Ben Collins broke out of a swim-bike duel with Igor Amorelli by a 3rd-best run, and home country favorite Barbara Riveros overcame Lauren Brandon’s 4:53 lead off the bike with a women’s 2nd-best run to win the elite titles at Ironman 70.3 Pucon

Men

Felipe Barraza of Chile led the men’s swim in 24:24, followed closely by Barrett Brandon of the U.S. (24:27), Luciano Taccone of Argentina (24:29), Daniel Fontana of Italy (24:32), Ben Collins of the U.S. (24:34), and Igor Amorelli of Brazil (24:35) with Guilherme Manocchio of Brazil trailing 75 seconds later.

On the challenging, hilly bike leg, Collins and Amorelli took charge with dominating 2:08:14 and 2:08:15 splits while Manocchio led the chasers with a 4th-best 2:13:42 split.

Doing his best to cut a 7:44 T2 deficit with a race-best 1:17:52 half-marathon run, Manocchio fell short of Collins, whose 3rd-best 1:20:17 run brought him to the finish in 3:59:02 with a 4:24 advantage of Manocchio and 5:46 on 3rd-place finisher Barraza, who closed with a 2nd-fastest 1:19:20 run.

“Tough race against a talented field in a beautiful place,” wrote Collins on Twitter. “Very nice way to start the year.”

Daniel Fontana finished 4th in 4:06:24, Amorelli finished 5th in 4:07:00 and Taccone, who was in a virtual tie for the lead at T2, fell back to 6th with a 1:23:38 run.

Women

Lauren Brandon of the U.S. led the women's swim with a 30:33 split which gained her a 2:54 lead on Carvallo, 2:57 on Riveros, and 2:59 on Joyce.

Brandon increased her lead with a women's-best 2:30:40 bike split which gave her a 4:53 lead on Riveros, 4:50 on Carvallo and 8:25 on Joyce.

Joyce advanced past Carvallo and Brandon with a women's-best 1:28:01 run but Riveros defended her lead with a women’s 2nd-best 1:29:55 run that brought her to the finish in 4:42:10, giving her a 4:18 margin of victory on Joyce and 5:36 on 3rd-place finisher Carvallo, the 2013 and 2014 Pucon 70.3 champion.

“Beautiful course and some of the best crowd support I've experienced,” wrote Joyce on Twitter. “Big congrats to @bcriveros for defending her title.”

Herbalife Ironman 70.3 Pucon
Pucon, Chile
January 10, 2016
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.

Results

Men

1. Ben Collins (USA) 3:59:02
2. Guilherme Manocchio (BRA) 4:03:26
3. Felipe Barraza (CHL) 4:04:48
4. Daniela Fontana (ITA) 4:06:24
5. Igor Amorelli (BRA) 4:07:00

Women

1. Barbara Riveros (CHL) 4:42:10
2. Rachel Joyce (GBR) 4:46:28
3. Valentina Carvallo (CHL) 4:47:46
4. Lauren Brandon (USA) 4:49:28
5. Pamela Tastets (CHL) 4:53:46