After his tremendous victory at Ironman 70.3 Brazil, Hidalgo had his sights set on a podium performance in the second event of the World Triathlon Championship Series, this time in Japan. And did the Brazilian deliver. An exceptional allround performance saw the BMC athlete take the final podium spot in Yokohama. With this performance Miguel moves up to the 3rd in the overall Championship Series Rankings as well. Hauser took the victory, with Vilaca in second.
Felt good all race
"It wasnt the easiest day out there today, but I am happy with the podium", Hidalgo reflected. "Of course, I was aiming for the win. It was the first time that I was on the start line thinking realistically I can win today. It wasn’t today, but I’m getting closer.
I felt good all the time. I was in second place at the first buoy during the swim, but unfortunately got hit hard on my goggles and had to take a few mintues to recover. That meant I lost connection with the front group and had to chase back on in the opening stages of the bike. Luckily I felt very strong on the bike and found a solution today. During the run I gave it my all and I am very happy with the outcome!"
Sam Dickinson narrowly misses Ironman Pro Series podium in Aix-en-Provence
Sam Dickinson narrowly missed out on his second Ironman Pro Series podium in a row. After missing the IM70.3 Venice podium by a handful of seconds, the BMC athleted produced another oustanding performance in the Provence, this time coming 15" short from the podium places. Dickinson was in contention for the win all race long, exiting the water in 3rd. After a fast transition the British athlete set off in the lead. In the opening stages of the bike, a big lead pack was formed and Dickinson kept riding attentively in the first part of the group. Sam entered T2 in 5th and started his run in 4th. After a fierce battle, with the gap towards the lead continuesly hovering around the 30" mark, the BMC athlete eventually had to settle for 4th missing the podium by 15". Another outstanding performance from the Brit (swim: 22:33, bike: 2:06:48, run: 1:08:47). Kristian Blummenfelt won the race (3:41:08), ahead of Stornes (3:41:39), with Viain rounding out the podium (3:42:26).
Afterwards Dickinson reflected: "Another busy day in the office with many ups and downs resulting in my second p4 in as many races. Can’t be disappointed and we’re getting closer to the podium and proving consistency over this new distance mirrors consistency in training which is the foundation to build on. Amazing venue for a race, challenging course and enthusiastic fans! I will keep pushing and I know the podium will come. Back to work now with specific areas to improve with a big training block before European 70.3 champs in Sweden".
Clément Mignon 5th at Ironman Lanzarote
Clément Mignon finished in 5th place at IM Lanzarote after being in contention all race long. The BMC athlete crossed the finish line in a time of 8:32:21. Dylan Magnien (FRA; 8:27:57) came home victorious with Jordi Montraveta Moya (ESP; 8:28:35) and Mathias Lynsgso Petersen (DEN; 8:31:11) joining him on the podium.
The day started perfectly for Clément Mignon by exiting the water in 2nd place, 1’30 back of the leader. On the bike, Clément immediately closed down that gap and settled in the front group. Those four athletes worked well on the tough bike course and held on to an advantage of 2’45 halfway through the bike leg. Knowing it would be a long and challenging day, Mignon tried to save as much energy as possible by settling well in the front pack. Their gap over five chasers shrunk to 1 minute going into the final 40k though. By the end of the bike, that difference was closed entirely. Clément started the closing marathon in 7th place, 1’14 back of the leaders. In the first 15k, the Frenchman was able to cut down that deficit to 30 seconds as he held on to 7th place. Another 10k further, Mignon really found his rhythm and moved up to 4th place, still with that 30 second disadvantage over the two leaders. With 6k to run, the BMC athlete even managed to move up another spot and claim 3rd place. Although he kept giving his all in the end, he had to settle in his own pace in the final kilometers and crossed the line in 5th place eventually.
Afterwards Clément Mignon had mixed feelings about his race. “Today was really crazy as we, even here in Lanzarote, were racing so close to each other. I performed well in the swim and on the bike. Until the 36k mark of the run, I felt good as well. But suddenly, I blew up completely. I have no explanation for how that has happened yet. I am happy about my race, but I want more. My shape is going in the right direction after a difficult period last year.”
Team mate Thor Bendix Madsen wasn't fully recovered from his crash three weeks ago and had to withdraw from the race.
