Rasmus Henning lived up to the high expectations for a win on home soil and put the pressure on the competition from the gun at Saturday’s Half Challenge Fuerteventura. The Dane repeated his win from last year and was alone in front for the entire 21,1 km run to take the title in 3:57:16.
Daniel Halksworth took 2nd place 3:54 down and Victor Morales took 3rd 4:25 down.
"It was a great feeling to once again win here on Fuerteventura and Playitas, which has been my home for the last two years. I eased into a solid race pace and didn't have to go full steam at any point. It was nice to be able to take the win without needing too much recovery, which means I can still train hard over the next 4-5 weeks, leading up to the important Ironman in Texas May 19," Rasmus Henning says.
Rasmus Henning was second out of the water after fellow Dane Rasmus Petraeus and took control of the race after only 10 km on the bike.
"Petraeus was with me until 10 km on the bike, before falling off the pace. Halksworth had a great race today and pushed me hard on the bike. On the uphills I let him take off and gain 15-20 seconds before catching him on the downhill sections again. I know the course very well and know how to push hard on the downhill sections. At some point, Halksworth fell off the pace and I could take a 30 second lead with me into T2. On the run I held a solid pace and, if necessary, I could push it even more, but I felt good knowing that I could win without having to dig deep," Rasmus Henning says.
Emma-Kate Lidbury took the women's title in 4:32:41 - Both Rasmus and Emma-Kate are trained by Matt Dixon.