This weekend’s Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote race has a couple of big names on the starting list – Germany’s defending Ironman world champion Anne Haug and Denmark’s recent Ironman 70.3 World Championship bronze medalist, Daniel Baekkegard. The two were joined at today’s press conference by British pro Nikki Bartlett, race director Fabio Cabrera and local age-group competitor Aitor Gonzalez.
Despite having raced just a few weeks ago at Challenge Roth, Haug is keen to race in Lanzarote – she considers the island a “second home.” Bartlett is also a big fan of the island – she took her first full-distance crown here at Ironman Lanzarote in 2019.
Baekkegard is making his first trip to the island. Not completely happy with his race in St. George, despite the podium finish, he was determined to get into another race. He’s also planning on spending some time training here in the Canary Islands as he gears up for another full-distance effort early next year.
The other big news from today’s press conference was that the event will move to a new March date on the calendar in 2022. According to Cabrera, the goal is to try and attract athletes to the first European Ironman event of the year.
You can watch the entire press conference, which was hosted by Triathlon Today editor Kevin Mackinnon, below.
