Sanders Steals the Show in Steelhead

Lionel Sanders is showing no signs of slowing down winning his third 70.3 in a row at Ironman 70.3 Steelhead on Sunday morning by 10 minutes in a time of 3:46: 13. In a matter of months the Ontario pro has gone from not knowing whether he would get enough points to qualify for the 70.3 World Champs in September, to ensuring that his competitors will expect to see him up at the front in Tremblant. With his increasingly fast bike split, Sanders led off the bike for the first time today with a 2:00 ride. He told TMC he is “pleased with the result.” He explained, “The swim went okay. It was pretty choppy so each time I swim in these conditions I have to chalk it up to a learning experience. I was not surprised to hear I was about 4:30 back out of the water.”

Sanders continued, “I received my new bike from Garneau a couple weeks ago and this was to be its first real test. Unfortunately, my bike computer connected to another pro’s in transition so when I got on the bike I had no power. I rode this race on effort. I entered the lead at about mile 45, and then continued to push hard because I knew this would be my first ‘first off the bike.’ On the run I just wanted to put out a solid effort from start to finish. I think I succeeded at that,” he said.

That “solid effort” was a 1:12 half marathon.

With a solid few weeks to gear up for Worlds, Sanders in great shape. He explained, “Overall it was a great experience and has been a fun summer racing all over the U.S. midwest. I am excited to put in a hard block going into Tremblant world championship now.

Igor Amorelli was second in 3:56:00 and Mario De Elias was third in 3:58:37.

On the women’s side American Caitlin Snow was first in1 4:18:17 followed by compatriot Ashley Clifford in 4:25:26 and Jeanni Seymour in 4:29:38. Toronto’s Miranda Tomenson rounded out the top 5 taking the final money spot (prize money went 5 deep) in a time of 4:36:01. She told TMC, “It was a tough day out there for me. It was definitely a lesson though that even when things don’t feel great physically, you can still put together a good race by staying positive. My performance today was mostly due to mental toughness!”