After a stellar 2014 for the Uplace-BMC Pro Triathlon Team with 21 victories and a total of 46 podium finishes, Bart Aernouts kicked off the season with a 3rd place in Ironman South Africa. Ironman South Africa was dominated by local triathletes from start to finish. Matt Trautman (ZAF; 04:04:03) finally defeated his compatriot Stuart Marais (ZAF: 04:06:04) during the final kilometers of the run, Bart Aernouts finished 3rd (BEL; 04:11:37). The first podium finish of the Uplace-BMC Pro Triathlon Team for 2015 is a fact.
Bart Aernouts 3rd in Ironman 70.3 South Africa
Bart Aernouts came out of the water in 4th position after 26'21" at 1'44" of a South African trio consisting of Matt Trautman, Kyle Buckingham and Stuart Marais. On the bike leg, Bart Aernouts (02:20:16) moved up to the third place at 2'59" after the leading duo: Matt Trautman and Stuart Marais. Bart consolidated his 3rd place with a decent run (01:20:34).
Difficult race
Bart Aernouts looks back satisfied at his first race of the season: "Today, it was a very difficult race. For me, the podium was the maximum achievable. This race comes early in the season. I won this race two years ago, but my condition is not on the same level yet. This year I plan my peak moments more at the end of the season, which is of course no excuse for my result.
The swim was quite difficult, sometimes it felt more like fighting the waves than swimming. I had a not so such a good start. Quickly a leading group of three athletes was formed, I tried to close the gap, but when I noticed that it did not work, I tried to limit the damage.
On the bike I went along with Cyril Viennot. When we noticed after cycling really hard for 50 minutes that we barely approached, it became clear that a podium finish would be nice. The run course was pretty heavy with a few solid climbs and a scorching sun. My run leg was not optimal, but with this result, I can only be happy at this time of the season. "
The next three weeks, Bart Aernouts will stay in South Africa to prepare Challenge Dubai.
Race results:
http://eu.ironman.com/triathlon/coverage/athlete-tracker.aspx?race=southafrica70.3&y=2015#axzz3PjKRhvgD
