The European middle-distance season kicked off this Saturday in Gran Canaria. Damien Le Mesnager and Caroline Pohle won the Anfi Challenge Mogán in races with opposite developments.
Le Mesnager resolves a tight duel until T2
Michele Bortolamedi set the pace from the first moment: he got out of the water first in 21:55 and opened almost a minute of advantage on the bike over Vicente Hernández and Pierre Dupuy.
Le Mesnager came out of the water in 17th position but climbed steadily until he placed third in kilometer 35, signing quicker partials than the leader himself. In the last lap he caught up with him and passed him, although Bortolamedi answered twice. The difference between the two in T2 was three seconds.
Le Mesnager closed the best cycling segment of the day, 2:03:35, four minutes faster than Bortolamedi. Dupuy reached 50 seconds; Kaminer relented more than three minutes.
In the foot race, after a few kilometers together, Le Mesnager opened the gap and crossed the finish line in 3:48:09. Bortolamedi was second in 3:50:05. Michele Sarzilla completed the podium from 13th position thanks to the best running partial, 1:13:59.
"I swam badly and had to force a lot to reach Bortolamedi. The last five kilometers were very hard,” Le Mesnager explained. "I am very happy to get my first professional victory here."
Pohle dominates from start to finish
Sarah-Jane Goodwin came out of the water first, but Pohle, 23 seconds later, took the lead in the first kilometer of the bike and did not give it up. Justine Guerard and Anne-Sophie Pierre led the chase at different times; Meg McDonald and Nikki Bartlett consolidated in the top five.
Pohle reached T2 with 2:50 over Pierre and over six minutes over Bartlett. Those differences remained throughout the half marathon. Pohle crossed the finish line in 4:18:17, visibly excited. Pierre was second in 4:21:44 and Bartlett third in 4:24:24.
"This victory is very special because last year was very difficult. It's the best way to start the season. It has been very hard, with a lot of heat and a completely crazy wind,” said Pohle.
Age groups
In the parallel events, Willy García Jiménez took the men's victory with a 39-second margin over Fernando Marian de Diego. Lucia Perez Almeida clearly dominated the women's category.