Lionel Sanders and Ironman react to Vincent Luis’ car accident at Ironman 70.3 Indian Wells – La Quinta
Ironman provides official statement after accident at 70.3 race on Sunday in Indian Wells
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Vincent Luis Facebook
Yesterday we reported on 2019 and 2020 World Triathlon champion Vincent Luis’ car crash at IRONMAN 70.3 Indian Wells – La Quinta – the Frenchman was leading the race when he was taken off course and hit by a car. We reached out to Ironman for comment and received this statement at 11:06 PM last night:
“We are working with the local authorities as we continue to gather the details on how the unfortunate incident involving professional athlete, Vincent Luis occurred during the bike portion of Sunday’s IRONMAN 70.3 Indian Wells – La Quinta triathlon. We are very thankful that Vincent’s injuries were not serious, and that despite the challenges faced, he overcome adversity to still finish in second place with a very gritty performance. We are in contact with Vincent to support him how we are able and wish him a speedy recovery.”
Canada’s Lionel Sanders ended up winning the race, but based on a post he made on Instagram yesterday, felt “strange” about his win.
“Strange feeling after this one,” Sanders wrote. “Came in looking for a battle but my competitors unfortunately had a lot of adversity. @vincentluistri got hit by a car but is tough as nails and got back up and persevered onwards. @jellegeens had his own adversity but went on to have the days fastest run. I’m happy with my performance but look forward to the rematch against these guys.”
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Belgium’s Jelle Geens, who finished third, received a five-minute drafting penalty towards the end of the ride, then used the days fastest run to move himself to the third spot on the podium.
“I got a 5’ penalty after 85km on the bike,” Geens said. “In my opinion I was 12m behind the guy in front of me but that’s probably what everyone says.”
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