Two Dutch athletes celebrated great wins at the inaugural IRONMAN Maastricht-Limburg. Thanks to outstanding performances Yvonne van Vlerken and Bas Diederen took home the victories in their home race.
Diederen continues strong season
In the men’s race, it was a group of five that dominated the race for a long time. Dutch Martijn Dekker set off for a fast swim split early in the water and exited the river Maas after 46:17. Within only 7 seconds, the top five came out of the water including favorite Bas Diederen who ranked fourth at the IRONMAN European championship Frankfurt four weeks ago.
Dekker was the man at the front of the group for a long time, but on the last third of the flat but challenging bike course, Diederen attacked. He made a decisive move, broke up the group and opened up a huge gap. When Diederen came off the bike, he was almost 5 minutes away from Oude Bennink, the rest of the group was dropped by more than 8 minutes.
Diederen kept the pace high on the marathon and controlled the race with ease. On the second half he was able to extend his lead up to more than seven minutes over his compatriot. After taking sixth place at the IRONMAN African championship in April and ranking fourth in Frankfurt, he celebrated his first ever IRONMAN title in 8:27:18 ahead of Oude Bennink and Italian Alberto Casadei.
Van Vlerken does it again
Yvonne van Vlerken was the reason the Dutch flag reigned as well in the women’s race. Although she was a bit behind in the water and for a longer time on the bike, the 36-year-old made her way as she has done so often in her career.
Van Vlerken came out of the water 4:02 behind leader Sarissa De Vries. Through the first half of the bike course, Van Vlerken was only 20 seconds behind her fellow countrywoman, but she broke away from De Vries only minutes later.
When the five-time IRONMAN champion reached T2, she had an advantage of more 5:32 and looked strong. Like a flying Dutchwoman, Van Vlerken then increased her lead with every single step. Through 11 kilometers, she was more than 9 minutes in front; when she embarked on final 10 kilometers the gap was nearly 17 minutes. Van Vlerken had a great day and took home an impressive win ahead of IRONMAN rookie De Vries. Third place Carla Van Roijen completed the triumph for the Dutch team.
Top 5 Men
1. Diederen, Bas (NED) 08:27:18
2. Oude Bennink, Mark (NED) 08:35:15
3. Casadei, Alberto (ITA) 08:38:04
4. Brydenbach, Tim (BEL) 08:40:38
5. Modic, Matic (SVN) 08:44:11
Top 5 Women
1. Van Vlerken, Yvonne (NED) 09:39:24
2. De Vries, Sarissa (NED) 09:58:44
3. van Rooijen, Carla (NED) 10:04:38
4. Lehrieder, Carolin (GER) 10:19:57
5. Kinnegim, Irene (NED) 10:34:46