German Nicolas Mann upset a quality field at IRONMAN 70.3 Alcudia-Mallorca, as Great Britain’s Emma Pallant-Browne won her first IRONMAN Pro Series event in Spain.
In two tight races, Mann outlasted German compatriot Jan Stratmann to take the tape, whilst EPB was just strong enough to take down PTO World #7 Laura Philipp on the run.
Unfortunately, it was a tough day out for two of the pre-race favourites, as Norway’s Gustav Iden and Dutch star Youri Keulen were both forced to withdraw from the race midway through the bike.
Pro Men
Out of the water, it was Italian Mattia Ceccarelli who led the men in 21:57, with Germans Johannes Vogel and Jan Stratmann, plus French talent Mathis Margirier within touching distance coming into T1.
Keulen, out just behind Margirier, also made the front group, as Gustav Iden exited alongside fellow former IRONMAN World Champion Patrick Lange half a minute back from the main pack in 22:44.
On to two wheels, recent IRONMAN South Africa runner-up Mathias Petersen took the early initiative, as the Dane led a group of 12 athletes up front, with Lange missing the break and Iden reportedly suffering a mechanical as Keulen was also forced to withdraw early on.
All change at the front, it was then Danish athlete Kristian Hogenhaug who attempted to break up the group, and opened up a gap of more than half a minute at one point, before then being reeled in by a pack made up of Stratmann, Margirier, Mann and Italian Gregory Barnaby.
Over the final stages, it was Margirier who had finally managed to make a break stick, as the Frenchman entered T2 with a minute gap over the quartet of Stratmann, Mann, Hogenhaug and Barnaby.
Holding steady through halfway on the run, Margirier looked destined for victory, until with 6km to go, the wheels started to fall off. Mann, then Stratmann and finally Barnaby, all passed Margirier in the closing kilometres, with the battle for the win coming down to the two Germans.
Finding himself in another sprint finish, just weeks after hurling himself to second at IRONMAN 70.3 Valencia, Stratmann didn’t quite have enough to take down Mann, as the PTO World #395 took a brilliant first win of the season.
Eight seconds back, Stratmann finished in second, with Barnaby rounding out the podium and Margirier coming home in fourth, as Hogenhaug rounded out the Top 5 following a strong performance across the board.
Pro Women
In the women’s race, French athlete Julie Iemmolo was first out of the water, leading Sif Bendix Madsen, Luisa Iogna Prat, Stephanie Clutterbuck and Bianca Bogen in a front pack of five.
Further back, Philipp and Pallant-Browne came out almost side-by-side, as the pair entered transition +1:21 and +1:26 from the leading group.
Out on the bike, the pair then made their way to the front of the race swiftly, moving to the head of the race by the 15.5km mark, and from there, started to open up a lead over the rest of the field.
Together through 30km, Philipp managed to put a minute into EPB by the 60km mark and extended that gap by the time she reached transition, holding an advantage of +2:21 at the start of the run.
However, the race was far from done, and immediately settling in to a lightning quick pace, EPB made up ground from the first kilometre, with the gap to of just over a minute to Philipp by the end of the first 7km lap.
Drawing level with Philipp in the final lap of three, Pallant-Browne pulled clear in the closing stages, as she split a remarkable 1:17:00 to hold on to the win, beating Philipp by a mere 14 seconds , as Swede Sara Svensk rounded out the podium in third.
IRONMAN 70.3 Alcudia-Mallorca 2024 Results
Saturday May 4, 2024 – 1.9km / 90km / 21.1km
Pro Men:
1. Nicolas Mann (GER) – 3:49:19 [22:29/2:09:09/1:12:17]
2. Jan Stratmann (GER) – 3:49:27 [22:04/2:09:45/1:12:34]
3. Gregory Barnaby (ITA) – 3:49:42 [22:19/2:09:41/1:12:42]
4. Mathis Margirier (FRA) – 3:51:26 [22:15/2:08:25/1:15:36]
5. Kristian Hogenhaug (DEN) – 3:52:15 [22:27/2:09:18/1:15:08]
Pro Women:
1. Emma Pallant-Browne (GBR) – 4:14:21 [25:40/2:26:23/1:17:00]
2. Laura Philipp (GER) – 4:14:36 [25:35/2:23:57/1:19:31]
3. Sara Svensk (SWE) – 4:23:47 [27:30/2:29:08/1:21:16]
4. Bianca Bogen (GER) – 4:26:28 [24:17/2:31:50/1:24:37]
5. Lizzie Rayner (GBR) – 4:26:31 [25:15/2:31:34/1:24:07]
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