The cream rose to the top as world champions Patrick Lange and Holly Lawrence prevailed to claim the Asia-Pacific honors at IRONMAN 70.3 Vietnam. It was a superb treble for Lawrence, the 2016 IRONMAN 70.3 world champion, who added the Asia-Pacific crown to continental titles in both St. George and Bahrain.
The British athlete was in a class of her own. Her wire-to-wire win comprised at 23:14 swim, a stunning 2:12:31 bike and 1:25:24 run (which was second only to runner-up Sarah Crowley) adding up to a course record 4:04:41 which would have placed her 13th in the pro men’s field. Crowley’s 1:23 run was enough to ease clear of defending champion Radka Kahlefeldt for second in a high-class field in still and hot conditions.
While the women’s race proved one-way traffic for the winner, the men’s race had many parts and at times a number of likely winners. Kiwi Dylan McNiece enjoyed a 42-second margin from the swim but a 15-strong bunch of stars grouped behind including current IRONMAN world champion Patrick Lange, five-time world champion Craig Alexander, former IRONMAN 70.3 world champions Tim Reed and Terenzo Bozzone, and the 2017 Vietnam winner Tim van Berkel.
Lange pushed for a break on the outward bike but couldn't shake clear. When a run-fest looked on the cards Reed had other ideas. Just seven days after his runner-up battle against Cameron Wurf in the course record 8:05 at IRONMAN Australia, Reed determined his legs would not hold up for a hot run. He somehow pushed clear to take a 2:23 lead off the bike.
His good mate van Berkel run through to the lead at 10kms before Lange struck, moving quickly from 100m back to lead at 13kms, gradually easing clear to win in a course record 3:49:09 from van Berkel and a brave Reed, while Mike Phillips run up to fourth ahead of Craig Alexander, reversing their two-person battle from the previous week at Busselton.
Men's Podium
1 Lange, Patrick DEU 3:49:08
2 Van Berkel, Tim AUS 3:50:56
3 Reed, Tim AUS 3:52:13
Women's Podium
1 Lawrence, Holly GBR 4:04:40
2 Crowley, Sarah AUS 4:08:54
3 Kahlefeldt, Radka CZE 4:11:03