Last week, after finishing second at Ironman 70.3 Kraichgau, Joran Driesen already hinted that his best form was yet to come. Today, the Belgian top athlete immediately backed up his words with actions: after a thrilling head-to-head battle with Simon Westermann, Driesen claimed victory at Ironman 70.3 Alghero.
Driesen was already in an excellent position right after the swim, even though Ollie Turner was the first to exit the water, with Westermann right on his heels. At that point, Driesen faced a 43-second deficit, which he erased almost immediately once on the bike. A lead group quickly formed at the front of the race, consisting of Westermann, Turner, Driesen, and Pierre Dupuy, who had strongly ridden his way to the front. This group stayed together until about the 60-kilometer mark on the bike. Only Turner had to drop back from the leaders at that point, and by T2, Driesen, Westermann, and Dupuy were still locked together, while Turner saw his deficit grow to over four minutes.
During the run, Dupuy was dropped almost immediately, leaving it down to Driesen and Westermann. The two athletes didn’t give each other an inch, matching each other’s pace perfectly for sixteen kilometers. Running neck-and-neck toward the finish line, Driesen briefly lost a few seconds between kilometers sixteen and nineteen. For a moment, it looked like Westermann might take the win, but in the final stretch, Driesen found another gear, put the hammer down, and impressively snatched the victory.
Driesen won the race in 3:38:29, pulling away significantly in the end from Westermann, who finished second in 3:39:10. Dupuy took third place in 3:43:42.
