Kate Curran and Dieter Combair chose the Lanzarote event for their debut as professional athletes
The oldest triathlon in Spain held a new edition one more year, and there have already been thirty-seven occasions in which Lanzarote has become the focus of the national and international sporting elite. Even more so when the Lanzarote event also marks the inaugural event of the Spanish Triathlon Federation.
It is not a coincidence, as the volcanic island has shown that its weather characteristics allow the possibility of starting the sports calendar of any competition all year round, as has been the case of the National Ranking FETRI Triathlon 2023 series, which was fired off on February 25, hand to hand with the XXXVII Club La Santa Volcano Triathlon.
Spectacular atmosphere that was experienced in the facilities of the Club La Santa, the organizer of the event, which again exceeded the expectations for such an important competition as is the Volcano Triathlon. This was reflected in the faces of the competitors, as well as in support of the large group of fans that always turns to this type of events and can be seen by the competition course to encourage the brave athletes who have seen in Lanzarote the perfect opportunity to meet their first goal of the season.
Just ask British Kate Curran (02:07:38) or Belgian Dieter Comhair (01:55:39), winners of this edition of the Club La Santa Volcano Triathlon in the women’s and men’s categories, respectively. Both joined the long list of competitors that exceeded 500 registrations, who enjoyed the three disciplines of Olympic distances: 1.5km swim, 40km bike and 10km run with the spectacular geography of Lanzarote, so characteristic landscape that adds originality to a competition whose main attraction is that the sporting quality is on par with the originality of the scenario of the test, as well as the enviable Canary weather.
At 09:00 am the competition started in the lagoon of La Santa, in Tinajo, a salt water environment that does not drop below 19 degrees even in winter and where the favorites took the lead to quickly go for his bike. The 40km bike ride to one lap, being in Lanzarote, stumbled upon the paradox that give a lot and, at the same time, leave wanting to continue enjoying some triathletes who were wrapped by the local fans in such emblematic points as Caleta Caballo, Soo or Caleta de Famara. The last stretch of 10km on foot served to continue enjoying the characteristic aura of the Volcano Triathlon in the surroundings of the Club La Santa facilities.
The winner of the last event, Sara Pérez (02:10:40), put in a phenomenal performance, leading the women’s classification until the last leg of the competition; while the ambassador of Club La Santa, Maja Stage (02:11:37), a Danish triathlete who exemplifies the relevance of Lanzarote’s sport at an international level, achieved a meritorious bronze. For her part, the female gold medallist recognized that “I did not expect to win because there are very fast girls. My goal was to be in the top five and have a fast race. It is my first year as a professional triathlete and I wanted to know what my level was,” says Curran, who, like Dieter, was part of the Club La Santa Green Team, “now I live in London, but I’m here in Lanzarote training at Club La Santa, so I know the course well and had a lot of people cheering me on”.
The Italian Nicola Duchi and the Spaniard Pello Osoro completed the men’s podium with a time of 01:56:04 and 01:57:03 respectively. The champion declared that he chose the Volcano Triathlon as the first test in which he did it as a professional, which he took on looking for “a good and consistent first season and to go up little by little in the classification”, said Comhair, “Lanzarote is a perfect island for training and competing, here the weather is good all year round and the island makes you physically and mentally stronger with its natural elements and that makes the competition really honest and fun.”
The Volcano Triathlon was once again the best scenario for the beginning of the season for foreign and local triathletes who took advantage of the appointment to get ready for Club La Santa IRONMAN 70.3 Lanzarote and for Club La Santa IRONMAN Lanzarote.
