Anne Haug of Germany far outran the women’s field and Daniel Bakkegard of Denmark edged out Mika Noodt of Germany to take the honors at the challenging hills of Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote.
Haug combined a women’s 3rd-best 28:40 swim, 2nd-fastest 2:35:20 bike split and by-far women’s best 1:20:48 half marathon to finish in 4:30:31 with an 8:33 margin over Nikki Bartlett of Great Britain and 11:04 over third-place India Lee of Great Britain.
Haug’s victory adds to a stellar 2021 season that includes wins at Challenge Roth and Challenge St. Polten and a 2nd place to Jackie Hering in their heat at the Collins Cup.
Bakkegard combined a second-best 23:30 swim, a sixth-quickest 2:26:59 bike split, and a third-best 1:17:25 run split to finish in 4:03:30 with a 54 seconds margin over fast closing Mika Noodt of Germany and 4:43 over 3rd place Thor Bendix Mandsen of Denmark.
Bakkegard remains on a 2021 hot streak that includes a 3rd at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship, a win at Dubai 70.3 and a win in his heat at the prestigious Collins Cup.
Men
Bakkegard was second out of the water, six seconds behind Richard Varga of Slovakia. Soon thereafter the Dane took over first place and held a 1:12 lead over Danish compatriot Thor Bendix Mandsen, 1:40 over Jan Stratmann of Germany and 1:45 over eventual runner-up Mika Noodt of Germany at T2. Noodt made some inroads with a race-best 1:16:47 half marathon but could only reduce the gap to 54 seconds at the finish, as Bakkegard ran a third-best 1:17:25 to cinch the deal. Fellow Dane Thor Bendix Mandsen filed out the podium, 4:43 behind the winner. Jan Stratmann of Germany took 4th, 6:28 behind the champion.
Women
India Lee of Great Britain led the swim with a 27:00 split that gave her a 1:39 lead over Kaidi Kivioja of Estonia and 1:40 over Haug and 2:32 over Nikki Bartlett. Bartlett then produced the women’s-best 2:34:12 fastest bike split – 1:08 better than Haug – and led the way into T2 by 9 seconds ahead of Haug.
Haug then turned on the jets with a by-far women’s-best 1:20:48 run split, finishing in 4:30:231 with an 8:33 margin over Bartlett and 1:04 over India Lee.
Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote
Canary Islands, Spain, Lanzarote
October 9, 2021
S 1.2 mi. / B 57 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Men
1. Daniel Bakkegard (DEN) S 23:30 T1 3:231 B 2:16:58 T2 2:18 R 1:17:25 TOT 4:03:30
2. Mika Noodt (GER) S 24:50 T1 3:09 B 2:17:36 T2 2:05 R 1:16:47 TOT 4:04:25
3. Thor Bendix Mandsen (DEN) S 26:27 T1 3:19 B 2:15:17 T2 2:21 R 1:20:53 TOT 4:08:14
4. Jan Stratmann (GER) S 24:47 T1 3:18 B 2:17:25 T2 2:13 R 1:22:18 TOT 4:09:59
5. Kristoffer Visit Grae (DEN) S 26:01 T1 3:14 B 2:17:35 T2 2:37 R 1:26:09 TOT 4:15:33
6. Emilio Aguayo Muñoz (ESP) S 25:25 T1 3:52 B 2:23:48 T2 3:18 R 1:24:20 TOT 4:20:41
7. Harry Palmer (GBR5) S 25:19 T1 3:35 B 2:27:23 T2 2:49 R 1:24:28 TOT 4:23:31
8. Richard Varga (SLO) S 23:24 T1 3:17 B 2:30:41 T2 2:23 R 1:25:45 TOT 4:25:28
9. Sybren Baelde (BEL) S 26:28 T1 3:33 B 2:32:08 T2 2:23 R 1:24:46 TOT 4:29:17
10. Nicholas Ward Muñoz (DEN) S 30:35 T1 3:56 B 2:28:23 T2 2:49 R 1:25:22 TOT 4:31:02
Pro Women
1. Anne Haug (GER) S 28:40 T1 3:28 B 2:35:20 T2 2:17 R 1:20:48 TOT 4:30:31
2. Nikki Bartlett (GBR) S 29:33 T1 3:34 B 2:34:12 T2 2:25 R 1:29:23 TOT 4:39:04
3. India Lee (GBR) S 27:00 T1 3:27 B 2:40:29 T2 2:31 R 1:28:09 TOT 4:41:35
4. Kaidi Kivioja (EST) S 28:39 T1 3:30 B 2:37:39 T2 2:21 R 1:32:29 TOT 4:44:36
5. Lydia Dant (GBR) S 32:38 T1 3:52 B 2:39:55 T2 3:04 R 1:30:16 TOT 4:49:44
6. Sarah Bonner (CAN) S 31:12 T1 3:56 B 2:56:21 T2 2:33 R 1:39:37 TOT 5:13:58
7. Tessa Kortekaas (NED) S 31:09 T1 3:57 B 2:54:11 T2 2:36 R 1:48:36 TOT 5:20:27
