Michael Weiss turned on the turbo on the final part of IRONMAN Maastricht in the Netherlands. As always, the Austrian was behind the leaders in the water, before the 36-year old hit the gas on the bike and run. When he came off the bike, he was 5 minutes behind long-term leader Michael van Cleven from Belgium and found himself being a "Pacman" on the run. While the audience was expecting a win by one of the strong Dutch or Belgium athletes, Weiss nailed a sensational marathon to take the fourth IRONMAN victory of his career. He pushed himself to catch up with van Cleven and to hold on to first place until he crossed the pumping finish line. "That was hurting a lot today," he said with a huge smile.
Last year’s runner-up Saleta Castro was at the front of the race almost all day long. British Kate Comber set the pace in the water in front of her Spanish shadow, before Castro moved to the front on the bike and kept first place for the rest of the day. Canada’s Brooke Brown was close to the 29-year-old when she reached T2, but this was the last time to touch women’s leader during that race. Castro celebrated the first IRONMAN victory of her career.
Top 5 Pro Men
1 Weiss, Michael AUT 8:18:09
2 Van Cleven, Michael BEL 8:23:27
3 Diederen, Bas NED 8:25:50
4 Wiltshire, Harry GBR 8:27:10
5 Blanchart Tinto, Miquel ESP 8:43:08
Top 4 Pro Women
1 Castro, Saleta ESP 9:37:17
2 Brown, Brooke CAN 9:48:13
3 Comber, Kate GBR 9:55:47
4 Bellinga, Rahel NED 10:21:16