Two-time Ironman World Champion Jan Frodeno topped current Ironman World Champion and Kona course record holder Patrick Lange on the swim, bike and run while Laura Philipp beat fellow German Daniela Sämmler by 10:26 at Ironman 70.3 Kraichgau.
Frodeno won wire-to-wire, setting race-best splits on the swim (23:29), bike (2:11:03) and run (1:11:06) to finish in 3:49:05 with a 6:30 margin on fellow German Lange and 8:08 on training partner and 3rd place finisher Nick Kastelein of Australia.
The win was Frodeno’s second wire-to-wire 70.3 victory in 2018 after dominating at Oceanside 70.3.
After a win at St. Pölten 70.3 last weekend, Laura Philipp overcame a 2:14 deficit after the swim with women’s-best 2:27:28 bike and 1:21:13 run splits to finish in 4:20:50 with a 10:26 margin over Daniela Sämmler of Germany and 14:08 over 3rd place finisher Yvonne Van Vlerken of the Netherlands.
Men
Frodeno led the swim in 23:29 which gave him a 2 seconds lead on training partner Nick Kastelein, 1:05 on Andi Böcherer of Germany, 1:07 on Bas Diederen of Netherlands, 1:55 on Markus Rolli of Germany, and 1:56 on Lange.
By 50 kilometers of the bike leg, Frodeno and Kastelein opened a 2:11 minutes lead on Böcherer who led a pack of five men including Rolli, Marc Duelsen, Lange, Diederen, and Julian Mutterer.
By 77km, Frodeno broke away and led Kastelein by 2:50, and held a 4:17 lead on a group including Bocherer, Duelsen, Rolli, Lange, and Mutterer.
After a race-best 2:11:03 bike split, Frodeno arrived at T2 with a 4:32 lead on Kastelein and 4:55 on a pack of five including Rolli, Böcherer, Duelsen, Rolli, Mutterer, and Lange.
After 14 kilometers of the run leg, Lange passed Kastelein for second, 6:21 behind Frodeno and 40 seconds ahead of the Australian. Kastelein held on to a 1:06 lead on Böcherer.
After a race-best 1:11:06 run, Frodeno finished in 3:49:05 with a 6:30 margin on Lange (1:12:20 run) and 8:08 on Kastelein (1:14:33 run).
Women
Anna-Lena Pohl of Germany led the women's swim in 26:17 which gave her a 2:12 lead on Natascha Schmitt of Germany and Nina Derron of Switzerland, 2:14 on Philipp, and 2:27 on Sämmler.
By 50 kilometers of the bike leg, Phillip blazed past all competitors to take a 3:33 lead on Sämmler, 3:38 on Yvonne Van Vlerken, 3:46 on Derron, 5:36 on Pohl, 8:20 on Schmitt, and 9:01 on Tine Deckers of Belgium.
After a women’s-best 2:27:28 bike split, Philipp led Sämmler by 6:07, Van Vlerken by 6:11, and Derron by 9:34.
Cruising along with an unassailable lead, Philipp polished off her victory with a with a women’s-fastest 1:21:13 half marathon which brought her to the line in 4:20:50 with a 10:26 margin on Sämmler (1:25:48 run split) and 14:08 on 3rd place finisher Van Vlerken (1:28:33 run).
Ironman 70.3 Kraichgau
Kraichgau, Germany
June 3, 2018
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Men
1. Jan Frodeno (GER) 3:49:05 S 23:29 T1 1:31 B 2:11:03 T2 1:57 R 1:11:06
2. Patrick Lange (GER) 3:55:35 S 25:25 T1 1:21 B 2:14:19 T2 2:12 R 1:12:20
3. Nicholas Kastelein (AUS) 3:57:13 S 23:31 T1 1:37 B 2:15:38 T2 2:06 R 1:14:33
4. Andi Böcherer (GER) 3:58:43 S 24:34 T1 1:50 B 2:14:37 T2 2:00 R 1:15:44
5. Markus Rolli (GER) 4:00:21 S 25:24 T1 1:24 B 2:14:11 T2 2:05 R 1:17:18
Women
1. Laura Philipp (GER) 4:20:50 S 28:31 T1 1:27 B 2:27:28 T2 2:13 R 1:21:13
2. Daniela Sämmler (GER) 4:31:16 S 28:44 T1 1:38 B 2:33:10 T2 1:57 R 1:25:48
3. Yvonne Van Vlerken (NED) 4:34:58 S N/A T1 N/A B N/A T2 N/A R 1:28:33 *Chip fell off
4. Tine Deckers (BEL) 4:38:20 S 30:48 T1 1:43 B 2:35:30 T2 2:22 R 1:27:58
5. Katharina Grohmann (GER) 4:42:57 S 34:21 T1 1:30 B 2:37:35 T2 2:14 R 1:27:19
