Andreas Boecherer took his third win at the IRONMAN 70.3 Pays d’Aix thanks to a stunning performance. The 36-year old German had a big smile on his face after crossing the finish line, but he was both physically and mentally empty. Boecherer had been almost a minute down in the water behind France's Robin Pasteur before he embarked (once more) onto a great bike ride. The defending champion nailed a gutsy split in 2:09:52 and was able to stay clearly in front of other oustanding riders like Andreas Dreitz (GER). Obviously, Boecherer’s plan was to keep guys like the strong British runner Adam Bowden off his neck. The idea was good, Boecherer's tactics worked, but Bowden made up a lot of ground on the run course. The IRONMAN 70.3 Dubai champion started the run with a deficit of more than five minutes and ran from fifth into second position within only a few kilometers. Bowden put in a 1:08 half marathon for silver, but couldn’t get closer to Boecherer than a minute. After winning at the IRONMAN 70.3 Marbella two weeks before, Andreas Dreitz (GER) rounded out the podium.
While Bowden missed the win, the podium in the women’s race was decidedly British. The young pro athlete India Lee came out of the water in the lead and kept this position for more than 30 kilometers. Emma Pallant had to downsize the gap of more than two minutes after the swim, before she could aim for the leading position. Once Pallant got to the front, Lee didn’t throw in. She kept up with Pallant‘s pace until they came off the bike side by side. Lee had to suffer a bit later on the run due this tough ride. Leader Pallant hammered away early, Nikki Bartlett outsprinted Lee on the final kilometer.
Men's Podium
1 Boecherer, Andreas GER 3:52:16
2 Bowden, Adam GBR 3:53:28
3 Dreitz, Andreas GER 3:56:37
Women's Podium
1 Pallant, Emma GBR 4:19:56
2 Bartlett, Nikki GBR 4:25:15
3 Lee, India GBR 4:25:30