Jelle Geens defended his Ironman half-distance world title. The Belgian defeated top favorite Kristian Blummenfelt in the finish sprint on Sunday. Jonas Schomburg came fourth.
Jelle Geens won the last triathlon highlight of the year – and how. After 1.9 kilometers of swimming, 90 kilometers of cycling and a half marathon, the Belgian only won in the finish sprint against Kristian Blummenfelt from Norway. In the end, the two were only separated by three seconds. Jonas Schomburg was the best German and came fourth behind long-distance world champion Caspar Stornes.
“Defending the title is incredible. It was the main goal of the year, I was at the altitude training camp with my family and I dedicate my victory to them”said Geens after the triumph.
At the start of the 70.3 competitions, swimming in the Mediterranean had not created any decisive distances. So a large group including almost all the favorites and the two Germans Schomburg and Rico Bogen went on the 90 kilometer long bike route. Only the Norwegian Gustav Iden showed in the water that he was not a candidate for victory that day.
The start of the race on the beach in Marbella.
Difficult cycling for geens
What happened in the first kilometers of the second discipline was only partially reminiscent of the desired “individual time trial”. In the narrow streets of Marbella, the permitted twelve meter distance was difficult to maintain. “That has nothing to do with the regulations,” Bogen’s coach Philipp Seipp commented on the Sportschau stream. For the eventual winner Geens, the race also started with a crash, which also damaged the gears of his bike. The Belgian had to lend a hand and repair it himself, as he said after the race.
It was only after around 35 kilometers on the bike that the situation sorted itself out somewhat, a group including Blummenfelt, Stornes and Geens as well as Schomburg and Bogen set off and rode together to Marbella. However, the strong cyclists were no longer able to make their mark and so nine men went together to the transition zone before the final distance.
Target sprint ensures the decision
In the transition zone for the half marathon, Blummenfelt immediately created more distance than the entire bike race felt like. The Norwegian star started the half marathon with a lead of around 20 seconds over the toughest competitors and Schomburg and Geens had to laboriously work their way up to him again.
It took the Belgian a few minutes, but as soon as he reached the front, he increased the pace again and shook off Schomburg. So only Blummenfelt and Geens were at the top and fought for the title. Both ran parallel until the last corner before Geens celebrated victory thanks to a strong final sprint.
Behind him, Schomburg was swallowed up by Stornes and ultimately crossed the finish line in fourth place. Bogen crossed the finish line in fifth place. Leonard Arnold was 13th, Lasse Nygaard Priest landed in 25th place, Fabian Kraft finished in 28th place and Nick Emde in 40th place.