After winning the four previous IRONMAN 70.3 Pucon titles, Barbara Riveros (CHL) was the favorite heading into the race in Chile. It didn’t take long for her to take her place at the front early into the bike leg, joined by Alicia Kaye (USA) and Macarena Ezquerra (CHL) for the entire 90 km’s.
Riveros started the run just in front of Kaye and Ezquerra. That would be as close to the trailing pair would get to the leader as Riveros pounded out the fastest run of the day, leaving Kaye and Ezquerra left to fight it out for second and third. In yet another brilliant performance in Pucon, Riveros captured her fifth consecutive win, much to the delight of the home crowd.
Santiago Ascenco (BRA), Felipe Barraza (CHL) Felipe Van de Wyngard (CHL), Andy Potts (USA) and Taylor Reid (CAN) made quick work of creating a gap on the field once they hit the single out-and-back 90 km bike course. The quartet rode together for much of the first 70 km’s before Barraza and Reid relented to the pace being set down by Ascenco, Van de Wyngard and Potts who dismounted their bikes together.
Ascenco was on his game early on the run as he forced his way to the front, passing Van de Wyngard for the lead in the opening km. Potts would run into second in the opening half of the run while Ascenco was laying down a race-best run split. The Brazilian would take the first win of the 2019 IRONMAN 70.3 season by a margin of 3:13.
Top 5 Pro Men
1 Ascenco, Santiago BRA 3:59:33
2 Potts, Andy USA 4:02:45
3 Barraza, Felipe CHL 4:04:47
4 Van de Wyngard, Philipe CHL 4:04:52
5 Reid, Tyler CAN 4:07:48
Top 5 Pro Women
1 Riveros, Barbara CHL 4:30:07
2 Kate, Alicia CAN 4:36:02
3 Ezquerra, Macarena CHL 4:37:13
4 Bravo, Elizabeth ECU 4:40:13
5 Palacio, Romina ARG 4:46:40