Thomas Steger (L) and Sebastian Kienle (R)
Thomas Steger of Austria came from behind with a race-best 1:08:19 half marathon to defeat Pablo Dapena Gonzalez of Spain by one minute while Sarissa De Vries of the Netherlands combined women’s-second-best bike and run splits to dominate the women at Challenge Riccione.
Men
Steger emerged from a 28th place 28:40 swim that left him 4:31 behind the swim leader Marco Lazzaretti. Steger’s modest 2:12:23 bike split cut his deficit to 3:33. Whereupon his stellar 1:08:19 run – 2:44 better than the next-best effort of Sebastian Kienle of Germany – vaulted him to a one-minute margin over runner-up Gonzalez – who earned his second straight runner-up finish after a second place at Challenge Gran Canaria last month - and 2:45 over third place finisher Kienle.
Steger thus added another half-Iron distance title to his victory at the Zell-Am-See Zaprun win in 2019.
Women
Sarissa de Vries of the Netherlands finished the swim in 3rd place with a 33-seconds deficit to swim leader Ilaria Zane of Italy, then charged into a 4-minute lead over India Lee of Great Britain with a women’s second-best 2:27:13 bike split. De Vries then expanded her lead with a women’s second-fastest 1:23:18 half marathon to finish in 4:23:16 with a 5:44 margin over India Lee and 10:13 over 3rd-place finisher Marta Bernardi of Italy, who made up for a 30:58 swim and a 2:34:53 bike split with a women’s-best 1:22:34 run.
With her victory, De Vries thus improved on her second-place finish in April at the Challenge Gran Canaria to 2012 Olympic Champion Nicola Spirig of Switzerland.
Challenge Riccione
Riccione, Italy
May 9, 2021
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Men
1. Thomas Steger (AUT) S 28:40 T1 1:31 B 2:12:23 T2 1:41 R 1:08:19 TOT 3:52:34
2. Dapena Pablo Gonzalez (ESP) S 26:41 T1 1:25 B 2:12:31 T2 1:38 R 1:11:13 TOT 3:53:34
3. Sebastian Kienle (GER) S 29:25 T1 1:29 B 2:11:39 T2 1:53 R 1:12:44 TOT 3:55:19
4. Mattia Ceccarelli (ITA) S 26:45 T1 1:27 B 2:10:47 T2 1:34 R 1:15:06 TOT 3:55:59
5. Andi Bocherer (GER) S 27:24 T1 1:25 B 2:11:36 T2 1:39 R 1:14:22 TOT 3:56:26
6. Stenn Goetstouwers (BEL) S 28:09 T1 1:36 B 2:12:19 T2 1:42 R 1:12:59 TOT 3:56:47
Women
1. Sarissa De Vries (NED) S 29:23 T11:41 B 2:27:13 T2 1:41 R 1:23:18 TOT 4:23:16
2. India Lee (GBR) S 29:15 T1 1:35 B 2:31:40 T2 1:54 R 1:24:37 TOT 4:29:03
3. Marta Bernardi (ITA) S 30:58 T1 2:00 B 2:34:53 T2 2:04 R 1:22:34 TOT 4:33:29
4. Caroline Lehrieder (GER) S 30:43 T1 1:47 B 2:34:24 T2 1:55 R 1:24:33 TOT 4:34:34
5. Lena Berlinger (GER) S 32:41 T1 1:38 B 2:24:01 T2 1:46 R 1:25:20 TOT 4:35:26
6. Julie Iemmolo (FRA) S 30:18 T1 1:52 B 2:34:42 T2 1:34 R 1:27:31 TOT 4:35:57
