De Keyser and Verstuyft dominate Bruges triathlon

After almost three years, no fewer than 2000 sports enthusiasts ventured into the quarter triathlon. Almost the entire Belgian triathlon top was also present.

Among the men, Christophe De Keyser was the clear favorite. The semi-pro from Overijse recently won the Ironman in Marbella.

Men

After a kilometer of swimming, Bruggeling Joris Basslé is the first to come out of the water with a time under ten minutes. Major contenders De Keyser, Baelde and Wayaffe and Naeyaert are already more than a minute and a half behind.

The level during the 45 kilometers of cycling is high. Basslé does not have a time trial bike and is soon caught up by whirlwind Christophe De Keyser. Naeyaert also tries to put things right during his favorite part, but it is no longer possible to get to the head of the race. De Keyser blows everyone away with a phenomenal cycling time. Wayaffe and Baelde are three minutes behind and are fighting for second place.

The 29-year-old De Keyser continues to expand his lead during the running part while Wayaffe says goodbye to Baelde. De Keyser eventually wins in about one hour and 45 minutes, 1:45:40. Jonathan Wayaffe and Sybren Baelde reach the finish line three minutes later and are satisfied with their podium place.

Normally, Christophe De Keyser is only active on an international level. His victory in Bruges is the ideal preparation for the Ironman Les Sables d’Olonne next week in France.

Women

With the women it is no surprise that Linde Herreman sets a top time in swimming. Vertuyft is the second to arrive at the first transition zone. Van Eynde and Vanclooster, third and fourth in the standings, are chasing at more than two minutes.

While cycling, 39-year-old Katrien Verstuyft takes the lead. In the final ten kilometer run, she can already cheer. She now has a huge lead over Vanclooster and Van Eynde. Verstuyft cycles and runs to victory in 2 hours and 6 minutes, in a triathlon she considered a test after an injury. It’s scenario is almost copy-paste of that in men.