Great Britain’s Emma Pallant ran her way into contention for the upcoming IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship with a hard-earned victory at IRONMAN 70.3 Vichy in France. She trailed American Jocelyn McCauley by 5 minutes off the bike, but Pallant’s 1:16 effort on the run led to a two-minute win in 4:25:18. France’s Manon Genet ran 1:19, the second fastest of the day, to push up to third.
There was plenty of local support with Frenchman Yohan Le Beer scoring his first victory over the distance, holding off Great Britain’s David McNamee by a minute, with 30 seconds back to Dutch athlete Franz Loeschke. McNamee led out of the water in a three-way group before Le Beere took command with a stunning 2:19 bike. Whjile McNamee produced a stunning 1:08 half marathon, Le Berre’s 1:09:41 was enough to hold off the Brit, winning in 3:57:12. McNamee was 1:15 back in second with Loeschke a further 36 seconds adrift.
Men's Podium
1 Le Berre, Johan FRA 3:57:12
2 McNamee, David GBR 3:58:27
3 Loeschke, Franz DEU 3:59:04
Women's Podium
1 Pallant, Emma GBR 4:25:18
2 McCauley, Jocelyn USA 4:27:01
3 Manon, Genet FRA 4:28:19