Germany's Andreas Dreitz was full of hope for a special win in Alcudia, when he came off the bike. The three-time champion led the pro field in the first event of the 2017 IRONMAN European series as powerful as he had done in past. Dreitz led the way in impressive fashion, but this time things were much more complicated for him than they had been in history.
The British co-favorite David Mcnamee was in the top group right from the beginning. Once the strong biker Dreitz appeared at the front after a weaker swim, it was Mcnamee's job to follow. When Dreitz made his early pass, he knew what to do: Hit the gas and stay with the defending champ as close as possible.
As expected before, Dreitz made his decisive move in the tough climbs of the Tramuntana Mountains. He could drop most of the co-favorites successfully on his way through this hard section. While others got more lost for about the rest of the race, one athlete was not willing to let the German go and take his fourth victory: Mcnamee. Two years after the British ranked among the Top 3 in an IRONMAN event for the first time, the 29-year-old wanted nothing else but the win in Alcudia. Mcnamee came off the bike 1:26 behind Dreitz. The gap was small and Mcnamee ready to fly on the run and to take his first IRONMAN 70.3 win. He took a deep breath on the first 10 kilometers and pushed his pace especially on the second half of the run to nail the win.
In women's race, Laura Philipp had a similar race tactics compared to Dreitz, and she fulfilled her plans successfully. Like the top favorite in men's competition, she was a bit behind in the water and took over early on the bike. Compared to men's competition, Philipp's advantage after the bike was much bigger. Thanks to a solid lead of almost four minutes after the bike and a fast and steady pace on the run, Philipp had no issues to bring the title home in front of the fastest female runner of the day, Emma Pallant.
Top 5 Pro Men
1 Mcnamee, David GBR 0:22:58…2:16:37…1:13:41…3:56:49
2 Dreitz, Andreas DEU 0:24:31…2:13:03…1:16:06…3:57:50
3 Blanchart Tinto, Miquel ESP 0:24:35…2:22:25…1:13:57…4:04:30
4 Clarke, Will GBR 0:23:08…2:21:56…1:18:26…4:07:23
5 Ciavatella, Jonathan ITA 0:23:02…2:23:40…1:19:21…4:10:15
Top 5 Pro Women
1 Philipp, Laura DEU 0:25:55…2:29:31…1:22:09…4:21:41
2 Pallant, Emma GBR 0:26:01…2:36:43…1:20:09…4:26:51
3 Watkinson, Amelia NZL 0:25:57…2:33:03…1:30:03…4:33:03
4 Jerzyk, Agnieszka POL 0:25:55…2:42:12…1:24:34…4:36:50
5 Schulz, Jenny DEU 0:28:48…2:43:15…1:24:59…4:41:19