Double victory on Lanzarote: Justus Nieschlag and Anne Haug win IM 70.3 Lanzarote

Lanzarote, March 18, 2023 - Justus Nieschlag and Anne Haug win the Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote in the usual tough conditions on the volcanic island and prevail in a strong starting field.

The swim start | Photo: La Santa/Ironman

The eleventh edition of Club La Santa IRONMAN 70.3 Lanzarote started at 7:00 a.m. in Puerto Marina Rubicon. As a novelty this year, GPS buoys were used in the swimming segment, which are more sustainable and environmentally friendly as they are not anchored to the seabed and do not harm the ecosystem. The German Justus Nieschlag was the fastest swimmer right from the start over the 1.9 kilometers and took command of the race, his compatriot Rico Bogen in second place. In the women's category, Kate Curran of Great Britain led while India Lee and Anne Haug tried to keep up.

The bike course on Lanzarote: volcanic rock, wind and altitude | Photo: La Santa/Ironman

On the bike, the race developed in favor of the two Germans. Nieschlag set an extremely hard pace from the front, but was unable to set himself apart from his competitors. Only the strong Dane Thor Bendix Madsen made up ground and moved up from 16th position to second place after the swim. A leading group of four, led by Justus Nieschlag, finally reached T2 together: in addition to Rico Bogen and the Dane Madsen, Frenchman Mathis Margirier also ran almost at the same time.

Anne Haug quickly took the lead in the women's competition on the difficult bike course, putting more and more distance between herself and her pursuers. Neither India Lee nor Elisabetta Curridori could close the gap and focused on securing their presence on the final podium.

Left: Justus Nieschlag, Right: Anne Haug | Photo: La Santa/Ironman

On the final 21 kilometers of running, Justus Nieschlag finally managed to work out and extend an advantage over the three competitors. Only the Frenchman Margirier mobilized all available forces on the last five kilometers and almost completely closed the gap to Nieschlag. But it was no longer enough. Justus Nieschlag saved 15 seconds ahead of the Frenchman and thus secured his second victory over an Ironman middle distance:

"It's a great feeling to be at the top of the 70.3 Lanzarote and to have the slot for the 70.3 World Cup in your pocket. Especially due to the short recovery time after the Arena Games and my form building while running, there were many variables in the equation that I influenced as much as I could. It was a tough race, but I'm glad that I was able to win the race by sprinting to the finish!"

At the finish line: Justus Nieschlag | Photo: La Santa/Ironman

In the women's race, Anne Haug was able to confidently show off her strength in running and extend the lead over her closest pursuer, Britain's India Lee. Anne Haug won the Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote with a lead of almost 12 minutes and was not only satisfied with the course of the race on her Facebook account, but above all with her returned form:

"It was a tough start to the season. The Ironman Lanzarote 70.3 gave us a really windy and hard working day. My swimming was absolutely perfect and I was within striking distance of the leaders right from the start. On the bike I was able to pull away to Timanfaya and had a comfortable lead in T2. ​​The run just felt great and that's what I'm most happy about, because after 2 years of persistent energy problems due to my Covid infection, I finally felt power in my muscle cells again. Many thanks to my great team at around me who has worked hard and is still working to solve this problem."

On target: Anne Haug | Photo: La Santa/Ironman

RESULTS MEN
1. JUSTUS NIESCHLAG (GER) - 03:54:57
2. MATHIS MARGIRIER (FRA) - +0:15
3. THOR BENDIX MADSEN (DK) - +1:54

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RESULTS LADIES
1. ANNE HAUG (GER) - 04:16:47
2.INDIA LEE (UK) - +11:50
3. ELISABETTA CURRIDORI (ITA) - +19:54

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