Ironman Lanzarote
 Ironman Lanzarote
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| venue |
Puerto del Carmen Spain
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| First run | 1992 |
| organizer | World Triathlon Corporation |
| Records | |
| distance |
 3.86 km
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| track record | Men: 8:30:35 h, 2011 Timo Bracht Women: 9:28:12 h, 2011 Rachel Joyce 
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| Website | Official website |
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The Ironman Lanzarote (Ironman Lanzarote Canarias) is an annually since 1992 in May on the Spanish island of Lanzarote held Triathlon -Sportveranstaltung about the Ironman as distance (3.86 km swim, 180.2 km cycling and 42.195 km running). With the start and finish in Puerto del Carmen since 1993, Ironman Lanzarote is, after Ironman Hawaii, the world's most traditional of all existing triathlons in the Ironman racing series.
organization
In 1985, the Dane, Kenneth Gasque, met a slightly overweight and not at all sporty-looking man at the Club La Santa sports and holiday center on the west coast of Lanzarote, wearing an Ironman Hawaii T-shirt . When the latter replied to his question where he had bought it, it was not for sale, but had to be earned, Gasque's ambition was aroused and he started the Ironman Hawaii himself in October of the same year, where he won after 14:02 : 38 h came to the finish.
Two years later he repeated this in 13:17:24 h and then contacted the organizer Valerie Silk with the idea of organizing such an event on Lanzarote himself. Silk informed him that she had just signed a contract with Detlef Kühnel on the European rights to the Ironman trademark .
During his third participation in the Ironman Hawaii in 1989, where he finished in 13:25:25 h, Gasque met Kühnel. In 1991 they both signed a three-year contract for the use of the trademark from 1992 onwards.
First held in 1992
The first edition on June 4, 1992 took place in the southern town of Playa Blanca . 148 participants were registered and 131 athletes were finally at the start. 116 of them were able to successfully finish the race. In the following year, Gasque moved the start and finish of the event twenty kilometers north to the tourist center of Lanzarote in Puerto del Carmen , where it has been held largely unchanged since then.
After the contract with Kühnel expired, the WTC , which had acquired the Ironman Hawaii and the rights to the Ironman trademark from Valerie Silk in 1990, wanted to conclude a contract directly with Gasque in order to gain more influence and control over the race.
The number of participants in the Ironman Lanzarote leveled off at 500 to 600 starters in the 1990s, but Gasque was unable to cover his costs in this way. Gasque's employer Club La Santa , a tourist resort built in 1983 by the Danish pastor and founder of Tjaereborg Ejlif Krogager on a time-share basis, took over its rights to the event in 1998. Kenneth Gasque is still the responsible race director to this day.
The number of participants in the event has grown continuously since then, and the record participation was achieved in 2014 with 2,258 registrations. With the organization unchanged in the person of Kenneth Gasque and the start and finish in Playa Blanca, the Ironman Lanzarote is now not only the oldest triathlon with the Ironman trademark in the event name on European soil, but after the Ironman Hawaii even the most traditional in the world. The Ironman Lanzarote has been the only European “Ironman” since 2009 that is organized with the “Club La Santa” by an organizer that is independent except for the payment of license fees for the use of the trademark. All other European triathlon events with the Ironman trademark in the event name are now organized directly by the WTC or its subsidiaries.
Since 2012, the "Club La Santa" - also through Kenneth Gasque - has also been organizing the Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote over half the distances of the Ironman Lanzarote in autumn , although the start and finish are 25 km north of Puerto del Carmen in one to Club La Santa belonging to the lagoon on the west coast of the island.
Since 2010, Gasque has also been organizing the Ocean Lava Triathlon on its own responsibility, also over half the distance of the Ironman Lanzarote, whose start and finish was initially in Puerto del Carmen and has now been relocated to Arrecife around 15 km east . The Ocean Lava Lanzarote Triathlon , whose winners include Sebastian Kienle , Marino Vanhoenacker and Thomas Hellriegel , is the highlight of a series of competitions with triathlons under the same name. a. in Fishguard , Stein , La Manga , Aalborg , Charkiw , Madrid and Santa Cruz .
Since the participants of the Ironman Lanzarote on the bike course with more than 2500 meters of altitude, which is already demanding due to their profile, are usually additionally challenged by the exhausting trade winds , the competition is one of the world's most challenging triathlon events over the Ironman distance. While winners in some places in continental competitions undercut the eight-hour mark over this distance, the same people on Lanzarote often need around 45 minutes longer to reach the finish.
The attraction of the route lies in the contrasts between the constant ups and downs between the mountains and the sea along, for example, the green lagoon in El Golfo , the mountains of fire glowing red in the sun in Timanfaya , the sandy El Jable desert between Tinajo, Famara and Teguise , and the "Valley of a Thousand Palms" before the long climb to the Mirador del Río with a view of La Graciosa . The places passed with houses in bright white with blue windows and doors exclusively according to the specifications of César Manrique are as good as free from the hotel complexes that are otherwise often found in tourist centers.
The race in May allows early qualification for the Ironman Hawaii. Currently, 40 starting places for Hawaii are allocated for amateurs, broken down according to the frequency of participants in the individual age groups. Professional triathletes fighting for the 25,000 US dollar prize money on Lanzarote can qualify for the 650,000 US dollar Ironman Hawaii via the "Kona Pro Racing System", the winner on Lanzarote receives 2000 points. For comparison there are 8000 points on Hawaii, followed by u. a. the Ironman Germany in Frankfurt or the Ironman Texas with 4000 points each, most other Ironman races over the full distance award either 1000 or 2000 points for a victory.
On May 26, 2018, the race was held with a modified cycling and running route. The 29th edition originally planned for May 23, 2020 was canceled at the end of March due to the spread of the coronavirus .
Route
- The swimming distance of 3.86 km leads from the start at Playa Grande in the bay of Puerto del Carmen via a circuit in the Atlantic that has to be swimmed twice with a short shore leave on the beach in between.
- The 180.2 km bike course stretches across the entire island, contains more than 2550 meters of altitude and is known for mostly strong winds in the mostly barren lava landscape. It leads from Puerto del Carmen first to the west coast near El Golfo , and then through the fire mountains of the Timanfaya National Park via Tinajo past Club La Santa to Famara . Through the sandy desert from El Jable via Teguise to the north, the highest point of the route in the Famara Mountains is reached on the Ermita de las Nieves. After a descent of five kilometers to Haría in the Valley of 1000 Palms, there is a long ascent with a view of the neighboring island of La Graciosa to the Mirador del Río , from where another rapid descent (almost 500 meters in altitude without incline for around seven kilometers) to East coast to Arrieta forces can be gathered for the final climb to Nazareth . Finally it goes downhill back to Puerto del Carmen. Maik Twelsiek set the course record on the bike in 2010 with 4:40:58 h.
- The final running route over the marathon distance extends over a turning point route that has to be completed three times over the beach promenade along the sea between Puerto del Carmen and Arrecife, the finish is again like the start at Playa Grande in Puerto del Carmen.
Course records
The current course record at the Ironman Lanzarote was set by the German Timo Bracht in 2011 with 8:30:35 h. The fastest woman so far has also been the British Rachel Joyce in 9:28:12 h since 2011 .
Winners list
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Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c Jürgen Sessner: Interview with Kenneth Gasque, race director of the Ironman Lanzarote . In: triathlon-szene.de . April 4, 2010.
- ↑ Pete Williams: Triathlons: In it for long run ( English ) In: sportsbusinessdaily.com . October 8, 2007. Archived from the original on January 7, 2016. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
- ^ A brief history of Club La Santa . The International Timeshare Owners Organization at Club La Santa.
- ↑ Maike Hohlbaum: Lava loves Limburg: New race in Holland . In: tri-mag.de . March 10, 2014.
- ↑ Prize money and distribution of points for professional triathletes . WTC.
- ↑ IRONMAN LANZAROTE 2018: LEGENDARY BIKE COURSE WITH CHANGES (April 11, 2018)
- ↑ CORONA PANDEMIC: THE IRONMAN LANZAROTE CANNOT TAKE PLACE IN 2020 (March 25, 2020)
- ↑ Record day: Timo Bracht wins Ironman Lanzarote with a course record (May 21, 2011)
