Lucy Gossage and Giulio Molinari ran from runner-up positions to the win at IRONMAN 70.3 Staffordshire. Both the men’s and women’s champions controlled the race on the bike before moving to the front on an extremely beautiful British summer day.
Molinari was part of a strong bike trio that opened up a decisive gap. British Philip Graves and Romain Guillaume from France set the pace together with the Italian who is known for his running qualities. Graves had a small lead of 25 seconds after the bike over Molinari who downsized this advantage even on the first kilometer of the run. It was not a surprise that the Italian took over the lead early. The surprise was Guillaume who kept up with his pace for most of the run. On the last of three run laps, he could no longer match Molinari’s speed.
Once on the run, Lucy Gossage nailed her third win in a row in Staffordshire. Kimberley Morrison dominated the bike ride, before Gossage left her behind after about one kilometer of the run. Thanks to a great run performance after a solid bike, the Bri highlighted the win in the heart of England by topping her own course record.
Top 5 Pro Men
1 Molinari, Guilio ITA 0:23:48…2:12:53…1:20:08…4:01:10
2 Guillaume, Romain FRA 0:23:51…2:13:04…1:21:40…4:03:01
3 Smales, Elliot GBR 0:23:45…2:18:05…1:19:35…4:05:59
4 Thomschke, Markus DEU 0:25:34…2:16:07…1:20:44…4:07:29
5 Cartmell, Fraser GBR 0:23:53…2:18:02…1:21:56…4:07:53
Top 5 Pro Women
1 Gossage, Lucy GBR 0:30:35…2:27:46…1:25:18…4:28:09
2 Bartlett, Nikki GBR 0:30:25…2:27:46…1:30:05…4:33:12
3 Morrison, Kimberley GBR 0:28:07…2:29:13…1:37:54…4:40:14
4 Drewett, Hannah GBR 0:26:05…2:46:23…1:39:41…4:57:27
5 Brown, Brooke CAN 0:30:46…2:45:13…1:36:56…4:58:29