There was no Flora Duffy in the end at IRONMAN 70.3 Mont Tremblant 2022 on Sunday, but Lionel Sanders provided plenty of star power with a fine victory.
In what was likely her one chance to qualify for the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship later this year for Flora, her bike didn’t make the flight, leaving her in Canada and a Specialized Shiv stuck in Denver.
Having made the decision not to race at the WTCS event in Montreal, that is going to prove an exceptionally frustrating weekend for many reasons.
As for Lionel, ‘No Limits’ produced a terrific bike leg to take control of the men’s pro race – despite a mechanical – and then held on to claim his fifth victory in this event, having won it four times on the spin between 2015 and 2018.
Tamara Jewett meanwhile made it a Canadian win double by outrunning the opposition in her trademark style to claim the women’s victory.
PRO Men – Sanders rides again
Lionel is not renowned most for his prowess in the water, and he exited the swim in 25:30, just under two minutes behind the lead pack which was led by Luis Ortiz and Matt Schafer. Sanders though was only 40 seconds back from impressive Oceanside winner Jackson Laundry – a more realistic benchmark.
Things did not go according to plan leaving T1 for ‘No Limits’ though, as he suffered a flat tyre which cost him more valuable minutes.
A stellar recovery though saw the Canadian roar back to turn the deficit into a healthy lead. He was 2:35 in front of Laundry as they headed into T2 and the race was now very much his to lose.
Lionel maintained his pace at the front of the field by posting a 1:13:59 run split to close out an impressive victory. It was Mexican Tomas Rodriguez Hernandez who raced through to claim second with a 1:13:14.
Laundry meanwhile just got the better of fellow Canadian Cody Beals to claim the final spot on the podium.
PRO Women – Jewett runs away
With Duffy failing to make the start line, Jewett started a hot favourite to claim victory.
She came out of the water a little under four minutes behind leader Rachel Olson, followed by fellow American Sonja Catano.
Jewett set about closing that gap on the bike, and while she did not set the day’s fastest split (that was Amber Ferreira with 2:26:09), she was second by the time the field reached T2, only 36 seconds behind Catano.
The odds were now that Jewett’s prowess on the run would carry the day, and so it proved. She was quickly in front and never looked back as she gradually increased her advantage.
At the finish she had just over nine minutes to spare from second-placed Ferreira, with Olson claiming the final podium spot.
IRONMAN 70.3 Mont Tremblant Results
Sunday June 26, 2022
PRO Men
- 1. Lionel Sanders (CAN) – 3:48:02
- 2. Tomas Rodriguez Hernandez (MEX) – 3:50:16
- 3. Jackson Laundry (CAN) – 3:50:46
- 4. Cody Beals (CAN) – 3:50:56
- 5. Nicholas Chase (USA) – 3:55:22
PRO Women
- 1. Tamara Jewett (CAN) – 4:19:30
- 2. Amber Ferreira (USA) – 4:28:36
- 3. Rachel Olson (USA) – 4:31:57
- 4. Sonja Catano (USA) – 4:34:11
- 5. Pamela-Ann Bachelder St-Pierre (CAN) – 4:35:17
