While over in Spain Leo Bergere and Laura Madsen the win in the inaugural IRONMAN 70.3 Valencia
Daniela Ryf comes 8th on the first race of her retirement tour
It’s been a mammoth day of IRONMAN® and IRONMAN® 70.3® triathlon racing in the EMEA region with over 150 professional triathletes and around 4,300 age-groupers toeing the line in South Africa’s Eastern cape and Valencia, Spain.
ISUZU IRONMAN AFRICAN CHAMPIONSHIP
On a beautiful morning in Nelson Mandela Bay, over 1,500 athletes from all over the world took on both the ISUZU IRONMAN African Championship and ISUZU IRONMAN 70.3 Nelson Mandela Bay in a place that has become synonymous with IRONMAN racing.
The athletes were racing for one of four slots (per gender) to the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship and a piece of the $150,000 prize money. ISUZU IRONMAN 70.3 Nelson Mandela Bay also took place today as an age-group only, with Manfred Lambrechts and Hanre van Wyk taking the win in times of 04:21:44 and 04:48:48 respectively.
On his ISUZU IRONMAN African Championship win, Rasmus said: “I felt extremely tied but I’m very happy to get the victory! I could smell it, so I just pushed everything I had. The experience was just incredible”.
Speaking after her ISUZU IRONMAN African Championship win, Marta said: “On the bike it was my strategy to get the first place, but the wind was a bit fast, so I just tried to make my place. I made my move and in the end it worked well. I’m very surprised by grateful!”
Top Three Female Professional Results
| Place | Name | Country | Swim | Bike | Run | Total Time |
| 1 | Marta Sanchez | Spain | 51:18 | 5:10:39 | 3:07:35 | 9:15:36 |
| 2 | Diede Diederiks | The Netherlands | 59:25 | 5:04:17 | 3:09:07 | 9:17:52 |
| 3 | Laura Zimmermann | Germany | 1:00:59 | 5:07:15 | 3:05:16 | 9:19:12 |
Top Three Male Professional Results
| Place | Name | Country | Swim | Bike | Run | Total Time |
| 1 | Rasmus Svenningsson | Sweden | 51:56 | 4:14:35 | 2:51:12 | 8:03:11 |
| 2 | Mathias Petersen | Denmark | 48:56 | 4:28:57 | 2:42:53 | 8:06:50 |
| 3 | Cameron Wurf | Australia | 49:07 | 4:20:11 | 2:53:06 | 8:07:37 |
IRONMAN 70.3 VALENCIA
On its circuit debut, almost 3,000 athletes from more than 70 countries around the world. The city of Valencia has become the ideal setting for a triathlon that is meant to become a sporting event with a great future in the coming years. The IRONMAN 70.3 Valencia circuit, includes some iconic places of the Spanish city, such a start in Marina the Valencia, a bike route to the hills of Serra Calderona and back to Transition 2 placed in the “famous City of Arts and Sciences” with a two-lap run along the “Turia river” to finish in the Monumental “Science Museum”
Almost 100 professional athletes were racing for one of two slots (per gender) for the 2024 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Taupō, as well as a piece of the $40,000 total prize fund.
Laura Madsen has mentioned that: “It is nice to see that all the hard training has paid off. It is incredible, I am incredibly happy. It is nice, it is the first time that this race has been held for the first time. The cycling course was exceptionally good, very hilly, in an amazing city, with all the people who were there cheering all the way to the finish line, it was incredible.”
Léo Bergère said: “I really enjoyed racing in Valencia; from start to finish, the organization has been incredible. Regarding my race I’ve done a good swim and I’ve tried to push hard on the bike to get some advantage, the run has also been brutal, with a lot of people cheering and a very nice course in Ciudad de las Artes. Even if it was the first year I really recommend this race for future athletes”.
Top Three Female Professional Results
| Place | Name | Country | Swim | Bike | Run | Total Time |
| 1 | Laura Madsen | Denmark | 25:23 | 2:18:12 | 1:21:43 | 4:09:58 |
| 2 | Lena Meibner | Germany | 24:47 | 2:21:04 | 1:21:25 | 4:11:46 |
| 3 | Caroline Pohle | Germany | 24:46 | 2:20:40 | 01:22:41 | 4:12:11 |
Top Three Male Professional Results
| Place | Name | Country | Swim | Bike | Run | Total Time |
| 1 | Léo Bergère | France | 00:22:16 | 2:03:57 | 1:10:27 | 3:40:24 |
| 2 | Jan Stratmann | Germany | 0:22:25 | 2:05:50 | 1:10:50 | 3:43:25 |
| 3 | Jannik Shaufler | Germany | 0:22:20 | 2:05:45 | 1:11:21 | 3:43:26 |
