Vovrusko and Van Vlerken win the International Duathlon of Lanzarote

Yesterday Saturday January 18, took place in Club Santa the 18th edition of the International Lanzarote Duathlon, also the first race of the season; and he did it under a totally cloudy sky. All 132 athletes were caught shortly after taking the start for a good shower. But the rain was short-lived and could not with the morale or the enthusiasm of the athletes who soon returned to enjoy the sun in the cycling part.

 

 

First the two Spanish athletes in wheelchairs were given the start, Rafael Botello y Francesc Solà, and a few seconds later, the other 110 men came out; finally, 4 minutes later, the 21 women.

 

Rafael Botello finished the first lap in front of Francesc Solà, but he overtook him in the second, thanks to having provided the necessary resin for the gloves to adhere to the wheels in the event of rain, something that Paralympic Botello missed today ...

 

All other runners were surprised by the rain on the first lap of the 2,5km run. But this did not slow down the British long-distance triathlete, Stephen Bayliss, who reached the turning point together with Willy Garcia Jimenez from Gran Canaria and the Danish Mads Karlsson. They came just one second ahead of another treble, Latvia's Viktors Vovrusko, Germany's Per Bittner and Leon Martin Drajer of Argentina. In the second round, these six would stay together, with Vovrusko arriving just 2 seconds ahead of the others.

 

The strong wind on the 20km bike ride made none of the guys really want to take the reins. Bittner, Martin, Bayliss and Vovrusko were never separated, and the few escape attempts were unsuccessful, as it would not compensate for the energy expenditure. Thus they arrived together at T2 at the Club La Santa stadium.

 

On the last lap of the race, Vavrusko, who finished 6th last year, saw that this was going to be his chance, that he could get his best result to date and decided to contribute for it and give it his all. From the beginning of the duathlon, he had decided to try to do a more tactical, smarter race, observing his opponents, and in the cycling part he concluded that it would be worth reserving his strength for the last segment. “To compete like this, in a more strategic way, It helped me win, especially in the last 50 meters, when the German Bittner seemed to have run out of energy, I decided to give one last push and sprint to the finish, taking the victory, the first of my career. Of course I will return. I'm very happy! ”Vavrusko said after collecting the trophy, with a huge smile on his face. Vavrusko is a resident of Fuerteventura, thus being the first resident athlete on the islands to reach the finish line. The first canary of birth would be the former Tenerife footballer, Willy García Jiménez who finished sixth.

 

Male Podium:

1

58

Viktors Vovrusko

30-34

LAT

00:07:56

00:08:24

00:00:44

00:34:54

00:00:38

00:08:08

01:00:41

2

25

Per Bittner

25-29

GER

00:07:56

00:08:32

00:00:39

00:34:50

00:00:36

00:08:16

01:00:46

3

2

Stephen Bayliss

35-39

GBR

00:07:55

00:08:26

00:00:41

00:34:53

00:00:39

00:08:17

01:00:49

 

As expected, the girls' career was decided in the cycling segment, where the Dutch Van Vlerken marked a difference of almost two minutes over her pursuer, the German Jenny Schultz - entered T2 at 36:28 and 38:15 respectively. The canary Patricia Diaz it was the fastest in the walking part, and closed the podium.

 

Female podium:

1

202

Yvonne van Vlerken

35-39

NED

00:09:05

00:09:27

00:00:44

00:36:28

00:00:47

00:09:35

01:06:03

2

200

Jenny Schulz

30-34

GER

00:09:06

00:09:27

00:00:44

00:38:15

00:00:46

00:09:29

01:07:44

3

203

PATRICIA DIAZ PEREA

30-34

ESP

00:09:06

00:09:26

00:00:43

00:39:55

00:00:42

00:09:26

01:09:16

 

As for the athletes in wheelchairs, Rafa Botello finished first, in 1 hour 16 minutes and 1 second, with 4 minutes ahead of Francesc Solà, which arrived in 1 hour 20 minutes and 8 seconds. In the TRI2 category, Lionel Morales, with one leg amputated, he finished in 1:30:24, in 97th position overall. “A very tough race, especially on the cycling side,” Lionel commented.

 

Complete results on this link