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News

Tine Deckers second, Sofie Goos fourth in Ironman 70.3 Mallorca

Published: 12/05/2012 | Posted in News | Tagged

12 May 2012 – Tine Deckers of the Uplace Pro Triathlon Team has captured the second place in today’s Ironman 70.3 Mallorca. Sofie Goos finished fourth. Tine recorded a time of 4:43:18; Sofie clocked in at 4:49:43. Emma-Kate Lidbury (UK; 4:39:05) won the race for the second consecutive time, Natalie Schmitt (Germany, 4:47:11) came in third.

 

Former 70.3 world champion Michael Raelert from Germany won the race in 3:57:08. Michael Göhner (Germany, 4:10:11) and Ben Allen (Australia, 4:12:51) completed the top-three. Fellow Belgian Tom Vander Hoogerstraete (4:13:25) finished fourth.

 

 

Sofie got to an excellent start, leaving the water third, just a minute behind fastest swimmer Lidbury. Tine followed two minutes later in fifth position. In the cycling leg, Tine pushed forward, while Sofie lost time and her place in the top-5 after a four-minute penalty for drafting. Tine started the half marathon second, trailing Lidbury by five minutes; Sofie jumped off her bike in seventh position. Tine recorded a solid, consistent run to keep her second place until the finish line. Sofie fought back to an honorable fourth place.

 

For Tine Deckers, this half Ironman was a successful end to two weeks of training in Mallorca: “Winning was not really in the cards today. Lidbury was simply stronger in the three disciplines. But I’m happy with my second place. Doing this race at the end of a training camp apparently was a good idea. It didn’t start very well though. I ended up swimming alone and in the second part, I went in the wrong direction for a bit. I felt better on the bike, although the past weeks of training did hamper me a bit during the inclines. But I’m especially happy with my solid half marathon. This is the longest I have run since struggling with a foot injury earlier in the season. The fact that I got to a swift start and was able to push through the whole time, gives me a lot of confidence for the next big race, the Ironman Nice on 24 June.”

 

 

Sofie Goos was also satisfied with her performance, despite the penalty: “My first card ever! I really thought there were ten meters between Tine and myself. Besides, the referee had been riding right next to me for minutes. So I was extra careful about keeping my distance. But apparently her idea of what is ten meters is not the same as mine. Four minutes in the penalty box last a long time when you see the numbers five to eight flying past. But I managed to regroup well. The big question was how my legs had recuperated from Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s tough training sessions. But the first two loops went very smoothly. I was hoping to catch up to the third place, but that was a bit much after I struggled for a bit in the last round. All in all, I am happy with the race and my training in Mallorca. I feel that my conditioning is starting to come around, which leaves me feeling good about the Ironman Brazil in two weeks.”

 

Complete results: http://ironmanlive.com/tracking.php?race=mallorca70.3&year=2012

 

Axel Zeebroek third in IM St. George

Published: 05/05/2012 | Posted in News | Tagged

5 May 2012 – Axel Zeebroek of the Uplace Pro Triathlon Team has finished third in today’s Ironman St. George in Utah. He completed the 3.8 km swim, 180 km bike ride and 42 km run in 9:35:33. Only Ben Hoffman (USA; 9:07:04) and Mike Twelsiek (Germany; 9:25:58) were faster in a grueling race that was marked by a chaotic swim start. 

Strong swimmer Axel was one of the first out of the dangerously choppy water (hundreds of age groupers were fished out of the water because the conditions were too risky). He was second on the bike, right behind Thurston. After a few kilometers Axel took the lead, but Twelsiek and Hoffman soon made their move. In the first half of the hilly and windy bike course, they formed a leading group of three, but then Axel had to let Hoffman and Twelsiek go. At the beginning of the marathon, Axel was still in third position, but he was trailing Hoffman by 17 minutes. Axel managed to make up almost ten minutes on a fading Twelsiek, but was ultimately unable to move up within the top-three.

“Oh la la! Hell in the swim. Hell on the bike. Hell in the run.” Immediately after the race, Axel was still overwhelmed by what he called his toughest Ironman to date: “It was a true test, from the very first to the last minute. It started in the swim. The high waves really tossed you all over the place and I often couldn’t see the buoys, so swimming in a straight line was out of the question. I was glad I was out of the water, until I realized how hard the wind was blowing. It felt like 50/60 kilometers per hour. Standing up on your pedals on steep inclines with wind guts coming sideways at times was really dangerous. I think I didn’t go faster than 10 kilometers per hour on some stretches. Towards the end, I had no idea how far I was behind the first two and in front of the rest. But the fact that I was in third position made me pull though and start the marathon at a good pace. It was then that I realized I was catching up on Twelsiek. In the second round I really put it all on the line to move up and I did get fairly close, but by then I was done. The last 10 kilometers, I was spent. Right now, I am just really happy that the race is over. And I came here with the top-three as my goal, so I’m on track in terms of qualifying for Hawaii. Now it is a matter of resting up properly so I can secure that ticket to Kona with a good Ironman Nice in June.”

Meredith Kessler (10:12:59) won the pro-women’s race. Jessie Donavan (10:37:30) and Ulli Bromme (U.S.; 10:53:20) completed the all-American podium.

 

Complete results: http://www.ironmanlive.com/tracking.php?race=st.george&year=2012

 

 

Sofie Goos wins Mallorca Olympic Triathlon, Bart Aernouts fourth

Published: 05/05/2012 | Posted in News | Tagged

5 May 2012 – Sofie Goos of the Uplace Pro Triathlon Team has won today’s Mallorca Olympic triathlon. Clocking in at 2:01:17, Sofie was faster than Carina Brechters (2:03:22) and Marijke Zeekant (2:18:33). Sofie actually finished second behind Heather Jackson, but Jackson was later disqualified for wearing her bib number under her wetsuit.

In the men’s race, Bart Aernouts of the Uplace Pro Triathlon Team finished fourth with a time of 1:49:11. The podium places went to Timo Bracht (1:45:25), Georg Potrebitsch (1:47:13) and Graham Leitch (1:48:07). Uplace-athlete Bert Jammaer finished fifth, but was also disqualified for wearing his bib number under his wetsuit.

The Uplace athletes are in Mallorca for a team training camp. The race was part of their preparation for their upcoming Ironman races. Sofie Goos and Tine Deckers will participate in the Ironman 70.3 Mallorca next week (May 12). Bert Jammaer will compete in the Ironman Lanzarote on May 19; Bert is a two-time winner in Lanzarote. Bart Aernouts will start his European season on May 20 with the Ironman 70.3 Austria.

 

Complete results of the Mallorca Olympic Triathlon: http://www.elitechip.net/system/public/dldcache/79926c899a0daa06f6a01d70d49adffd.pdf

 

Equipment problems force Bruno Clerbout out of Ironman South Africa

Published: 22/04/2012 | Posted in News | Tagged

22 April 2012 – Bruno Clerbout of the Uplace Pro Triathlon Team has retired from today’s Ironman South Africa. Equipment failure in the bike leg got the better of Bruno. Clemente Alonso-McKernan (Spain; 8:34:45) won the race, beating Cyril Viennot (France; 8:41:48) and Mike Aigroz (Switzerland; 8:46:04).

Natascha Badmann (Switzerland; 9:47:10) was the fastest woman. Simone Brändli (Switzerland, 9:52:26) finished second, Diana Riesler (Germany; 10:01:14) third.

The race got to an excellent start for Bruno. He came out of the water fifth and maintained a solid seventh position in the bike leg. The second bike round brought bad luck. A spoke in the rear wheel of Bruno’s bike snapped and the entire wheel pulled askew. After a half hour wait for assistance Bruno was able to continue. When he suffered a flat tire, his race was over.

“This is really frustrating,” responded a deeply disappointed Bruno. “You can put this kind of setback in perspective, but it is still so frustrating. Especially because I was in good shape and the race was the kind of battle of attrition in which I am at my best. I have really missed out on a lot Hawaii-points and a fine performance. Normally my next race would be the Ironman Nice on 24 June. The question is whether I compete sooner, considering the condition I brought to South Africa. But we will figure that out in the coming days.”

 

Complete results: http://ironmanlive.com/tracking.php?race=southafrica&year=2012

 

Axel Zeebroek 10th in Ironman 70.3 Texas

Published: 01/04/2012 | Posted in News | Tagged

1 April 2012 – Axel Zeebroek of the Uplace Pro Triathlon Team has finished tenth in today’s Ironman 70.3 Texas, recording a final time of 3:55:43. Tim O’Donnell (US; 03:47:40) won the race, which served as the US championship Ironman 70.3. Sebastian Kienle (Germany; 3:48:03) and Ronnie Schildknecht (Switzerland; 03:48:49) completed the podium. Lance Armstrong (3:54:32) finished seventh; fellow Belgian Marino Vanhoenacker (3:54:55) came in eighth.

Kelly Williamson (US; 4:13:27) was the fastest woman, beating out Yvonne Van Vlerken (The Netherlands; 4:18:47) and Amy Marsh (US; 4:20:16).

A strong beginning and end, with an off-day on the bike in between, you could summarize Axel’s Ironman 70.3 Texas. Third out of the water after an excellent swim, he quickly lost minutes on the leading group in the first kilometers on the bike. No power in the legs, was the verdict. Axel did manage to regain that power in the second half of the bike ride, but by then he had lost too much time to compete for a spot in the top-five. Still, Axel ran himself from the thirteenth position into the top-ten in a strong half marathon performance.

After the race, Axel looked back on an Ironman 70.3 Texas with distinct ups and downs, “After clocking the fastest bike time in San Juan just two weeks ago, I simply had no power in my legs today. My swim, on the other hand, was excellent. The end result is not great, but also no bad either. With this field of competitors, I will gladly take a tenth place. I was aiming for a top-six spot, which should be feasible on a good day. But not with today’s bike legs. That is why I am proud of the mental strength I showed today. I never stopped fighting, even when I was struggling. That gives me confidence form my upcoming races. Next up is the Ironman St. George on 5 May.”

 

Complete results: http://texas.ironmanlive.com