In the third editition of the IRONMAN® VR™ Pro Challenge, four men and four women raced in their gender categories respectively on the virtual bike course and going head-to-head in a sprint distance race simulation. Jesper Svensson of Sweden and Lisa Norden of Norway won in their categories.
On Sunday, utilizing Official Virtual Cycling partner ROUVY’s augmented reality to race, the four professional men of Svensson, Igor Amorelli (BRA), Kyle Buckingham (ZAF), and Cody Beals (CAN) all conquered two laps on the 20km virtual bike course. Svensson completed the two laps of the sprint distance simulation in a time of 53:29 including the day’s fastest lap of 26:34 to take the win. Buckingham finished in second place with a time of 55:18 while Beals took third position with a time of 55:54. Amorelli rounded out the four just 12 seconds behind Beals, clocking a time of 56:06.
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Earlier on Saturday, the four professional women Jen Annett (CAN), Flora Duffy (BMU), Lisa Norden (SWE) and Pâmella Oliviera (BRA) all conquered two laps of the 20km bike virtual bike course. Norden completed the two laps of the sprint distance in simulation in a time of 58:24 while Duffy finished in second place with a time of 1:01:14. Annett took third position with a finishing time of 1:01:48 as Oliviera rounded out the four, clocking a time of 1:03:29.
Professional men’s results:
| LAP 1 | LAP 2 | TOTAL BIKE TIME | ||
| 1. Jesper Svensson | SWE | 00:26:34 | 00:26:55 | 0:53:29 |
| 2. Kyle Buckingham | ZAF | 00:27:23 | 00:27:55 | 0:55:18 |
| 3. Cody Beals | CAN | 00:28:01 | 00:27:53 | 0:55:54 |
| 4. Igor Amorelli | BRA | 00:27:31 | 00:28:35 | 0:56:06 |
Professional women’s results:
| LAP 1 | LAP 2 | TOTAL BIKE TIME | ||
| 1. Lisa Norden | SWE | 00:29:21 | 00:29:57 | 00:58:24 |
| 2. Flora Duffy | BMU | 00:30:11 | 00:31:03 | 01:01:14 |
| 3. Jen Annett | CAN | 00:31:21 | 00:30:27 | 01:01:48 |
| 4. Pâmella Oliviera | BRA | 00:31:54 | 00:31:34 | 01:03:29 |
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In total, nearly 33,000 other athletes from more than 139 nations and all 50 states set out to participate in the IRONMAN Virtual Racing Series event, which began Friday, April 17. The race requires athletes to complete three segments, including a 1.5km Run, 20km Ride, then 5km Run by the race close on Sunday, April 19.
Competitors can complete the segments in any order and are not required to do the segments consecutively. Athletes are able to compete anywhere, indoors or outdoors. Bringing the IRONMAN community together virtually, the IRONMAN® Virtual Club™ continues to grow and now has 75,000 members on the platform with thousands completing IRONMAN Virtual Club Challenges since its recent launch.
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Athletes are able to compete anywhere, indoors or outdoors. IRONMAN VR3 leaderboard updates can be found by visiting the IRONMANVR Facebook Page.
Upcoming Race Schedule
IRONMAN VR4 will take place from Friday, April 24 till Sunday, April 26 where athletes will tackle an IRONMAN® 70.3® – Half Distance simulation (5 km Run, 90 km Ride, and 21 km Run). Refer to your local listings for exact timing.
