She began the bike leg trailing by nearly six minutes, but that the 140.6 format always results in a long day was evident when Anne Reischmann then began a catch-up race to ultimately triumph at Ironman Cozumel.
After the 3.8 kilometer swim in the always fast waters of Cozumel – where athletes swim with the current from behind – it was Julie Iemmolo who took the lead thanks to a time of 44:46 minutes. Her lead over the first chasers – Lisa Perterer and Rach McBride – was more than two minutes and behind them the differences were bigger. Reischmann thus followed at 5:53 minutes and was tenth when she started the bike.
On the bike, Perterer quickly rode towards Iemmolo on her own and so a leading group of two women formed. It stayed that way for a long time, too, while Reischmann began a tremendous catch-up race, gaining many positions and just as much time. After about fifty kilometers she was already in third position and then she continued to catch up to the leaders. After 130 kilometers she even joined them, only to ride away from Iemmolo and Perterer not much later and thus definitively take over the lead in the race. Her lead grew rapidly in the final kilometers, eventually coming into T2 with a four-minute lead over Iemmolo, Perterer and also Margrit Elfers.
During the run, Reischmann knew not to let herself get crazy, to draw her own plan and hold on until the finish. There was not a moment anymore that her victory was in danger; on the contrary, as her lead continued to grow until the finish.
Reischmann won the race in 8:38:08. Perterer was second in 8:44:24 and Justine Mathieux third in 8:51:03
