Rasmus Henning imposes the law of the strongest, Víctor del Corral third
He was the big favorite and he showed it. Rasmus Henning, who has lived in Playitas for a year and a half, won the demanding Abu Dhabi triathlon a few weeks ago and arrived at the Major event, at his house, in great shape. The Danish triathlete had great competition throughout the course, since the level of entries was very high, with the presence of outstanding figures from around the world.
At eight in the morning the test for the professionals began, while the rest of the participants began the swimming segment a few minutes later. During the 1,9 kilometer swim, Rasmus Henning and his compatriot Rasmus Petraus dominated, setting a high pace. Petraus came out of the water first, but in transition he was overtaken by Henning, while Englishman Daniel Halksworth showed that he could be the surprise of the day.
Thus began the nearly 86 kilometers of cycling, slightly less than the 90 originally scheduled. But Petraus couldn't keep up the rhythm. Henning and Halksworth went almost 70 kilometers together. On the tough climbs, the Briton prevailed, but on the descents the Dane surpassed him. It was in the last kilometers, before reaching the Playitas Resort complex again, that Henning took some advantage.
Those seconds were extended in the foot race. The half marathon that remained, on a demanding two-lap route from Las Playitas to Gran Tarajal, was the sentence for the test. Petraus retired after reaching Gran Tarajal at kilometer 6. After swimming almost two kilometers and cycling 86 kilometers, Henning ran the half marathon in 1:15:46.
To the joy of those present, Rasmus Henning reached the finish line and stopped the clock at 3:57:16, beating Daniel Halksworth by almost four minutes -4:01:09-. The Catalan triathlete, resident in Lanzarote, Víctor del Corral completed the podium -4:01:41-.
Among the professional elite that went to Fuerteventura yesterday, the sixth place of the Spanish Mikel Elgezagal, the seventh of the former Mercatone Uno professional cyclist, Massimo Cigana, or the eighth of the Englishman Stephen Bayliss, stands out.
In the women's category, as planned, the victory was very open. The fight was very close, but the English Emma-Kate Lidbury was the strongest. She finished in 18th place overall, with an overall time of 4:32:41. She was the first to get out of the water, her great specialty, and this helped her manage her advantage and expand it.
The English Lucy Gossage -4: 35: 25- was second and the third place was for the Swedish Eva Nystrom -4: 37: 11-.
The Challenge Fuerteventura, in its second edition, once again demonstrated that this competition has achieved a prominent place at an international level in a very short time. The level of registration has increased compared to the first edition, and the organization has been very satisfied with the result of the test. The Playitas Resort complex, the nerve center of the Challenge, becomes the benchmark for world triathlon for days, and in this 2012 edition also the Canarian benchmark, since the test served to celebrate the Canary Islands Long Distance Championship.
Source: canarias7.es
