Bart Aernouts of Belgium and Fenella Langridge of Great Britain won Ironman 70.3 Barcelona.
Men
In a reprise of their battle for second and third at Kona, Aernouts once again prevailed over his Scottish rival thanks to a second-best 1:12:29 half marathon that overcame a 25 seconds deficit to McNamee after the bike leg.
After South African bike phenom Nicolas Dougall smoked the field with a 2:19:49 bike leg that gave him a 2:35 lead at T2 in his 70.3 debut, the Kona duelists took control on the run.
After a few kilometers of the run, McNamee zoomed into the lead, followed by Aernouts and then fellow Brits Elliot Smales and George Goodwin, as Dougall faded to an eventual 6th place on his way to a 1:23:50 run.
After 11.3 kilometers, McNamee led the race by 18 seconds over Aernouts, 1:39 over Smales and 2:09 over fast approaching George Goodwin in a hurry to make up for a 5:52 deficit at T2. By 16 kilometers, Aernouts stood ready for the kill at 4 seconds behind McNamee, while Goodwin sailed into third place, 1:57 behind the leaders and 29 seconds ahead of Smales.
Aernouts made his move over the final 5 kilometers, crossing the line in 4:05:07 after a 1:12:29 run that gave him a 1:29 margin of victory over McNamee (1:14:28 run) and 2:30 over 3rd place Goodwin, who closed with a race-best 1:11:48 run.
Women
Langridge led the pro women with a 26:08 swim split that gave her a 4 seconds lead over Anja Ippach of Germany, 1:52 over Sara Van De Vel of Belgium, 2:31 over Gabriella Zelinka of Hungary, 2:40 over Dolca Ollé Gattell of Spain, 3:26 over Magda Nieuwoudt of South Africa, 3:33 over Ewa Komander of Poland, 4:31 over Tine Deckers of Belgium and 4:36 over Laura Siddall of Great Britain.
After 41 kilometers of the bike leg, Ippach eased past Langridge by 4 seconds as the leading duo established a 4:09 lead on Zelinka, 6:18 on Van de Vel, 6:53 on Siddall and 8:14 on Nieuwoudt.
After a women’s-best 2:42:48 split on the challenging bike course, Ippach held a 1:46 lead on Langridge, 4:54 on Van De Vel, 6:00 on Zelinka, 6:19 on Siddall and 8:44 on Nieuwoudt.
Leaving T2, Langridge immediately went to work and cut her deficit to Ippach to 37 seconds after 1.6 km, and passed her German rival soon thereafter. After 16km Langridge held a 3:30 lead on Ippach, 6:11 on Van De Vel and 7:05 on Zelinka.
After a women’s-best 1:23:06 run, Langridge finished in 4:37:42 with a 6:33 margin of victory over Van De Vel (1:26:13 run) and 7:27 over 3rd place Zelinka (1:25:56 run). After a 1:33:43 run, Ippach took 4th place, 9:16 behind the leader. Siddall took 5th, 33 seconds behind Ippach.
Ironman 70.3 Barcelona
Calella, Spain
May 19, 2019
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Pro Men
1. Bart Aernouts (BEL) 4:05:07 S 27:22 T1 2:03 B 2:21:34 T2 1:42 R 1:12:29
2. David McNamee (GBR) 4:06:36 S 23:19 T1 1:53 B 2:25:22 T2 1:37 R 1:14:28
3. George Goodwin (GBR) 4:07:37 S N/A T1 N/A B 2:26:56 T2 2:01 R 1:11:48
4. Elliot Smales (GBR) 4:08:39 S 23:19 T1 1:55 B 2:26:04 T2 1:56 R 1:15:28
5. Albert Moreno Molins (ESP) 4:11:50 S 25:51 T1 2:15 B 2:26:54 T2 1:56 R 1:14:56
6. Nicolas Dougall (RSA) 4:13:23 S 25:46 T1 2:23 B 2:19:49 T2 1:37 R 1:23:50
7. Andreas Giglmayr (AUT) 4:14:28 S 24:32 T1 2:17 B 2:24:26 T2 2:02 R 1:21:13
8. Thomas Huwiler (SUI) 4:14:33 S 28:57 T1 2:07 B 2:27:34 T2 1:40 R 1:14:16
9. Domenico Passuello (ITA) 4:14:50 S 26:59 T1 2:12 B 2:23:56 T2 2:12 R 1:19:33
10. Kenneth Vandendriessche (BEL) 4:15:02 S 27:25 T1 2:00 B 2:25:32 T2 2:01 R 1:18:05
Pro Women
1. Fenella Langridge (GBR) 4:37:42 S 26:08 T1 1:56 B 2:44:48 T2 1:46 R 1:23:06
2. Sara Van De Vel (BEL) 4:44:15 S 28:00 T1 2:20 B 2:45:40 T2 2:03 R 1:26:13
3. Gabriella Zelinka (HUN) 4:45:09 S 28:39 T1 2:35 B 2:45:53 T2 2:10 R 1:25:56
4. Anja Ippach (GER) 4:46:55 S 26:12 T1 2:06 B 2:42:48 T2 2:08 R 1:33:43
5. Laura Siddall (GBR) 4:47:58 S 30:44 T1 2:33 B 2:44:08 T2 1:56 R 1:28:09
6. Magda Nieuwoudt (RSA) 4:30:41 S 29:34 T1 2:20 B 2:47:56 T2 2:05 R 1:30:54
7. Ewa Komander (POL) 4:34:55 S 29:41 T1 2:21 B 2:49:02 T2 2:09 R 1:34:23
