Emma Pallant claimed the victory in IM70.3 Vichy after a stellar performance. The BMC-Vifit athlete posted the fastest running split in the half marathon to break the tape in a time of 4:25:18. Jocelyn McCauley (USA; 4:27:01) and Manon Genet (FRA; 4:28:19) joined Emma on the podium.
Emma Pallant had a solid swim in Lake Allier as she exited the water in 6th place. A fast transition helped her to jump on her BMC Timemachine in 3rd place and cut down the deficit to 1’10. Systematically the gap towards the leader grew over the 90k bike course, but Emma made the connection with Genet in second place. Pallant reached T2 in 3rd place, 4’50 behind the lead and only 15 seconds down on second. From the very beginning, the British athlete made clear she wouldn’t give up without a fight and started the hunt towards the front of the race. In the first 5k, Emma pushed hard and reduced her deficit to 2’55. Halfway through the run, that difference was cut down to 1’10. From that point onwards, things changed fast. Another 2k further, around the 13k mark, Emma had McCauley in her sights as they were separated by 7 seconds. Pallant made her move and took over the lead of the race with 6k to go. She had clearly the fastest pace as she controlled the race towards the finish line. With a running split of 1:16:18, Emma posted the fastest split of the day. This performance gives the BMC-Vifit athlete a real boost towards the IM70.3 World Championship in Nice in two weeks’ time.
So relieved
Afterwards Emma reflected on her performance: “I’m so relieved. Only just recovered from an injury, I was really worried if I had made the right decision to race and how it would be. I felt a bit stiff coming off the bike, but then it loosened up as I went along. So, now I’m confident I can do a good last bit of prep for the IM70.3 Worlds in Nice. I was happy with my swim and felt good and in control on the bike. I think I drank a bit too much lake water though, because my stomach felt bad and had to make 3 toilet stops on the first lap of the run. From the second lap onwards, I felt much better and my run legs surprisingly felt really good. Great to be able to take a slot for the IM70.3 World Championship next year with an early qualification.”
Manuel Küng takes 7th place
In the mens race, Manuel Küng toed the line. Küng exited the water in 5th place together with the leading group. Early on the bike, he opened up a small gap, but couldn’t break away entirely. Manuel decided to settle in the chase group as they headed back towards T2. On the run, it was a hard battle with the heat as the BMC-Vifit crossed the finish line in 7th place.
Photo credit Activ'images
