It’s still early in the season, but Mike Phillips’ definitely is in good shape already. In his home country, he just won Ironman New Zealand, and he did so in a new course record: 7:45:47.
For Phillips, it was a day where he was at the front all day. He was not yet first out of the water, but he was in the leading group that came out of the water after 47:49 minutes, led by Benjamin Zorgnotti. On the bike, a leading group of seven formed, including, in addition to Zorgnotti and Phillips, Pim van Diemen, Arnaud Guilloux, Mikel Ugarte Ramos, Tim van Berkel and Jack Moody.
On the bike, the pace was high – led mainly by Dutchman Van Diemen – yet the break remained intact for about a hundred kilometers. Only shortly thereafter did the first differences begin to emerge and Guilloux and Moody were the first two athletes to be dropped.
Only in the last thirty kilometers did some more differences emerge; when Phillips pushed it a little bit more, it allowed him to start the marathon with a lead of 1:39 minutes over Van Berkel, Moody and Van Diemen. Behind Van Diemen, Joe Skipper followed in fifth position at 2:20 minutes and Zorgnotti in sixth at 2:28 minutes. By then the gap to Ugarte Ramos had grown to nearly seven minutes.
During the marathon, Phillips’ lead was no longer in danger anywhere. The Kiwi courageously held on and thanks to a run time of 2:40:52, he crossed the line as the winner in a course record of 7:45:47. Skipper eventually finished second in 7:48:47 and Moody third in 7:49:12.
