Van Lierde and Baylis win Volcano Triathlon

Posted: Tuesday May 12, 2009

Luc Van Lierde and Bella Bayliss won the 25th Volcano Triathlon last weekend.

More than 400 athletes graced the waters of Club La Santa at the start of the race. Indeed the scent of anticipation even managed to drown the whiff of neoprene wet-suits.

Van Lierde was first out of the water and it was at the front he remained, showing the assembled crowds why he’s the fastest when it comes to the Ironman.

Such was his domination of the event that he finished a whopping 1min08 faster than Stephen Bayliss in second place. Bayliss even set the second fastest run time on the day – topped only by Lanzarote’s Gregorio Caceres Morales.

He finished 5th overall and with the Ironman in just 3 weeks, he could be a contender.

In the women’s race, Michelle Vesterby emerged from the water in first place. But when it came to the cycling, Bella Bayliss had the edge, she was 30 seconds quicker than Tiina Borman (2007 Ironman winner) and 3 minutes ahead of Michelle.

A really tight finish saw Bella complete the race in 2:13:18. Tiina 2:14:40 and Michelle 2:18:51.

Some of the other big names taking part included:

Belgian Bert Jammaer, winner of both Volcano Tri and Ironman Lanzarote 2008
Nico Ward Muñoz. 3rd at Volcano Triathlon 2008
Scott Neyedli,  winner Ironman UK 2007
Christoph Mauch, SUI, winner Ironman Lanzarote 2001, winner Volcano 2004

Female athletes:

Dutch Heleen Bij de Vaate, 2nd in the Ironman Lanzarote 2008 and 3rd in the Volcano Triathlon 2008
Beatrix Blattmann, from Switzerland, first timer in this Volcano race.

If you fancy training for next year’s event, you can join us!