Germany’s Nicolas Mann timed his run to perfection to take the victory at a closely-fought IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables on Saturday as the IRONMAN Pro Series makes it second stop in Europe.
He was in close proximity from the outset – just a handful of seconds back in the swim and then in a seven-man lead group off the bike.
On the run it was his compatriot Rico Bogen, the reigning IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion, who seemed to have made a decisive break but Mann made the catch just after the halfway point and powered away for the win.
Mann crossed the line in 3:39:48, with Youri Keulen (NED), who has struggled for form since his win at the Singapore T100 in April, emerging as his closest challenger to take second 35 seconds back. And Clement Mignon (FRA) cut down a fading Bogen late on to round out the podium in third.
This win made it two out of two Pro Series victories this season for Mann following his success at IRONMAN 70.3 Mallorca in May.
Swim – Vogel shows the way
There was a big bunch of 12 within 25 seconds of each other exiting the water.
They were led by Johannes Vogel (GER), with Bogen right on his feet.
Eventual winner Mann was in 10th, 21 seconds back, but other notable names with more to do were Gustav Iden (NOR) at +1:14 and Cam Wurf (AUS) at +1:42.
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It was the back-to-form Keulen, a late entry to this race once it was moved forward a day due to the French elections, who grabbed the initiative early on the bike.
But it was still bunched up behind – less than 20 seconds covering the first 10.
And things didn’t change a great deal, with seven men – Bogen, Keulen, Mignon, Mann, Andrea Salvisberg (SUI), Nick Emde (GER) and Vogel – all reaching T2 together to start the run battle.
Run – The main Mann
On the first of two run loops it was Bogen who surged to the front and put a gap between himself and the rest.
That had risen to 33 seconds after 7km and he was looking comfortable but things changed dramatically towards the end of that first loop as Mann closed and then eased past. Bogen was able to stay on his shoulder for a while but the elastic would eventually snap.
And Mann didn’t look back from that point as he collected his second 2,500 points haul in the IRONMAN Pro Series.
“To be honest I’m a bit lost for words,” said Mann afterwards. “After my win in Mallorca I just wanted to make sure that I’m consistent so I’m just so happy to do it again.”
[Photo credit: IRONMAN]
Bogen was still in second with 5km to go but first Keulen and then Mignon would overhaul him to join Mann on the podium, with the top three all clocking 1:11 half marathons.
Chasing validation to the IRONMAN World Championship in October, Gustav Iden just needed to finish to secure his spot in Kona, where he won in 2022, and he crossed the line in 13th at +6:18.
To find out what happened in a similarly exciting women’s race, click here.
IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables 2024 Results
Pro Men
Sunday June 29, 2024 – 1.9km / 90km / 21.1km
1. Nicolas Mann (GER) – 3:39:48 [20:31/2:03:02/1:11:12]
2. Youri Keulen (NED) – 3:40:24 [20:23/2:03:26/1:11:19]
3. Clement Mignon (FRA) – 3:40:37 [20:27/2:03:05/1:11:40]
4. Rico Bogen (GER) – 3:41:11 [20:11/2:03:18/1:12:39]
5. Johannes Vogel (GER) – 3:41:48 [20:10/2:03:42/1:12:42]
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