The American Alice Alberts had an unforgettable day yesterday: at Ironman Lake Placid she beat all the favorites and thanks to that strong performance she took her first professional victory at a Long Distance. In fact; Alberts has never been on a Long Distance podium before and that has now changed directly – and in the best possible way.
Alberts finished Ironman Lake Placid in tough conditions – it was hot and the humidity high – in a time of 9:16:01. With that she stayed 5:48 minutes ahead of Erin Snelgrove and 11:33 minutes ahead of Jen Annett. Favorites like Angela Naeth, Ai Ueda, Joanna Ryter and Rach McBride missed the podium.
Alberts immediately came out of the water in a leading group; together with McBride and Ueda, she stopped the clock after 1:00:12, then headed for the bike. There it was Ueda who took off on her own, but her lead never grew more than half a minute over the first fifty kilometers. From that moment on, Alberts started to push it more, took over the lead in the race and managed to increase her lead to a few minutes. In the final phase of the bike, however, she lost some of her lead again, to finally start the marathon with 1:11 minutes ahead of Naeth. The number three at the time, Annett, was almost six minutes behind at the time.
Alberts started her marathon very strong and saw her lead quickly increase. When that lead continued to fluctuate between five and six minutes, it soon became clear that the American would win the race. She did so in a time of 9:16:01. Snelgrove and Annett were second and third.
