On home soil, Cederic Osterholt and Daniela Kleiser won Ironman 70.3 Kraichgau today. In the men’s race, Osterholt was constantly at the front, while in the women’s race, it looked for a long time like Lena Meissner would take the victory. However, Kleiser struck in the final stages, making up more than six minutes during the run.
The Men’s Race: A Battle of Three
In the men’s field, it was Fabian Kraft who came out of the water first with a swim time of 24:05. Osterholt was in an excellent position just two seconds behind him, alongside several other men who were all in close proximity. On the bike, three of them ultimately broke away: Kraft, Osterholt, and fellow German athlete Janne Böttel.
These three men clearly worked well together; they stayed as a group until just before T2 and built a lead of several minutes over their closest pursuers, though they did pull about half a minute apart from one another in the final stages of the bike leg.
Böttel was the first to start the run, but Kraft took over the lead after a few kilometers, with Osterholt trailing in his wake for about seven kilometers. That was when Osterholt made his move, taking the lead and quickly opening up a solid gap. He ultimately won the race in 3:47:44, while a strong-running Joran Driessen finished second in 3:48:47. Böttel held on to take third place in 3:49:39.
The Women’s Race: A Stunning Comeback
The fact that Daniela Kleiser emerged as the winner of the women’s race can be considered a minor miracle. Lena Meissner led almost the entire day, and when Kleiser started the half marathon, she was down in sixth place, facing a massive deficit of 6:15 minutes.
However, after seven kilometers – the first of three running laps – Kleiser had already surged into second place and cut her deficit nearly in half.
Her blistering pace continued into the second lap. With 14 kilometers ticked off, Kleiser was just 1:13 minutes behind Meissner, who was still holding onto the lead. Kleiser then stepped on the gas even further, overtaking her compatriot a few kilometers later to claim the top spot in the race. Meanwhile, Meissner began to fade significantly in the final stages, ultimately being passed by Switzerland’s Loanne Duvoisin as well.
Kleiser won the race in 4:18:06, Duvoisin finished second in 4:20:38, and Meissner came in third in 4:21:15.
