Sarah Loehr Munoz (ESP) and Filip Ospaly (CZE) took out the top titles at Challenge Paguera Mallorca this weekend on the spectacular Mediterranean island.
A stunning day dawned in Paguera, demonstrating once again that the Mallorcan climate is unique and can enjoy outdoor sports all year around. With a calm blue sea and striking sunrise the hundreds of age group athletes joined the strong pro field Torà Beach to start the second edition of Half Challenge Mallorca Paguera.
A large crowd gathered throughout the day in Paguera hoping to enjoy a race with some of the best triathletes in Europe, including ITU star Mario Mola, (ESP) world championship runner-up, as well as the last two European mid distance champions, Giulio Molinari (UTA) (2014) and Filip Ospaly (2015). Moreover, a large representation of international age groups of international and local triathletes contributed to give color to the event.
 Filip Ospaly (CZE) takes out the Challenge Mallorca 2015 title(Photo: Challenge Family; click to enlarge) |
In the men’s race, rookie Mario Mola was the first to complete the 1.9 km swim from Tora Beach in 24:03, followed closely by Pieter Heemeryck (BEL), Ospaly and Molinari.
Into the 90 km bike leg and Molinari and Mola led the competition setting a fast pace in an intense duel. The technically demanding course combined coast, mountain landscapes at the foot of the Serra de Tramuntana (UNESCO’s World Heritage Area), running through traditional villages such as Capdellà, and some of the most famous resorts in Europe: Palmanova, Magaluf, El Toro an Santa Ponsa.
At the 70km mark, an untimely puncture while in second place meant local hero Mola was out of the competition. An unfortunate outcome for his debut in the middle distance. However he left with a good feeling on his immersion over this distance.
The run took place entirely in the heart of Paguera, over four laps that crossed the town’s boulevard along the promenade that joins the beaches of Palmira, Torà and Romana, with stunning views of the Mediterranean Sea. The the first few km fo the run saw Molinari continuing his lead. However, he paid the price for his efforts on the bike and was taken over by Ospaly by the 8km mark and stormed to victory with a 1:17 run split in an overall time of 4:03:26. Behind him, Zamora and Fidalgo battled for second in third and in the end, local Mallorcan Fildago took second in 4:03:44 while Zamora claimed third in 4:04:29.
In the women’s race, Catherine Jameson (GBR) led much of the race, exiting the water first in 25:08 and distancing herself from the rest of her adversaries during the bike leg, securing a five minute lead coming into T2. Verena Walter (DEU) was behind her in second while Loehr and Dolça Ollè (ESP) battled for third, the former having a strong hometown advantage.
Jameson continued to dominate during the first third of the run but by the 7km mark had slipped to second with Spanish Middle Distance Champion, Loehr taking the lead and maintaining it until her victory in 4:37:00. Behind her, the Danish Maja Stage Nielsen (DEN) ran up from 10th to second while Walter fought to the end throughout the race, overcoming problems with her bike, to finally gain the bronze medal.
