Nikki Bartlett, Frederik Van Lierde win IRONMAN Lanzarote

First Pro win for Great Britain’s Nikki Bartlett in Lanzarote

I asked in the Weekend Preview whether British athletes could keep the run of success at IRONMAN Lanzarote going, following wins for Lucy Charles in 2017 and Lucy Gossage in 2018. And the answer? Yes. (And yes, there were plenty of British victories before that too!)

In her fourth year as a Pro athlete, Nikki Bartlett achieved the biggest result of her career after taking the lead on the notoriously tough bike course before closing with a controlled 3:14:52 marathon to hold off Maja Stage Nielsen (DEN) and enjoy the finish straight with a winning margin of four and a half minutes.

It’s not often I’m speechless. My first ever win and to do it on this brutal iconic course is a dream come true. 4 years as a Pro, 14 podiums since 2016 and today I take my first win. Thank you everyone who’s apart of this. Those crowds and volunteers ❤️ thank you https://t.co/T4hD1mhaFN

— Nikki Bartlett (@NikkiBartlett1) May 25, 2019

It wasn’t the best day for Emma Pallant – despite starting very well – and, based on her Instagram post below, looks likely to represent the end of her (full distance) IRONMAN ambitions. With an IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship Silver medal already, she still has plenty of racing and options ahead of her however.

View this post on Instagram

Thankyou so much for all the messages! All the tests have shown I’m a crazy sweater and can’t physically absorb back in what I’m loosing. We had a preloading plan that we put to the test today. I wouldn’t have put myself on the startline if I didn’t truly believe that we had mastered this. I felt stronger than ever and was truly committed to being patient and following the nutrition plan. But still it seems no matter how much I conserve after five hours at deficit I start running into trouble. Having fainted off my bike here before I read the signs and dismounted at an aid station. I have zero pride in a dnf and zero enjoyment in doing an event where I don’t hit the deep dark place of muscle limitations. So with sadness I will respect the advise of the medics post Kona and my cadiologist and will be focusing on being the best I can be at 70.3. But hell I’m glad we threw everything at it. And there are always reasons to smile, smile because I felt awesome for four hours, smile because we are going to go back to the finish line and see the awesome rockstars kicking ass out there, smile because the course lived up to the amazing hype, smile because the medics and everyone who helped me were truly world class, smile because I have the best boyfriend and team ever and smile for all the messages I had!! I will get back to you and thankyou!!!! 🙏🙏🙏 📸 @thatcameraman

A post shared by Emma Pallant (@em_pallant) on May 25, 2019 at 10:03am PDT

While the women’s race saw a first time champion, Belgium’s Frederik Van Lierde is no stranger to the top step of a podium – including becoming IRONMAN World Champion in 2013.

The swim and bike would see several lead changes with the Belgian reaching T2 in the close company of Christian Kramer (GER), with Jarolsav Kovacic (SLO) and Emilio Aguayo (ESP) arriving just a few minutes later. Kramer lead through the early stages of the run by his lead over Van Lierde was never significant, and as they approach the halfway point the lead changed. Van Lierde continued with his consistent pace, clocking a 2:53:23 marathon and take victory by five minutes over the German.

Club La Santa IRONMAN Lanzarote – Saturday 25th May 2019
3.8km / 180km / 42.2km

PRO WOMEN

1st – Nikki Bartlett (GBR) – 9:59:10
2nd – Maja Stage-Nielsen (DEN) – 10:03:41
3rd – Lenny Ramsey (NED) – 10:10:48
4th – Jenny Schulz (GER) – 10:12:40
5th – Åsa Lundström (SWE) – 10:19:13

DNF – Emma Pallant (GBR)

PRO MEN

1st – Frederik Van Lierde (BEL) – 8:51:16
2nd – Christian Kramer (GER) – 8:56:08
3rd – Emilio Aguayo Munoz (ESP) – 9:00:55
4th – Morton Brammer Oleson (DEN) – 9:05:12
5th – Diego Van Looy (BEL) – 9:07:23

Philip Graves (GBR) – 11:26:05