The young 22-year-old Frenchman and the British woman came first in the 7th edition of the Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote, which saw some 660 participants competing for more than 50 places offered in the World Ironman 70.3 event, which will take place in the French city of Nice in 2019.
The 7th edition of the Ironman 70.3 de Lanzarote started at 7:30 in the morning, with a 1.9 km swim, followed by a 90.1 km bike section, finishing with a 21.2 km race through the town of La Santa. From early in the morning, it was clear that it was going to be a hot day, sunny and with no breeze, making the event more challenging for the participants.
Once the swim started, the first to complete the distance was the Swiss athlete, Manuel Kung, with a time of 22 minutes and 50 seconds, followed by the Spaniard Emilio Aguayo and the German Nils Frommhold. The latter is a member of the same Erdinger Alkoholfrei team as the world champion Patrick Lange, and he made a quick transition that led to him being the first to begin the bike section.
The bike route went through the island’s beautiful vineyards and volcanic surroundings, and saw the best the young Tom Lecomte and Frommhold himself had to offer, with the two entering the box area just two minutes apart. Third to arrive was Emilio Aguayo, followed by the British athlete George Goodwin.
It was the running section that would define the race, and at this point Frommhold, who until that moment had been in the lead, began to drop his pace in an inexplicable way, ending up walking in some sections. Lecomte took advantage of this to attack the route and overtake the German, finishing as the winner of the race with a time of 3 hours, 51 minutes and 41 seconds. Second to finish was the Spaniard, Aguayo, with a spectacular comeback, finishing the event with a time of 3 hours, 57 minutes and 46 seconds, ahead of Goodwin, who ended the race in third place, with a total time of 4 hours, 11 minutes and 11 seconds.
The British athlete, Lucy Gossage, winner of the Ironman Lanzarote 2018, also won the Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote, achieving a double on the island this year. Despite exiting the swim in fifth place, she handled the race expertly during the last two segments, achieving the best time on bike and winning third place in the foot race, leading to victory on the finishing line, with a time of 4 hours, 28 minutes and 2 seconds. Accompanying her on the podium were the German athlete, Jenny Schulz, with a time of 4 hours, 30 minutes and 41 seconds, and the Spaniard, Anna Noguera, who crossed the finishing line in a total time of 4 hours, 32 minutes and 10 seconds, after a spectacular comeback.
The audience who attended the event were able to enjoy a great show provided by the participants, and in turn supplied plenty of applause and encouragement throughout the various sections of the Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote route.
