That much-hyped ‘rematch’ with Jackson Laundry never really materialised, and Lionel Sanders was apparently disappointed by his Sunday at IRONMAN 70.3 Augusta.
The 35-year-old Canadian went into the Georgia showdown full of ‘chocolate milk and vengeance’ after falling to compatriot Laundry by just 11 seconds a week earlier at IRONMAN 70.3 Michigan.
Noodt tears up Sanders vs Laundry script
There was no repeat of that Frankfort thriller though as exciting young German Mika Noodt tore up the script by defeating both of the Canadians with an impressive performance.
Sanders for his part was two minutes down after the swim, but that was just about as good as it got for ‘No Limits’ as he lost ground on the bike and then failed to make any inroads into the deficit on the run.
At the line Lionel was more than four minutes behind Noodt and almost two minutes down on Laundry after what had clearly been a frustrating day.
Lionel Sanders on Augusta defeat
His response to events in Augusta was brief but telling as he told his 263,000 Instagram followers: “You will not see me on a race course again until I have something better to show you.”
Laundry meanwhile was measured in his reaction to the race, telling his fans: “I was pretty happy with the day, executed a really good race”.
Laundry on Georgia second
Jackson said was pleased with the swim, caught Mika on the bike and said the pair then put in 15-minute turns in a bid to build a lead over Sanders and Trevor Foley. The battle for the win then came down to the run.
Laundry went on: “Run didn’t feel too great. Mika got ahead and he just kept pulling away and I was kind of putting one foot in front of the other.
“Didn’t feel super strong but didn’t feel bad and I figured it’d be enough to hang on but I didn’t really ease off until the last maybe mile and a half because you can never sleep on Lionel, like he’s just going to close strong.
“So super stoked, time to take a bit of rest and celebrate and get back to it.”
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