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David Plese takes his first victory, while Yvonne van Vlerken wins her seventh at IRONMAN Barcelona.
Despite rain and wind yesterday the weather conditions couldn’t be any better for the 2015 edition of IRONMAN Barcelona. A mostly calm sea, slightly clouded sky and temperatures between 21 and 23 degrees Celsius welcomed the 2,700 starters from 65 countries.
Plese earns first victory on the run
Great Britain's Harry Wiltshire was first out of the water for the men in 47:31, followed by fellow countryman Oliver Simon in 47:32 and Belgium’s Tim Byrdenbach in 47:34. Per Bittner (DEU) was close on the lead trio’s heels, exiting the swim just ten seconds behind to head out on the bike.
Bittner took an early lead on the bike before Andreas Niedrig (DEU) emerged to take the top spot over at the 20-kilometer mark. The 48-year-old dominated most of the bike with only a few trade-offs where he and Ruedi Wild (SUI) swapped positions. With a lead group made up of seven, the rest of the field struggled to catch up. The top group eventually divided into two with Niedrig, Anton Blokhin (UKR) and Bittner reaching T2 first.
As Niedrig battled leg problems he lost speed on the first few meters of the marathon. Following close behind Blokhin took over the lead, holding it until the 32-kilometer mark where David Plese (SVN) passed him. The young Slovenian scored his first ever IRONMAN victory in 8:02:20. Blokhin finished second in 8:05:50 with Bittner in third at 8:06:23.
van Vlerken uses her experience to take the win
Kaisa Lehtonen (FIN) dominated the women’s race from the beginning. She was first out of the water and held that position all the way through the bike.
Vanessa Raw (GBR) made a strong effort to chase Lehtonen but was overtaken by Yvonne van Vlerken (NED) at the 75-kilometer mark. Following the pass, there was still a five-minute gap between Lehtonen and van Vlerken, but the Dutchwoman worked hard to catch the leader.
On the marathon, van Vlerken’s fitness was too good for Lehtonen and after some time running shoulder-to-shoulder with Lehtonen (and Blokhin) she took over.
Sailing into her seventh IRONMAN win, with her 10th sub-nine hour finish, van Vlerken crossed the final line in 8:46:44. After a very strong performance, Lehtonen came in second at 8:48:40, with Elisabeth Gruber (AUT) in third at 8:54:03.
Top 5 Men
1 Plese, David SVN 8:02:20
2 Blokhin, Anton UKR 8:05:50
3 Bittner, Per DEU 8:06:23
4 Baertsch, Mauro CHE 8:10:25
5 Brydenbach, Tim BEL 8:10:34
Top 5 Women
1 van Vlerken, Yvonne NLD 8:46:44
2 Lehtonen, Kaisa FIN 8:48:40
3 Gruber, Elisabeth AUT 8:54:03
4 Mullan, Eimear IRL 8:56:51
5 Dogana, Martina ITA 9:05:30