Saturday, 14th October
IMOGEN SIMMONDS AND YOURI KEULEN WIN THE SPECTACULAR 9TH CHALLENGE PEGUERA MALLORCA EDITION
More than 1.500 athletes in an edition that will be remembered by the great professional team
Epic battle in men's PRO category
Challenge Peguera Mallorca held its 9th edition today, 14th October 2023, and did so in style, gathering media specialised in triathlon by having some of the world's distance stars amongst its participants. The event, which this year had more than 1.500 participants in the different races, once again, met the expectations of the athletes.
Race chronicle
The day dawned sunny, with few waves on Torà beach. At 9 in the morning, the mayor of Calvià, Juan Antonio Amengual, opened the event. From that moment on, 900 triathletes of more than 40 nationalities, participants in the queen event of Challenge Peguera Mallorca, began their race. 1.9 km of swimming, 90 km of cycling and 21 km of running through the streets of Peguera.
The event had generated great expectation, due to the high participation, for being one of the last triathlons of the season, and above all, for the large cast of top-level professional triathletes present in the race, we highlight the double Olympic medalist Alistair Brownlee (GBR), the Germans Frederik Funk and Rico Bogen, and the Frenchman Mathis Margirier. In girls, favoritism went to the Swiss Imogen Simmonds, winner of the race in 2022, and the British Lucy Buckingham, also a regular on the podium in Peguera.
The race met those expectations and provided attendees and participants with a spectacular triathlon day.
Men's race chronicle
At 9 a.m. the impressive list of pros came out on time. 2 laps of 950 metres. Wilhelm Hirsch (GER) (24:08) followed by Alistair Brownlee (GBR), Rico Bogen (GER), Mathis Margirier (FRA), Menno Koolhaas (NED) and Max Sperl (GER) came out first. A few metres away from them, the chasing group commanded by the German Frederik Funk.
Alistair Brownlee took the lead in the first few kilometres of the bike, followed by Bogen Hirsch, Margirier and Keulen. In the 90-km circuit, the position changes were constant but none of them managed to leave the rest behind. The streets of Calvià were the scenario of an epic cycling battle that ended as it began, with the leading group standing out leaving the definition of the podium steps for the foot race.
The run circuit was decisive again, Keulen was the strongest, separating himself with a strong pace from his pursuers. Behind, the Frenchman Mathis Margirier maintained second place, distancing himself from the British Brownlee who also maintained a sustained pace, aware of the wear and tear of the race and the possibility of a podium finish.
The streets of Peguera had passed sentence, and the strongest of Challenge Peguera Mallorca 2023 was Yuri Keulen.
Youri Keulen - 3:41:12
Mathis Margirier - 3:44:11
Alistair Brownlee - 3:45:27
All the classification here:
https://www.elitechip.net/index.php?zwshow=compdet&idcomp=7215063&compsec=clas
Women's category
The women's race was, for many times, a matter of three.
The British Lucy Buckingham stood out in the swimming segment, with almost a minute and a half difference over her immediate pursuer, the Swiss Imogen Simmonds. Lucy showed why she is one of the best swimmers on the circuit, overtaking some of the male pros who had started three minutes earlier in the segment.
Lucy started the cycling section alone and soon gained distance, which she managed to maintain until kilometre 66. From there, her pursuers, Imogen Simmonds and the Danish Sif Bendix Madsen, were catching up, approaching just over a minute behind Lucy Buckingham.
At the end of the 90 kilometres, the gap between Lucy and Imogen and Sif had been reduced to just 10 seconds.
The run circuit began with the group of three almost close together. It soon became clear that Lucy was not at her best, and the figure of Imogen Simmonds emerged. Determined to retain the title in Peguera for the second consecutive year, the Swiss woman set a race pace that neither Lucy nor Sif could sustain. While Imogen continued doing her thing, the Dutch Laura Madsen and the German Diede Diederiks began the comeback. They were respectively in second and third position at the finish line in Peguera.
Podium:
Imogen Simmonds - 4:21:10
Laura Madsen - 4:23:51
Diede Diederiks - 4:24:20
All the classification here:
https://www.elitechip.net/index.php?zwshow=compdet&idcomp=7215063&compsec=clas
The best place to finish the CHALLENGE FAMILY circuit of the year
The Challenge Peguera Mallorca is one of the last opportunities for professional athletes to add points in the Challenge Family ranking (and opt for important financial prizes amongst the first classified), since it is the last competition that takes place on European territory.
This condition, together with the privileged geographical, climatic and equipment conditions that the municipality has, make this race an opportunity for athletes to conclude the triathlon season and take a break in a place of great tourist attraction. In this sense, it is worth noting that Calvià has more than 300 days of sunshine a year, sea and mountain landscapes to practice all types of sports throughout the year and a location very close to the international airport of Mallorca.
A community project
Challenge Peguera Mallorca is an example of institutional collaboration and private initiative. Organised by Fundación Calvià 2004 and Calvià Town Hall in collaboration with the Spanish Triathlon Federation, the event also has the support of the Tourism Strategy Agency of the Balearic Islands (AETIB).
Other entities such as the Paguera and Cala Fornells Hotel Association, Challenge Family and brands such as Powerbar, Red Bull, Trasmed or Abus amongst others that collaborate in the management of the event, also participate.