27 November 2011 – Bruno Clerbout and Axel Zeebroek of the Uplace Pro Triathlon Team have finished eighth and tenth respectively in today’s Ironman Cozumel in Mexico. For both Uplace-athletes, Cozumel was the final race of 2011 and the last opportunity of the year to win qualifying points for the 2012 Ironman Hawaii. Bruno’s final time was 08:47:07; Axel completed the race in 08:54:06.

Michael Lovato (US; 8:23:52) took the Ironman Cozumel title, beating out Patrick Evoe (US; 08:30:36) and Alejandro Santamaria (Spain; 08:32:50).

Simone Benz (Switzerland; 09:14:08) topped the women’s podium, flanked by Sonja Tajsich (Germany; 09:23:15) and fellow Belgian Sophie De Groote (09:26:07).

Axel Zeebroek started the race with a solid swim in the warm waters of Cozumel that had the athletes battle strong currents. He was on the bike in fifth positions and quickly positioned himself in third place. Bruno Clerbout struggled in the swim. He lost six minutes, leaving him with a 22nd position and quite some time to make up. After the 180-kilometer cycling leg, he was in 20th position. The comeback would have to happen in the marathon. Axel, on the other hand, had started suffering from back pain and lost time in the last leg of the bike course. He started running in seventh position.

The marathon turned out a doozy with torrential rain forcing a high number of athletes out of contention or out of the race altogether. Axel was one of the victims. Bruno on the other hand was racing through the field, moving up 12 places for a top-ten finish. Axel walked and ran through the pain, finishing tenth.

Cozumel turned out a solid race for Bruno: “I might not be the strongest athlete, but I know how to race smart, especially on courses that don’t play into my strengths. Today, it was really a matter of surviving a messy battle. My swim was, not unlike the rest of this season, a lonesome effort. Cycling went much better, but I just can’t compete with the best, especially on this flat course. The goal was to force the comeback in the marathon to achieve the goal of a top-five finish. If you have to run through flooded streets, that is easier said than done. So in the end, I am pleased with my result. Also because a few things that had been going well in training, also showed during the race. This leaves me looking and planning ahead enthusiastically. No end of season feeling for me!”

“I am spent,” Axel said after the race. “I really thought I would not be able to finish the race. In the last bike loop I started having back pain, which prevented me from leaning over my handlebars. I lost time and my third place. The marathon initially went well, but in the second round it was lights out. I walked, stopped for a while. I was really done. When Bruno passed me, he spurred me on to fight through it. That helped. In the last round I found new energy, allowing me to run again. Either way, this was not a good race. I am happy I managed to finish it and was able to collect some Kona points, but the result should have been much better. Right now, I am really looking forward to resting up.”

Complete results: http://ironmanlive.com/tracking.php?race=cozumel&year=2011