Search
shop

IRONMAN Copenhagen 2021 results: Wurf wins in record time

The banter continues! Cameron Wurf headed Lionel Sanders in a course record breaking performance at IRONMAN Copenhagen on Sunday
Chief Correspondent
Last updated -
Get the ultimate guide to destination racing

Never believe what’s on a triathlon start-list. That’s one of the occupational hazards of trying to write about, preview and forecast within the sport.

Sunday’s IRONMAN Copenhagen on Denmark just about sums that up. Cameron Wurf appeared, talked the talk and walked the walk swam / biked / ran his way to a course record and a fourth professional IRONMAN victory.

Advertisement

Qualification no issue for Wurf

The final chance for male Pro athletes to qualify for the 2021 IRONMAN World Championship (which will now be held in February 2021, hopefully), Australia’s Cameron Wurf isn’t even listed on the published start list, and hence, he didn’t even gain a mention on my preview from last week.

Unlike almost everyone else in the field, qualifying for Kona was/is no issue at all for Cameron. He qualified for Kona 2020 (postponed to 2021, then postponed to 2022…) so long ago – winning IRONMAN Italy in 2019 – that is was actually before the last IROMAN World Championship was held in 2019, where he finished fifth.

Also riding for the INEOS Grenadiers, Wurf smashed the bike course record with a 4:02:19 split, which allowed him to arrive at T2 with a six and a half minute buffer over the expected swim leader, Lukasz Wojt, with Jesper Svensson (SWE) a further minute back.

The Aussie had exited the swim in the company of Lionel Sanders, five minutes down on the former Olympic swimmer, who now races for the Pewag triathlon squad.

Sanders and Wurf enjoy plenty of banter together off course and on social media, but Wurf was seemingly in no mood to ride with Lionel, flying solo and eventually catching Wojt around the 110km mark. He looked incredibly smooth and controlled in the process too.

While a 4:12 split by Sanders is far from shabby – he came off the bike in a group of around 10 riders – post-race he admitted he was feeling so bad, that he was almost set on pulling out of the race in T2.

Catch me if you can

It’s taken a while, but Wurf is now looking like a very good runner. Not the best in the sport, but someone who knows how to get the best of himself, and that’s by executing his pacing really well. An Olympic rower, Pro Tour cyclist and now multiple IRONMAN champion, he has proven his adaptability many times over.

By 21km, his lead was down to theee minutes over Svensson, with a revived Sanders now five minutes back in third. They may have been catching, but Wurf was still running at around 2:46/2:47 marathon pace in metronome style. The chasers would still need something special is Wurf maintained his stride.

Fast forward 10km and Svensson was going out of the back door, now nine minutes down, but Sanders had shaved seven minutes from his deficit and was now just two minutes behind. Could he close the gap?

He almost got to within a minute… but Wurf had reserves left, and as he used them in the final 5km, that coincided with the Sanders legs also started to fade, and he would not be caught. Indeed, he quickly added another two minutes to his advantage in the closing miles.

2:49:37 for Wurf, versus 2:43:50 for Sanders and a gap of just over three minutes at the finish. Just a few minutes later – and in his first IRONMAN – Henrik Goesch set a new Finnish record and took the final Kona slot in the process. He was racing on the WTS circuit until 2019.

IRONMAN Copenhagen Results

Sunday 22nd August 2021

PRO MEN (ONLY)

  1. Cameron Wurf (AUS) – 7:46:06
  2. Lionel Sanders (CAN) – 7:49:24 – Kona qualification
  3. Henrik Goesch (FIN) – 7:52:10 – Kona qualification
  4. Clemente Alonso-McKernan (ESP) – 7:55:09
  5. Mathias Lyngso Petersen (DEN) – 7:55:38
  6. David Plese (SLO) – 7:58:05
  7. Jesper Svensson (SWE) – 7:59:39
  8. Jaroslav Kovacic (SLO) – 8:04:34
  9. Yvan Jarrige (FRA) – 8:06:36
  10. Tomas Renc (CZE) – 8:07:01

DNF – Elliot Smales (GBR)

John Levison
Written by
John Levison
TRI247's Chief Correspondent, John has been involved in triathlon for well over 30 years, 15 of those writing on these pages, whilst he can also be found commentating for events across the UK.
Discover more
TRI247 podcast p/b Challenge Family episode 2
Go behind the scenes at Challenge Roth with the latest episode of the TRI247 podcast
Cadomotus Chronos triathlon cycling shoes
The triathlon cycling shoe that promises a 10-watt saving: Cadomotus Chronos Aero triathlon cycling shoes review
Challenge Family Roth
Five things you need to know about the Challenge Roth bike course
Challenge St. Pölten 2024 - image credit Jose Luis Hourcade / Challenge Family
Expert swim coach on the three most common swim mistakes age group triathletes make (and how to fix them!)
TRI-FIT VANGUARD tri suit review
The entry-level tri suit with a serious amount of performance for the price point – TRI-FIT VANGUARD review
latest News
ironman hamburg 2025 podium laura philipp kat matthews solveig lovseth beer
Challenge Roth 2025: Laura Philipp backed to make triathlon history by crashing through magical time barrier
Challenge Roth press conference 2025
Challenge Roth 2025: Date, start times, how to watch live and who’s racing
Georgia Taylor Brown wins supertri Toulouse 2024
British Olympic legend Georgia Taylor-Brown to make triathlon return
Gwen Jorgensen reflective World Triathlon Cup Vina del Mer 2023
‘Unbreakable’ Gwen Jorgensen ‘bruised’ after bike crash but vows to bounce back
IRONMAN CEO Scott DeRue Women For Tri 2024
IRONMAN announce new age-group qualification system for Kona and 70.3 Worlds
triathlon on your terms
Never miss out with our triathlon alerts & digest. Get a dose of adventure & inspiration with Boundless.
The 247 Group

The home of endurance sports

Share to...