Mexican Tomas Rodriguez Hernandez has just won Ironman 70.3 Cozumel on home soil. In a race where many men were evenly matched, Rodriguez Hernandez decided the race in the early stages of the run.
During the swim, many men stayed close together and in the end, as many as 12 men came out of the water within a minute of each other. Rodriguez Hernandez was right there in third position, only five seconds from leader Flavio Morandini.
A lead group of six then formed on the bike, although that lead group was pulled apart again in the final kilometers. In the end it was American Justin Riele who was the first to go to T2, immediately followed by Argentine Luciano Taccone. Rodriguez Hernandez followed in third, but was then 1:06 minute behind. In addition, he was joined by Andre Lopes, Ivan Anzaldo and Joaquin Pereda.
During the run, it was finally Rodriguez Hernandez who had already taken over the lead before the half of the run, although the differences were not so big at that time. Even in the second half of the run, the Mexican’s lead did not become remarkably large, but it was more than enough for a nice victory.
Rodriguez Hernandez won the race in 3:44:14. Taccone was second in 3:45:24 and Riele was third in 3:49:19.
The women’s race was won by Hannah Berry (4:08:04). Sarah Crowley finished second in 4:10:44. Gurutze Frades finished third in 4:21:52.
