For Thomas Davis it was almost a dream come true – he has finished on the Challenge Salou podium several times but has not yet won the race – and Elisabetta Curridori spoke afterwards of a race where all the puzzle pieces fell together and even of the most beautiful victory of her career: clearly both Challenge Salou winners today were delirious with joy.
That was understandable, because there was nothing stolen about their victory either. Thomas Davis came out of the water in a big breakaway immediately, but rode so hard on the bike that only Quentin Barreau and Jonathan Wayaffe could follow. The trio only saw their lead grow throughout the ninety kilometers, although that was purely due to Davis’ leading work. The Brit consistently took the lead, didn’t look back once and took on all the work on his own.
In transition area – T2 – it appeared that both Barreau and Wayaffe had received drafting penalties. Barreau had to stood still two minutes before he was allowed to start the half marathon, Wayaffe even four minutes. For Davis, who also just ran a very good half marathon, it meant a comfortable lead towards the finish and he did not relinquish it. He won the race in 3:34:28, while Barreau finished second in 3:35:34. Wayaffe, who was overtaken after five kilometers and was in fourth place for a long time, managed to slide back into third position on the last lap and eventually finished third in 3:36:34.
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The women’s race was dominated – at least during the bike – by only one woman: Anne Haug. The German top favorite proved so strong that no one could follow. Elisabetta Curridori remained the closest, but she conceded more than a minute entering T2. Dutch Marlene de Boer followed in third, but was even further back.
In T2, however, what Haug had announced beforehand became apparent: due to an accident with a scooter the day before the race, her ankle was injured to such an extent that she could not start the run. That also automatically meant that Curridori moved up to first place and De Boer to second.
Initially, the difference between the two women remained fairly even – in the first few kilometer of the run it always hovered around two minutes. Halfway through, however, De Boer began to struggle a bit more and Curridori managed to increase her lead considerably.
Curridori won the race, which she would describe as the best victory of her career, in a time of 3:59:35. De Boer finished second in 4:05:02 and Zaira Lorenzo finished third in 4:11:25.
