The Basque triathlete Iñaki Baldellou (Alusigma Peñota Dental) and the German Els Visser (Alusigma Peñota Dental) won the Ibiza Half Triathlon, Spanish Cup of medium and long distance triathlon, held yesterday on Ibiza with the presence of 250 triathletes.

Imagen de los tres primeros clasificados masculinos en la Copa de España; a la derecha, la vencedora femenina Els Visser levanta la cinta en línea de meta. | FOTOS: VICENT MARÃ

The first three male finishers in the Ibiza Half Triathlon, Spanish Cup.  | PHOTOS: VICENT MARÃ

Baldellou surprised the crowd at the finish line located in the promenade of Ses Figueretes after a race that had different leaders along the difficult course, a 2km swim, 90km cycle and a 21km run. The Galician Pablo Dapena (PC Triatlón Rias Baixas), who faced the last segment with an advantage, had to settle for second place after breaking down in the half marathon, while Albert Moreno (PC Triatlón Rias Baixas) who faced the last segment with an advantage, had to settle for second place after breaking down in the half marathon, while Albert Moreno (ANB Bodegas Labastida) completed the podium, beating Guillem Rojas who was the first to come out of the water after the swim.

Sorpresas y dureza extrema en el Ibiza Half Triathlon

Female winner of The Ibiza Half Triathlon Els Visser lifts the ribbon at the finish line.

As expected, yesterday’s race was one of the most disputed in recent years with a magnificent line-up in which the reigning champion of Spain, Victor Arroyo, did not participate. Iñaki Baldellou asserted his power in the foot race and reached the final victory with a 3h58:13. Pablo Dapena stopped the clock in 4h00:36 and Albert Moreno, third, clocked 4h02:16.

Local triathletes in the Ibiza Half Triathlon

Among the local triathletes, the best result was for Aritz Rodríguez (Prat Triatló), fifteenth with 4h19:49. Veteran Dani González (Ibiza Half Triathlon) was twentieth with 4h24:30 and Alberto Parrilla (Saltoki) with 4h25:41 achieved 25th place in the national event.

In the women’s category, the German Els Visser put on a real show, winning with a time of 4h30:43. The Catalan Anna Noguera, who came from two very difficult years due to health problems, won the national title and the runner-up position with 4h33:34, while Laura Gómez finished third with 4h35:21. Ibiza-based triathlete Indre Barkute (Ibiza Half Triathlon) was very close to the podium, but finished fourth with 5h06:30. Her teammate Susana Sevillano was eighth (5h13:12).

Many of the participants emphasized on their arrival at the finish line the extreme difficulty of a race where the temperatures soared once again. Despite being a relatively flat course, the cycling and running segments had constant ramps in a leg-breaking course that caused fatigue in many triathletes.