Al-Sultan, Möller Take Titles At Ironman Lanzarote

Germans Faris Al-Sultan and Kristin Möller won Ironman Lanzarote using dominating performances highlighted by strong bike rides on a course that include 8,000 feet of climbing.

The swim started under pretty heavy rain, but the lead pack of six men stuck together during the two laps, led by Brit Stephen Bayliss (last year’s Lanzarote runner-up), who finished in a time of 47:45. Bayliss was closely followed by five men including Al-Sultan and Spain’s Miguel Blanchart. Al-Sultan soon took the lead, followed by Brit Philip Graves and Bayliss, but kept building a huge lead all the way into T2. He finished the bike in 4:53:03, with Graves and Blanchart almost 10 minutes back into T2. Al-Sultan ran a 2:55 marathon to maintain almost that 10-minute lead to the finish, finishing in a time of 8:42:40. Blanchart finished second after running a 2:54:20 marathon, and Estonian Kirill Kotsegarov edged out Graves in a sprint to the finish to take the final spot on the podium.

In the women’s race, Dutch age grouper Hanneke de Boer was first out on the bike after finishing the swim in a time of 54:06. She was followed by Spanish pro Saleta Castro and age-grouper Melissa Dowell of the UK. British pro Bella Bayliss started the bike in fourth but later dropped out on the run. Starting the bike in eighth position about five and half minutes back was German pro Kristin Möller, who powered through the tough bike course to take the lead. Dutch pro Heleen Bij de Vaate moved into second place on the bike (she finished third on this course last year). Möller maintained her lead into T2, finishing the bike in a time of 5:31:47. Bij de Vaate used a 5:39 bike split to start the run in second about 15 minutes behind the leader. Möller posted a solid 2:58 marathon to maintain the lead to the finish—she finished 32 minutes over the runner-up. Bij de Vaate finished second, and Castro rounded out the podium.

More than 1700 age-group athletes started the race, including Gordon Haller, the first-ever Ironman Hawaii winner in 1978.

Ironman Lanzarote
Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain – May 18, 2013
2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run

Men
1. Faris Al-Sultan (GER) 8:42:40
2. Miguel Blanchart (ESP) 8:52:08
3. Kirill Kotsegarov (EST) 9:04:09
4. Philip Graves (GBR) 9:04:17
5. Bert Jammaer (BEL) 9:06:48

Women
1. Kristin Möller (GER) 9:37:34
2. Heleen Bij de Vaate (NED) 10:09:31
3. Saleta Castro (ESP) 10:14:27
4. Joyce Wolfe (IRE) 10:31:45

Complete results.

Our Twitter followers are the first to know about the latest in triathlon news. Follow us now @Triathletemag.