IRONMAN 70.3 Pays d'Aix! due to the weather the swim had to be cancelled this morning. With temperatures at 5 degrees Celsius and very windy. The race started at 8 am for the pro men directly with the bike.
The start procedure was an individual start: One pro athlete every 20 seconds. The pro men first, then pro women.
It was 4 :30 am when the executive committee took the decision to cancel the swim part, with the agreement of the arbitrators and the medical staff. A difficult decision to take for Yves CORDIER and Laurent COURBON, but the 13,8°C of the Peyroles Lake at 6am attached to the sharp wind, couldn’t provide the security of all the athletes.
At the bike park, the athletes approved for the biggest part, drawing lots of the time of departures and after that, a start every 20 seconds.
Among the favorites, David McNamee started in first, with Bertrand Billard in pursuit. Romain Guillaume in turn, started 9 minutes behind. The beauty of this type of competition starts in its strategy, going as fast as you can from the beginning to the finish.
In the bike leg the Eastern European athletes has made the biggest showing. In the Top Ten in bike times, we can see three Germans, a Polish and one Austrian. Without knowing their classification, the athletes were engaged a real war.
Finally, Bertrand Billard won for the second time the IRONMAN 70.3 Pays d’Aix behind Maurice Clavel and Christian Birngruber. A podium which was undetermined from the beginning to the finish because David McNamee finished 4ième at 1 second from the podium, Gwenael Ouillère at 4 seconds.
Concerning the women pro field, Tine Deckers has dominated the race with a bike in 2h31’55. With more of 7 minutes behind the other professional athletes, Tine has managed the half-marathon. Behind the belgium athlete, a group has been formed with Nikki Bartlett, Kimberley Morisson, Juloa Gajer and Camille Deligny. Alexandra Tondeur, one of the favorite, was at 14 minutes. During the half-marathon, Julia Gajer and Nikki Bartlett fought for the second place, Kimberley Morrisson insured her fourth place and Alexandra Tondeur finished 6th.
Top 5 Male:
1 Billard, Bertrand (FRA) 3:30:32
2 Clavel, Maurice (GER) +1:49
3 Birngruber, Christian (AUT) +3:49
4 Mcnamee, David (GBR) +3:50
5 Ouilleres, Gwenael (FRA) +3:53
Top 5 Female:
1 Deckers, Tine (BEL) 3:56:18
2 Gajer, Julia (GER) +06:11
3 Bartlett, Nikki (GBR) +07:49
4 Morrison, Kimberley (GBR) +11:18
5 Stienen, Astrid (GER) +12:30