logo Uplace - BMC

Will Clarke wins Mallorca Olympic Triathlon; Corinne Abraham wins the Volcano Triathlon in Lanzarote Liz Blatchford 2nd in Ironman 70.3 Busselton; Romain Guillaume 11th in Ironman 70.3 Pays d’Aix

Today, Will Clarke (GBR: 1:45:15) of the Uplace-BMC Pro Triathlon Team won the Mallorca Olympic Triathlon. In a sprint finish, Will was 3” faster than the young Linus Stimmel (GER: 1:45:18), Dmitry Rostyagaev (RUS: 1:46:52) completed the podium. At the same moment, his teammate Romain Guillaume (FRA:4:08:03) came 11th in the Ironman 70.3 Pays d’Aix. Andi Boecherer (GER: 3:57:21), who made his come-back after a long recovery due to a car crash, won the race only 12” ahead of Boris Stein (GER: 3:57:33), Jan Van Berkel (SUI: 3:59:30) finished 3rd.

Yesterday, Corinne Abraham (GBR) of the Uplace-BMC Pro Triathlon Team – who came 4th in last week’s Half Challenge Fuerteventura - won the Volcano Triathlon in Lanzarote (Olympic distance), before multiple Ironman Champion Michelle Vesterby (DAN) and Saleta Castro (ESP). While her teammate Liz Blatchford (AUS:4:18:40) came 2nd in Ironman 70.3 Busselton. Felicity Sheedy-Ryan (AUS:4:16:18) took the win in Western Australia, Katey Gibb (AUS:4:19:18) finished 3rd on the Australian podium.

Just like last week, it ended up being another successful weekend for the Uplace-BMC Pro Triathlon Team with 2 strong victories and a solid podium performance. This brings our 2015 total already to 7 wins and 13 podium finishes for the Uplace-BMC Pro Triathlon Team.

Will Clarke wins Mallorca Olympic Tri

Sprint finish

In hot and dry conditions, Will started off with a solid swim, leaving the water in 2nd position 40” behind the leader Linus Stimmel. On the bike, Will was able to quickly join Stimmel in front. Together with Dmitry Rostyagaev, this trio drove away from the chasing pack (drafting race) and led with 1’30” arriving at T2. On the run, Stimmel and Clarke raced shoulder to shoulder from start to finish. With a final sprint, Will Clarke was able to beat the young German by 3”.

Good preparation race

Will Clarke was obviously satisfied with his win: “This was a good preparation race for Ironman Lanzarote in a few weeks. I needed the race conditions to train hard. I had a decent swim. On the bike, we collaborated well and managed to have a considerable lead. During the run, I felt the hard work of the last weeks in my legs. It was hard to run away from Linus Stimmel, so I trusted on my sprint. I am happy I succeeded. My focus is now Ironman Lanzarote at the end of this month, my first long distance Ironman.”

Corinne Abraham wins the Volcano Triathlon

Hopeful result

Corinne Abraham left the water in 4th position 40” behind a leading trio led by Michelle Vesterby. Halfway the bike ride, Corinne managed to pass the leading trio. She arrived in T2 with a 50” lead. During the run, Corinne pushed hard and secured her first place. This is a hopeful result towards Ironman Texas in 3 weeks.

Push hard

After last week’s 4th place at Challenge Fuerteventura, Corinne proved her great shape again and she was clearly happy with the result: “I really enjoyed racing today, I think it is the 2nd or perhaps 3rd Olympic distance triathlon that I've ever done - certainly the 1st in 4 years! The purpose of racing "short" was to really push hard on the swim and the bike and then see what I had left on the run. You can normally find a bit extra in a race that you perhaps might not have even in hard training and so it was a great opportunity to get a race in the legs and get race head on! I had to work really hard on the bike to catch Michelle Vesterby who was race leader and I did this just after the turnaround point. I then tried to put some time into her (and the other girls) in the final 20k and I think the time gap was maybe about 50” at T2. The run was 2 laps out and back and so it was possible to get a time split at 2.5k and I could see that I still had a lead, but really wanted to see how hard I could push on the run, so kept trying to extend that lead through to the finish. I am happy to win today, it has been a really good couple of weeks training at Sands Beach and I'm looking forward to racing in Texas in a couple of weeks.”

Liz Blatchford 2nd in Ironman 70.3 Busselton

Solid race

It was 4°C when the race started, these are very cold conditions according to Australian standards. After a solid swim (1,9km: 26’14”), Liz left the water just before Sheedy-Ryan. Due to the cold, Liz put on some spare clothes in transition and was passed by Sheedy-Ryan in the transition zone. After 40km on the bike, Liz caught Sheedy-Ryan. They stuck together until T2 (90km: 2:25:18), while the chasing pack was following on 3’30”. On the run, Sheedy-Ryan, who is used to race Olympic distance races, flew away from Liz and won with a 2’22” lead. Katey Gibb was quickly coming closer on Liz, but Liz managed to keep the second position until the finish (21,1km: 1:23:33).

Satisfied

What a stellar season already from Liz Blatchford, after winning in Geelong and a 2nd place in Batesman Bay, she adds another 2nd place: ”I am satisfied with this result, although it is not a fantastic performance. I struggled with the cold today, especially during the first part of the bike leg, I pushed hard on the bike to get in front again. It took me a lot of energy. At the start of the run, I couldn’t follow Sheedy-Ryan, who is a great runner. In the end of the run, I felt strong again and I was able to stay in front of Katey Gibb who was coming closer. Next week, I will be racing Ironman 70.3 Vietnam, the race conditions will definitively be different.”

Romain Guillaume 11th position in Ironman 70.3 Pays D’Aix

Drafting race

Romain Guillaume was clearly disappointed with his result in Pays D’Aix: “I had a decent swim today, I left the water in a big group. Nevertheless, I was a few seconds too late to join the group with Van Berkel on the bike. During the bike leg, I tried to get away several times, but I didn’t succeed. Overall, I was just feeling average all day, which was not enough in such a great field.

Race results:

Ironman 70.3 Busselton:

http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/coverage/athlete-tracker.aspx?race=busselton70.3&y=2015#axzz3Z3DYJa43

Ironman 70.3 Pays D’Aix:

http://challengeftv.trackingsport.com/live/seguimiento

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website