First man out of the water was Spaniard Fernando Alarza (22:32), in his very first IRONMAN race. He also was first out on the bike course, his chasers far off. French Kevin Rundstadler made his way to the front and finally overtook Alarza on the final kilometers on the bike. Rundstadler started the run with Alarza at his back and the Spanish newcomer made it back to the leading position already by the 5K mark. Rundstadler fell back and there were quite some changes amongst the chasers. Filipe Azevedo (POR), Colin Norris (GBR) and João Silva (POR) were amongst those who tried to catch up – but failed and couldn’t close a 2-3 minutes gap to Alarza. The Spaniard finished superiorly in 3:54:57. Second went to João Silva in 3:57:23. The podium was completed by Silva’s countryman Filipe Azevedo in 03:57:41.
In the women's race, it was Beatrice Weib (AUT) who exited the water in first (25:19). She also dominated on the bike until 26K, when Agnieszka Jerzyk from Poland took over the lead. Weib had a faster transition and made it back to 2nd place out on the run, chasing Jerzyk who already had built a 2:14 gap. At 10K, Katrien Verstuyft (BEL) took over 2nd position. Sarah Lewis (GBR) came from behind and made it to 3rd place at 15K. There was no chance of catching Jerzyk, and the Polish athlete won the race in 4:26:06. Verstuyft was 2nd in 4:27:16 and Lewis finished 3rd in 4:30:17.
Top 5 Pro Men
1 Alarza, Fernando ESP 3:54:57
2 Silva, João POR 3:57:23
3 Azevedo, Filipe POR 3:57:41
4 Kalistratov, Aleksey RUS 3:57:43
5 Norris, Colin GBR 3:57:48
Top 5 Pro Women
1 Agnieszka Jerzyk POL 4:26:06
2 Katrien Verstuyft BEL 4:27:16
3 Sarah Lewis GBR 4:30:17
4 Eklund, Nathalie SWE 4:32:40
5 Weib, Beatrice AUT 4:33:41