Marcel Zamora wins the Natureman

Marcel Zamora finishes his season in the best possible way: with a victory in the first edition of Natureman. Disputed in a typical Provencal village in the South of France, this medium-distance triathlon (1,9-90-20) hosted almost 700 participants. The young Albert Moreno allows the Spanish double thanks to a great performance in the sector on foot.

The lake of Sainte-Croix, in the Regional Park of the Verdon, is the privileged setting of Natureman, a test very focused on the protection of the environment, as its name suggests. Some Spaniards had chosen this option to finish the 2012 season, attracted by the requirement of the circuit (1300 meters of positive slope in bike and 20km of trail) and the beauty of the environment.

Although he started as a favorite, Marcel had to fight a lot to achieve victory. Almost 2 minutes late when leaving the water on the head of the race, the Catalan set a very strong rhythm on his bike, accompanied mainly by Russian Stanislav Krylov and Frenchman Christophe Bastie. For his part, Albert Moreno has once again demonstrated all his talent, holding on to the tail of the group, although he had to give ground in the last 15 kilometers before T2.

In front there was only one surprise guest, professional cyclist Brice Feillu, good swimmer and untouchable in the difficulties of the course (some segments with slopes to 18%). But Marcel did not have to wait long to steal the lead from the Saur Sojasun team climber in the segment on foot. Behind Albert Moreno gradually cut distances with his compatriot, but could not get close enough to dispute the victory, passing the finish line 1min20s behind Marcel. In third position, Christophe Bastie completed the podium.

In the women's category, Delphine Pelletier has finally imposed herself on Alexandra Louison and Stefanie Reymond, leading the race from start to finish.

This first edition has been acclaimed by the participants for the beauty of its routes and the quality of the organization. There is no doubt that it will be consolidated as an important test in the future.

Men

1 Marcel Zamora (Eng) 4h25'28

2 Albert Moreno (Eng) 4h26'54

3 Christophe Bastie 4h21'00

Women

1 Delphine Pelletier (Beauvais) 4h40'25

2 Alexandra Louison (Triathl'Aix) 4h48'50

3 Stefanie Reymond (TCC 36) 5h02'19