Helle Frederiksen was not exactly shocked when Lucy Charles-Barclay won the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in St George on Saturday, but she was blown away by the manner of the victory.
Helle of course was part of our expert panel which previewed the big showdown in St George, and she picked Lucy to top the podium ahead of Daniela Ryf and Taylor Knibb.
Lucy pre-race favourite
The former Denmark Olympian and later long-distance star wrote: “To claim an elite world title, I believe the time has come for Lucy to win when it matters most. It will require a complete race and one where she backs herself in situations of being alone and/or in company, at any stage in the race”.
The 28-year-old Charles-Barclay did just that, leaving no stone unturned in her near three-week preparation at altitude and then crushing her rivals with a display which netted the fastest splits in all three disciplines.
Lucy led by a minute-and-a-half coming out of the water, but this was a performance built on all-round brilliance. All she did was draw further clear on the bike and then throw in a pulverising half-marathon to close the show.
By Saturday night, Frederiksen was left gushing with praise for the newly-crowned World Champion on Twitter, and the manner of that victory. One which resulted in a winning margin of more than eight minutes.
Helle ‘in awe’ of LCB display
“It was flawless, faultless and a complete master class by @LucyAnneCharles. This is a new level and I’m in awe of just how good that performance was, against that field, in all 3 disciplines.
“There’s no weakness. So deserved and so much more to come I’m sure.”
The praise for Lucy’s devastating display was not surprisingly flowing from all quarters, and four-time IRONMAN World Champion Chrissie Wellington described it as “utter domination”.
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