Two takeaways from Sanders’ win at Ironman 70.3 Los Cabos
Lionel Sanders discusses the adversity he faced on the bike, along with his newfound love of swimming, in his most recent race recap video.
Shortly after a disappointing finish at the Ironman World Championship, Canadian superstar Lionel Sanders came back with a vengeance by winning Ironman 70.3 Los Cabos in dominant fashion.
Sanders won the race by nearly 10 minutes in a scintillating time of 3:44:06, but despite outward appearances, everything didn’t go as planned for the 31-year-old.
As mentioned in his race recap video on Youtube, Sanders’ electric drivetrain had a battery malfunction midway through his ride, locking him in the small chainring.
“I went up a pretty steep hill, shifted down into the small chainring, and went to shift (up) to coast at the top to get in the big chainring, and the thing wouldn’t go,” he said.
After realizing he would be stuck this way for the rest of the bike, he had to make some adjustments by upping his tempo.
“Not ideal, I’m a grinder,” he said. “I’m like a 75, 80 RPM guy, so pushing over 100, close to 110, is horrible and not ideal.”
Ultimately, the Windsor, Ont., native used the “technical malfunction” as a source of motivation, yet he still isn’t sure what exactly caused the problem.
Also of note from Sanders’ race recap are his thoughts on his swimming, which has become his “favourite” of the three disciplines as he’s starting to see consistent improvement.
“You go to the pool every day for five years with no gains, and then all of a sudden you’re getting gains,” said an excited Sanders. “Admittedly, I’ve made some changes, but I’m improving.”
You can find Sanders’ full race recap video below:
