more than 117 nations and 48 states set out to participate in IRONMAN VR12. The IRONMAN VR12 IRONMAN 70.3 half-distance simulation requires athletes to complete a 5 km Run, 90 km Ride, and 21 km Run between Friday, June 19 at 2 p.m. ET (6 p.m. GMT) and race close on Sunday, June 21 at 7:59 p.m. ET (11:59 p.m. GMT). Competitors who race in the Classic Division can do so anywhere, indoors or outdoors, can complete the three segments in any order, and are not required to do the segments consecutively.
The 1,900 athletes who are registered for the third race in the IRONMAN Virtual Racing Championship Series are bound by a different set of rules over a four-week long regulated age-group competition designed to reward top-performing athletes in a structured and competitive virtual environment. An athletes overall standing is based upon their top three performances in aggregate over a four-week period. Athletes competing will have the opportunity to earn race slots to the 2020 edition of the IRONMAN® 70.3® World Championship with a total of 75 qualifying slots allocated across age groups for top performers.
IRONMAN VR12 leaderboard updates can be found by visiting the IRONMANVR Facebook Page.
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