Britain’s Lucy Charles-Barclay says she felt like she had a target on her back as she blew the rest of the field away to claim a big victory at IRONMAN 70.3 Eagleman in Maryland on Sunday.
But the 31-year-old would not have it any other way as she bids for more glory this year.
Charles-Barclay, the 2021 IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion and 2023 IRONMAN World Champion, led from the start and held off the fast-finishing 2022 IRONMAN World Champion Chelsea Sodaro (USA) on the closing half-marathon to win in a new course record time.
LCB all the way
She said: “It’s pretty tough. It’s definitely my style of racing, going from the gun but you always feel like you’ve got the target on your back. I wasn’t really sure of the gaps behind.
“I was just trying to put my head down and push and focus on keeping the power going, because it’s so fast and flat. You just can’t let up the power or you just feel like you’re going to go backwards.”
It was Charles-Barclay’s second victory of the season after her victory at IRONMAN Lanzarote in May – but she admits Maryland provided a much tougher challenge.
No respite in Maryland
She said: “It couldn’t have been more different to my last race in Lanzarote, the IRONMAN. It’s so hilly. You work the climbs and you can have a little rest on the downhill.
“But here there’s no respite it’s just constantly trying to push that power. It’s pretty windy out there and the road surface in places is pretty tough. It was a much harder bike ride than I anticipated.”
Given her margin of victory and finishing time of 3:58:10 it has to be said she made it look easy as she laid down a marker at Eagleman, which is an IRONMAN Pro Series event.
The biggest mover in the Series standings after Maryland was the USA’s Alice Alberts, who climbed nine spots into sixth place after her sixth-place finish.
Charles-Barclay is still down in 31st in those standings, but this was her first Series event of the year, while those ahead of her have completed in multiple events, with Eagleman the ninth on the calendar.
