Will Clarke has taken silver in the 2014 Ironman 70.3 Barcelona. Will (04:06:03) finished a little more than three minutes behind Sylvain Sudrie (4:02:43). Bruno Pais (04:06:53) completed the podium.
Camilla Pedersen (4:36:16) dominated the women’s race. Katja Konschak (04:53:41) and Diana Riesler (04:59:13) rounded out the top-three.
Will was consistent and solid all day. He came out of the water in fourth position as part of a big group that trailed fastest swimmer Petraeus by 20 seconds. On the bike, Will went on to take the lead until Sudrie and Van Berkel made their move. At the end of the 90k bike leg, Will was still fourth, running into T2 together with Bozzone four minutes behind Van Berkel and Sudrie. In the half marathon, a strong Will was able to catch up to Van Berkel and outrun Bozzone for the second spot.
Will cartwheeled across the finish line. A few hours later he was still enthusiastic: “It was a good race. I am really happy. I think it is the most consistent race I have ever done, without any blow-ups or bad patches. I swam well, felt strong on my bike and was able to run close to my best. About midway through I kind of knew I had second place sewn up. Sudrie was really strong; he was too far gone. But still, I took some big names down. This race had a strong field and I am happy with second. With three podium finishes this year so far, I just need to push for that win now. Each race I am gaining experience and confidence, and I keep getting better. I am looking forward to the next one, which will be the Ironman 70.3 UK next month. It’s my only home race this year, so I hope to do well there.”
