Jens Toft of Denmark and Olympic silver medalist Lisa Norden of Sweden won the men’s and women’s overall titles at Half Challenge Fuerteventura Saturday.
Men
Toft, who has been struggling to find a top 10 finish in ITU races around the world, seems to have found his strength at the half Ironman distance as his tied-for-race-best 22:59 swim, race-best 2:19:37 bike split and 4th-fastest 1:17:12 run brought him to finish in 4:03:53 with a 2:53 margin of victory over the runner-up, multiple world champion duathlete Joerie Vansteelant of Belgium. Konstantin Bachor of German was 3rd, 4:27 back of Toft.
While Toft's time was respectable on this tough, hilly course battered by tradewinds, it was still 6:37 off now-retired fellow Dane Rasmus Henning's 2012 race record.
Toft and fellow Dane Martin Jensen led the swim with identical 22:59 splits, with Stephan Poulat of France and Stephen Bayliss of Great Britain close behind while dangerous duathlon ace Vansteelant was 5:47 back.
Toft and Jensen arrived in T2 after race leading 2:19:37 and 2:19:45 splits that led Bachor by 3:20, Georg Potrebitsch and Jonathan Ciavattella by 3:25, Mikel Elegezabal by 4:19 and Markus Fachbach by 4:32. Vansteelant, who posted a 3rd-best 2:19:35 bike split, lurked 6:03 back in 8th place, yet to unleash his duathlon world champion’s most dangerous run.
On the run, Jensen, who missed an entire year of run training with an injury, faded to 4th with an understandably off-form 1:22:13 half marathon. Toft defended his lead with a conservative 4th-best 1:17:12 run that gave up 3:46 to Vansteelant’s race-best 1:13:26 half marathon. Vansteelant thus advanced from 8th to 2nd, 1:28 in front of the well balanced race of Bachor, whose 4th-best 24:17 swim, 4th-best 2:21:39 bike split and 5th-best 1:17:57 run passed the fading Jensen near the end and earned the German the final spot on the podium.
Women
Olympic silver medalist and 2012 ITU World Triathlon Series World Champion Norden led wire-to-wire with a race-best swim (24:30), race-best bike (2:35:09) and 2nd-best 1:22:29 run to finish in 4:26:35 with a 6:55 margin of victory over runner-up Eimear Mullan of Ireland and 15:27 over 3rd-place Daniela Sammler of Germany.
Mullan, Ireland’s top Ironman competitor who last year won the Ironman UK and Ironman 70.3 UK double, surrendered 4:05 to Norden on the swim and 3:35 on the bike leg, then outran the ITU champion by 1:20 to outpace 3rd place finisher Sammler by 8:32. Bella Bayliss of Great Britain was 4:49 back of Sammler in 4th place and Heleen Bij de Vaate of the Netherlands was 3:54 back of Bayliss in 5th.
Half Challenge Fuerteventura
Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, Spain
April 13, 2013
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Men
1. Jens Toft (DEN) 4:03:53
2. Joerie Vansteelant (BEL) 4:06:46
3. Konstantin Bachor (GER) 4:08:14
4. Martin Jensen (DEN) 4:09:00
5. Georg Potrebitsch (GER) 4:10:03
6. Jonathan Ciavattella (ITA) 4:10:17
7. Markus Fachbach (GER) 4:12:08
8. Mikel Elgezabal Fernandez (ESP) 4:12:17
9. Eriksimon Strijk (NED) 4:12:38
10. Albert Moreno Molins (ESP) 4:13:01
Women
1. Lisa Norden (SWE) 4:26:35
2. Eimear Mullan (IRL) 4:33:30
3. Daniela Sammler (GER) 4:42:02
4. Bella Bayliss (GBR) 4:46:51
5. Heleen Bij de Vaate (NED) 4:50:45
6. Anna Turvey (GBR) 4:53:55
7. Hanneke de Boer (NED) 5:01:29
8. Kristin Lie (GER) 5:10:03
9. Evi Neuscheler (GER) 5:23:34
10. Katrine Trolle (DEN) 5:24:38
