Due to inclement weather, organizers changed Ironman 70.3 Ruegen to a 5k-90k-21.1k duathlon format and Michael Raelert of Germany and Yvonne Van Vlerken of Netherlands emerged victorious.
Men
Raelert started fast, finishing the opening 5k run leg 1 second behind Alexander Schilling’s 16:37 split, 1 second ahead of Horst Reichel, 9 seconds ahead of accomplished Belgian duathlete Dennis Devriendt, 22 seconds ahead of Swiss pro Mauro Bärtsch, 24 seconds ahead of Andreas Dreitz and 28 seconds ahead of Faris Al-Sultan.
At 16km into the bike leg, strong cyclist Andreas Dreitz, perhaps wanting to atone for a disappointing outing at Ironman 70.3 Worlds in Canada, took a 21 seconds lead on Raelert, 1:04 on Reichel, 1:13 on Herbst, 1:28 on Devriendt, 2:03 on Al-Sultan and 2:04 on Schilling.
By 62km, Raelert seized the lead by 38 seconds on Dreitz, and well ahead of Herbst (+2:41), Matthias Knossalla (+3:27), Reichel (+3:28), Edo Van der Meer (+3:31), Devriendt (+3:53) and Per Bittner (+3:54).
By the end of the bike leg, Raelert’s race-fastest 2:09:50 split – two minutes better than his nearest pursuers – gave him a 2:30 lead on Herbst, 4:27 on Reichel, 4:39 on Van der Meer and 4:40 on Knossalla.
By 10k into a 3rd-fastest 1:21:02 run split, Raelert opened up a 3:54 lead on Herbst, 4:50 on Knossalla and 4:54 on Reichel. While Knossalla (race-best 1:19:38 run split) and Van der Meer (1:20:44 run) made up some ground to finish 2nd and 3rd, Raelert sailed to the win in 3:53:10 with a 3:16 margin of victory on Knossalla and 4:21 on 3rd place finisher Van der Meer.
Raelert’s win was his second podium finish in two weeks – he placed 3rd at Challenge Walchsee-Kaiserwinkl -- and these successes are a welcome return to form after being hampered by injuries for several years.
Women
Yvonne Van Vlerken was pushed much harder on her path to victory than Raelert, but she prevailed with similar grit by a far smaller margin.
The women's opening 5k ended up in a blanket finish among three competitors – Van Vlerken was timed in 18:47 and followed 1 second later by Laura Philipp of Germany and Maja Nielsen of Denmark. German pro Natascha Schmitt trailed by 28 seconds and fellow Germans Daniela Sammler and Anja Beranek started the bike a minute and a half down.
By 16km, Beranek took the lead, with Van Vlerken 3 seconds back and Philipp 6 seconds arrears and Nielsen was 28 seconds down. After 44km, Beranek stretched her lead to 1:31 over Philipp and 1:36 on Van Vlerken with Nielsen 3:38 back and fading.
Beranek finished the ride with a race-best 2:23:12 split that was 5 minutes better than Van Vlerken and Philipp but would prove to leave her tapped out for the run. By 5 km of the run, Beranek’s 5-minute lead had been cut to 1:30 on Philipp and 1:48 on Van Vlerken and 4:47 on Nielsen. Just 5km later, Philipp and Van Vlerken were running elbow-to-elbow with a 2:33 lead on a fast-fading Beranek. At the 18.7 km mark, the strain was evident on the faces of Philipp and Van Vlerken, who were running side by side and hoping to drop one another before the end.
The race came down to the final chute where the determined Dutch champion prevailed by a 7 seconds margin in a time of 4:20:20. Maja Nielsen too the final spot on the podium, 4:13 back of Van Vlerken.
Like Michael Raelert, Van Vlerken has also recovered from injuries – albeit in a much shorter time -- when she was hit by a car while training near her home in the Netherlands in April. By contrast, Van Vlerken has been back on track for several months as witnessed by her 4th place finish at Challenge Roth in July and win earlier this month at the Mostiman Triathlon.
Ironman 70.3 Ruegen
Ruegen, Germany
September 14, 2014
R 5k / B 90k / R 21.1k
Results
Men
1. Michael Raelert (GER) 3:53:10
2. Matthias Knossalla (GER) 3:56:26
3. Edo Van der Meer (NED) 3:57:31
4. Marcus Herbst (GER) 3:57:58
5. Dennis Devriendt (BEL) 3:59:40
Women
1. Yvonne Van Vlerken (NED) 4:20:20
2. Laura Philipp (GER) 4:20:27 -0:07
3. Maja Nielsen (DEN) 4:24:33 -4:13
4. Natascha Schmitt (GER) 4:27:58 -7:38
5. Verena Walter (GER) 4:36:64 –16:14
