IRONMAN 70.3 Lanzarote results: Bækkegård and Haug grab wins

Daniel Bækkegård and Anne Haug claimed victories at IRONMAN 70.3 Lanzarote 2021 on Saturday morning.

Bækkegård, favourite here after his recent third behind Gustav Iden and Sam Long at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in St George, held off the fast-finishing German Mika Noodt to take the men’s PRO race.

Haug meanwhile was again dominant as she registered an expected victory in the women’s race, coming home in front of British pair Nikki Bartlett and India Lee.

PRO Men – Daniel all the way

The sub-heading is almost correct but there is just a little journalistic licence involved. Bækkegård was second out of the water, close behind Slovakia’s Richard Varga. Soon after though he claimed a lead he would hold for the rest of the day.

Once on his bike, the Dane moved quickly to the head of the field and stayed there for the rest of the race. He took a lead of just over a minute into T2 from compatriot Thor Bendix Mandsen. Germans Jan Stratmann and eventual second Noodt were in third and fourth.

Noodt began the run 1:32 behind Bækkegård and while he was able to make some inroads with the fastest final split of the day (1:16:47), he was never able to get within striking distance of Daniel.

The gap between the two at the line was 54.88 seconds, with Mandsen (recent winner at Challenge Herning) making it two Danes on the podium by claiming third spot. The British interest centred around Harry Palmer, who came home in seventh.

PRO Women – Haug imperious

Haug had looked as good as ever in winning Challenge Roth in brilliant fashion last month and she started a hot favourite to take top spot on the podium again here.

Lee set the pace on the swim, exiting the water with a lead of more than a minute-and-a-half from Estonia’s Kaidi Kivioja with Haug right behind in third. Bartlett at this stage was fourth – just over two-and-a-half minutes out of the lead.

While Haug was expected to improve her position on the bike it was Bartlett who produced the fastest split of the day with her blistering 2:34:12 allowing her to go into T2 just ahead of the German at the front of the field.

Nikki though would have no answer to Haug’s power on the run as the German swiftly claimed the lead and surged clear to register a convincing victory by more than eight minutes. She would clock 1:20:48 on the final leg.

Lee claimed third spot for Britain, as she had at IRONMAN 70.3 Nice last month. Lydia Dant meanwhile finished fifth on her pro debut.