Guilherme Valenza Manocchio and Michelle Vesterby take wins at KMD IRONMAN Copenhagen. While the Brazilian ran into victory, the Danish brought a thrilling women’s showing, including a sub-9 finish.
Mannochio smokes competition on the run
Danish spectators lined the course, hoping the 2014 KMD IRONMAN Copenhagen champion Henrik Hyldelund (DAN) would pull off a repeat performance. Thanks to a 4:16 bike ride, Hyldelund smashed the inaugural KMD IRONMAN Copenhagen the year before, but this time his competition showed up ready to fight.
Andreas Niedrig (GER), 47-year old IRONMAN veteran, entered the water, nailing down the best swim in 47:02. With a strong swim performance behind him, he headed out on the bike with a lead of a minute ahead of a solid group including Hyldelund, Guilherme Valenza Manocchio (BRA), Jan Raphael (GER) and Mike Aigroz (SUI).
Although Hyldelund caught up with Niedrig after about 30 kilometers of the ride, the German hammered away, keeping his lead strong. With 20 kilometers to go on the bike, Niedrig had a lead of more than six minutes over Hyldelund, with Manocchio falling seven minutes behind. Aigroz and Raphael trailed more than 13 minutes behind the leader. Niedrig came off the bike first, establishing a split of 4:21:48 and presented the surprise of the day for the spectators.
After five kilometers of the marathon, Manocchio took over the runner-up position from Hyldelund and started a tough hunt for the lead. It took the winner of the 2014 IRONMAN Fortaleza more than 17 kilometers to overtake the German leader, who is 14 years older than Manocchio.
Manocchio never looked back after taking the lead, running straight to an unchallenged win. Niedrig had to fight hard, but he was able to hold off Hyldelund for a while. With 15 kilometers to go, defending champion Hyldelund passed by the strong German for second place. Neidreg held his position at that point, finishing in third place.
Versterby holds strong for a fast finish
Michelle Vesterby (DEN) went into the second edition of the KMD IRONMAN Copenhagen with a clear goal: secure a spot for the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona. Having such a lofty goal forced her to work at a top level from the get-go. For this reason the local hero hit the gas early in the water, setting the tone for a great day.
Only Lucie Zelenkova (CZE) was able to follow the tough pace of the 31-year old in the artificial lagoon at Amager Strandpark, next to the city center of Denmark’s capital. Vesterby exited the choppy water in 50:45, with Zelenkova right behind in 50:47. The rest of the women’s pro field followed almost six minutes behind. Another race favorite, Sofie Goos (BEL), exited the water third in 56:35, with Sonja Tajsich (GER) even further behind in 58:17.
Vesterby started her breakaway from Zelenkova in transition and was off and away. Once in the saddle, Vesterby powered on during the bike ride to keep her lead. Goos took over the runner-up position quite early on the bike and started to downsize the gap between first and second place.
Regula Rohrbach (SUI) came from behind the lead group to ride strong on the first half of the two-loop bike course. She was only 2:47 behind Vesterby through 82 kilometers, but this didn’t shake the Danish leader at any point. Tajsich and Goos caught Rohrbach later on and the three rode in a chase group towards T2. Vesterby continued riding strong, pacing her race at a superb level. When she got off the bike with a split of 4:52:23, the chasing trio was 7:40 behind.
Goos ran hard to close the gap on the run as soon as possible. Through 10.5 kilometers she was 2:46 behind the lead, but Vesterby held strong. At 23 kilometers there was only a minute between the top two, while Tajsich was more than five minutes back in third.
The spectators waited for a close final in the heart of Copenhagen, but Vesterby wouldn’t let that happen. She was able to stretch the gap on the last 10 kilometers again, pushing herself under the nine-hour mark. Vesterby celebrated the second IRONMAN victory of her career, with a stunning finish time of 8:59:49, after winning the 2012 IRONMAN Lanzarote in her home country Denmark. She crossed the line with a huge smile, feeling totally over the moon. Goos and Tajsich followed shortly after her finish to complete an outstanding pro women’s competition.
Top 5 Men
1 Guilherme Valenza Manocchio BRA 8:14:56
2 Henrik Hyldelund DEN 8:21:51
3 Andreas Niedrig GER 8:27:37
4 Mike Schifferle SUI 8:27:57
5 Jan Raphael GER 8:31:50
Top 5 Women
1 Michelle Vesterby DEN 8:59:49
2 Sofie Goos BEL 9:03:07
3 Sonja Tajsich GER 9:08:43
4 Regula Rohrbach SUI 9:38:07
5 Lucie Zelenkova CZE 9:39:43