Alistair Brownlee (GBR) celebrated a sensational comeback race after a long injury-related break at the IRONMAN 70.3 Dubai. The two-time Olympic champion went into the race as the clear favourite, and he demonstrated his outstanding talent.
Brownlee took control right from the swim start, and surprised everyone on the bike. The 29-year-old Brit jumped off the bike with a huge lead and was the only athlete to nail a sub 2-hour bike split. Topping off the race with a breathtaking 10-kilometer run split of 31:28 minutes, Brownlee completed the 21km run in 1h 09m and the race in a total of 3h 35m 30s.
As hard as they tried, a strong group of four battled hard behind, but they never had a real chance to come close to Brownlee. Sven Riederer and Ruedi Wild completed the podium in Dubai, finishing 7 minutes behind the champion.
Compared to men’s field, Anne Haug (DEU) had one of the best run splits in Dubai. Only six pro men ran faster than the 35-year-old Olympian who powered her way into the lead with about 11 kilometers to go.
The 2016 IRONMAN 70.3 world champion, Holly Lawrence (GBR) opened up a gap of almost two minutes in the water and maintained the lead throughout the complete bike course. But the Brit was not able to keep Haug’s pace on the run. The surprise of the day was Sarah Lewis (AUS) thanks to a strong run that paved her way into second, while Lawrence finished third.
Top 5 Pro Men
| 1 | Brownlee, Alistair | GBR | 0:22:36 | 1:58:50 | 1:09:34 | 3:35:30 |
| 2 | Riederer, Sven | CHE | 0:22:47 | 2:02:53 | 1:12:11 | 3:42:05 |
| 3 | Wild, Ruedi | CHE | 0:24:18 | 2:03:30 | 1:10:12 | 3:42:42 |
| 4 | Clavel, Maurice | DEU | 0:22:44 | 2:03:04 | 1:13:43 | 3:43:38 |
| 5 | Kastelein, Nicholas | AUS | 0:22:42 | 2:05:11 | 1:12:09 | 3:44:19 |
Top 5 Pro Women
| 1 | Haug, Anne | DEU | 0:25:51 | 2:15:46 | 1:14:11 | 4:00:25 |
| 2 | Lewis, Sarah | GBR | 0:26:12 | 2:15:23 | 1:18:42 | 4:05:19 |
| 3 | Lawrence, Holly | GBR | 0:23:56 | 2:14:00 | 1:25:01 | 4:07:36 |
| 4 | Salthouse, Ellie | AUS | 0:25:49 | 2:15:47 | 1:24:49 | 4:11:11 |
| 5 | Jerzyk, Agnieszka | POL | 0:26:12 | 2:18:16 | 1:26:04 | 4:15:16 |
Source: Ironman.com
