Fernando Alarza sweeps the Ironman 70.3 Cascais and qualifies for the 2019 World Championship

Fernando Alarza's big-time debut with a resounding victory at the Ironman 70.3 in Portugal in the town of Cascais. This morning the second edition of the Ironman 70.3 Portugal - Cascais was held, a record-breaking event, with more than 2600 triathletes and almost 450 Spaniards in contention, breaking all the records for Spanish participation in events outside our territory. The Ironman 70.3 Cascais has also been the test with the most Iberian participation of the year, if we add the participation of Portuguese and Spanish triathletes. The best triathletes of the Olympic distance made their debut in style in events of the Ironman 70.3 circuit, Tim Don, Javier Gómez Noya, Iván Raña and Alistair Brownlee did so with victory and Jan Frodeno with a second position. Fernando Alarza did not want to be less than them and has also been on the podium, at the top in the Ironman 70.3 in Cascais. .@Fernando_Alarza sweeps the Ironman Cascais @ironman70.3portugal#triathlon #triathlete#triatlon #triatlonnoticias pic.twitter.com/R5PTQyafoH — Triathlon News (@triatlonnoticia) September 30, 2018 The test began with the 1900-meter swim and with Fernando Alarza leading from the first meters. The current European runner-up set a very high pace that no one could follow and reached T1 alone, with a time of 22:32. Joao Silva was second at 51'' and Azevedo at 56''. Fourth was Jon Unanue at 1'21'' leading a group of 8 units that also included Miguel Ángel Fildago. Dani Mujica and Pakillo Fernandez-Cortés started almost 2' behind Alarza and Gustavo Rodríguez and Pedro Jose Andújar were more than 4' behind. In T1, the man from Talavera increased his lead again, made a quick transition and got on the bike with more than 1'10'' ahead of Acevedo and Silva. Alarza began to pedal hard and went through km 25 with a 2' lead over a group of 11 units where Fidalgo was. Further back, the second chasing group was led by Gustavo Rodiguez and Pedro Andújar, more than 4' behind. At kilometer 68 Fernando Alarza continued to lead the competition, although his advantage had been reduced. Second was the Frenchman Kevin Rundstadler at 1'27'' and third was Gustavo Rodríguez at almost 3', who had been coming from behind along with Pedro Jose Andujar and they were less than 3' behind Alarza pulling a large group that also included Silva and Fidalgo. At kilometer 74,5 Fernando Alarza was still alone in the lead but the advantage was only 24'' with the Frenchman Rundstadler and less than 2' with Gustavo and Andujar. In the final 15km Rundstadler took the lead in the race and took the lead, reaching T2 alone. 1'34'' behind him was Gustavo Rodríguez, who had also caught Alarza, who was third, 15'' behind the Galician. Pedro Andújar came fourth, 2'18'' from the head of the race and Acevedo fifth, 30'' from Murcia, giving time to a group with Norris, Silva and Estrageiro among others. Frenchman Kevin Rundstadler began to run the 21 km run on foot, with Alarza and Gustavo almost 2' behind him. At 45'' Pedro Andújar did it and a little further behind the group of Azevedo and Silva. At km 5,5 Fernando Alarza was already leading the competition, not only had he cut the gap to 2' with the Frenchman, but he was already 1' ahead of him at this point. Third was the Russian Kalistratov, 2' behind Alarza, leading a foursome including Silva, Fidalgo and Azevedo. At kilometer 10,6 Fernando Alarza had the race practically doomed, with more than 3' ahead of his pursuers. In the second half of the segment of the race on foot, Alarza dedicated himself to controlling the rest of the triathletes who were fighting for second place and receiving recognition from the fans who did not stop cheering on the man from Talavera. Even so, the Spaniard increased his advantage to 3'30'' at km 15,6, over a quartet made up of Norris, Azevedo, Silva and Klastratov. Finally triumph with great authority by Fernando Alarza in the Ironman 70.3 of Portugal - Cascais. He thus joined Iván Raña, Victor del Corral, Eneko Llanos and Javier Gómez Noya as the five Spaniards with victories in Ironman 70.3 events. If he won the 70.3 in Cascais, he also had an added prize, the automatic qualification for the 70.3 Ironman 2019 World Championship in Nice. The second position was for Joan Silva and the third place for Filipe Azevedo. 100% Iberian podium, with one Spanish and two Portuguese. The next Spaniards in the top 10 were Gustavo Rodríguez, sixth, and Pedro Jose Andujar, ninth. Interview Fernando Alarza at the finish line We interviewed @fernando_alarza after his victory in #IM703PortugalHow great you are!!#triathlon #triathlete #triatlon #triatlonnoticias #ironman703cascais pic.twitter.com/3romnDdcAY — Triathlon News (@triatlonnoticia) September 30, 2018 TOP 10 Ironman 70.3 Portugal – Cascais 1.- Fernando Alarza 3:54:57 2.- Joao Silva 3:57:23 3.- Filipe Azevedo 3:57:41 4.- Aleksey Kalistratov 3:57:43 5.- Colin Norris 3:57:48 6.- Gustavo Rodríguez 4:00:10 7.- Thomas Steger 4:01:42 8.- Jose Estrangeito 4:02:38 9.- Pedro Jose Andújar 4:03:23 10. - Guillaume Doree 4:04:21 Regarding the women's category, the victory went to the Polish Angieszka Jerzyk with a time of 4:26:06 followed by the Belgian Katrien Verstuyft with 4:27:06 and the British Sara Lewis with 4:30:17 The test began with the Austrian Beatrice Weiss coming out of the water alone with a time of 25:19. At 1'10'' Helene Alberdi, the only Spanish PRO in the event, made time for a foursome with the British Sara Lewis, the Polish Angieszka Jerzyk and the Belgian Katrien Verstuyft. At kilometer 25 of the cycling segment, Weiss was still the leader but with the Polish Jerzyk only 15'' behind her. A little further behind, 49'' behind the leader, was Verstuyft and 1'37'' Lewis. For her part, Helene Alberdi was fifth at 4'45''. At kilometer 68 Jerzyk led alone, with an advantage of 1' over Wiss and 3'30'' over Verstuyft. In the last kilometers of the cycle, the Polish increased her advantage and arrived first at the second transition with more than 2 minutes ahead of the Austrian Gehnböck who had climbed several positions. Third was Weiss glued to her compatriot. Fourth Verstuyft at more than 4' and fifth Lewis at almost 6. The half marathon started the same as the men, Jerzyk went all out and considerably increased the advantage. At kilometer 5,5 his advantage was more than 3' with Weiss. Halfway through the segment, at kilometer 10,5 Jerzyk remained the leader, with 2'45'' over Verstuyft, who was recovering time and placed second. At kilometer 15,6 Verstuyft had managed to cut back 1' to the Polish style and was 1'42'' behind, although the leader held up well to the Belgian's comeback. Finally triumph in the Ironman 70.3 of Cascais for the Polish Angieszka Jerzyk with a time of 4:26:06. Second was the Belgian Katrien Verstuyft with 4:27:16 and third was the British Sara Lewis with 4:30:17.

Fernando Alarza sweeps the Ironman 70.3 Cascais and qualifies for the 2019 World Championship

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