Spain’s David Castro Fajardo, fresh off a win at the World Aquathlon Championships, ran his way to the men’s title at today’s Europe Triathlon Cup and Mediterranean Championships Quarteira, making up a 42-second gap off the bike to take the win over France’s Anthony Pujades and Germany’s Simon Henseleit. The standard-distance race included a 1.5 km swim in the Atlantic Ocean, a six-lap 40 km bike and a 4-lap 10 km run.
Portugal’s Miguel Tiago Silva led the men out of the water, with Pujades a second behind. A big group formed on the bike, but The Netherlands’ Ian Pennekamp was able to ride clear, hitting T2 with a lead of almost 40 seconds on the group. It didn’t take long, though, for Fajardo and Pujades to catch up to Pennekamp – by the end of the first lap they were running in first and second, with the Dutchman hanging on in third.
At the end of the third lap it was clear that the race for the podium was going to be between Fajardo and Pujades – the two were still running together with Pennekamp 18 seconds back. Fajardo would pull clear to take an 11-second win in 1:46:58, with Germany’s Simon Henseleit getting past Pennekamp to take the final spot on the podium in 1:47:21, 10-seconds ahead of Pennekamp. Spain’s Ander Noain Lacamara would take fifth in 1:47:51.
