They Said It: What the Top 3 Men in Marbella Had to Say After a Race for the Ages

Kristian Blummenfelt, Jelle Geens and Casper Stornes. Photo: Kevin Mackinnon

The pro women treated spectators and fans at home to an incredible race on Saturday, with Lucy Charles-Barclay and Taylor Knibb duking it out on the run course just weeks after their battle in Kona. The men followed that show up on Sunday with a similar run battle, although this one went right to the line with Jelle Greens beating Kristian Blummenfelt to the tape in a sprint finish. Casper Stornes was third, only a minute back of the top two.

Slowtwitch spoke to the three men on the 70.3 World Championship podium just moments after they crossed the line, getting their takes on the race while it was still fresh in their memories. Here is what they thought about what turned out to be a phenomenal three and a half hours of competition.

Stornes’s Dream Season

Coming into this season, the biggest win of Stornes’s triathlon career was likely his victory at the World Triathlon Championship Series race in Bermuda in 2018. Since then, he hadn’t posted too many top results at short-course events. He won a couple of 70.3s in recent years, but nothing major.

Cut to 2025 — a year in which Stornes finished fifth at the IRONMAN North American Championship in Texas, third at the European Championship in Frankfurt, first at the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice, and now third at the 70.3 worlds.

Stornes on the run in Marbella. Photo: Eric Wynn

“It’s been a crazy season,” Stornes said after the race. “I’m very happy. This was the last race of the year and I really wanted to finish it off [well]. And, yeah, I felt I did.”

Stornes said he “wasn’t feeling [his] best” for most of the day — even on the run course (which he crushed, posting the third-best split of the day in 1:08:28).

“On the run I just didn’t feel good for the first lap, but then I managed to get a good [pace] the last eight [kilometres], and then I went for it,” he said. “I gained a little bit on Kristian and Jelle, but it wasn’t enough.”

Another Podium for Blummenfelt

It’s no secret that Blummenfelt doesn’t like to lose. As Slowtwitch senior editor Kevin Mackinnon said to him after the race, most people would be thrilled with second in the world, but for someone with Blummenfelt’s resume, it probably stings to finish behind a competitor.

“When you’re racing for the world championship title, you want to grab that finish line tape,” he said. “We’re training to take the world championship titles, and I failed at both Nice and here.”

Blummenfelt said he was conscious of Geens’s position on the bike, knowing that he would be a real threat on the run course. He got a jump on the Belgian in transition, hitting the half-marathon around 20 seconds sooner than Geens, but after only a couple of miles they were side by side, where they would stay right to the end.

Photo: Kevin Mackinnon

“I was building up toward one big surge in the end,” Blummenfelt said. “Maybe I went too late, maybe I should’ve gone earlier.”

He continued, saying that Geens was “just too strong,” and although he gave it his best, he added that he is “a little bit disappointed to only get second.”

Geens Does It Again

In 2024, Geens ran away from an Olympic medallist to take the 70.3 world crown, and he did the same on Sunday to win his second straight title. After the race, he said it was “a bit of an annoying run” with Blummenfelt tagging along behind him.

“I was always running in front and Kristian didn’t want to take any pulls,” Geens said. “He always said, ‘I’m waiting for Casper.'”

Stornes never made it up to them, so Geens continued to lead for much of the half-marathon.

“But I felt really good, I felt really cruisey [sic] on the run,” he said. At one point late into the race, Blummenfelt accelerated, but Geens responded with relative ease, noting that he “felt really comfortable.”

Geens wins in Spain. Photo: Eric Wynn

He almost didn’t make it to the run, however, as he fell early in the ride and had subsequent mechanical issues with his bike

“There was a good few times when I thought the race was over, to be honest,” Geens said. “It was quite a hard crash.”

The crash left his TT bars “a bit sideways,” and his rear derailleur was bent, too.

“I couldn’t really go into the smallest gear and the gears were jumping a bit,” he said. He hopped off the bike at one point to do a quick repair, then got back on and was able to remain in a good position.

“Luckily I felt good,” he said. “I think I’ve proven today that I was the strongest even after all [of that].”

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