Anne Haug spoils Lucy Charles-Barclay’s party at PTO European Open in Ibiza

Anne Haug unleashed her fearsome run speed to win the PTO European Open in Ibiza against one of the finest women’s fields assembled in non-drafting racing.

The 2019 Ironman world champion overtook long-time leader Lucy Charles-Barclay midway through the 18km run, with Australia’s Ashleigh Gentle running through for second and Charles-Barclay holding on to round out the podium

It was high class racing over the 100km distance on the Spanish island, with other notable British performances coming from Emma Pallant-Browne in fourth place and India Lee holding on for seventh.

Haug, who turned 40 in January and had a dominating win in Ironman Lanzarote in March, just looks to be improving with age as she picked up the $100,000 winner’s cheque for her first PTO win.

The result comes just a couple of hours after Australian Max Neumann upset the status quo to take the biggest win of his career in the men’s PTO European Open race.

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How did the swim unfold?

There were no surprises that Charles-Barclay led the way in the opening discipline.

In her first start of the season, the 2021 Ironman 70.3 world champion took advantage of the increased swell in the 90min following the men’s race to put almost 30sec into the chasing Lotte Wilms and Rebecca Clarke.

A trio of British women, Fenella Langridge, Holly Lawrence and Lee, were a further minute back after the two-lap 2km wetsuit swim from Figueretas Beach.

Two of the pre-race favourites, Gentle and Paula Findlay, were more than 2min back with, Pallant-Browne and reigning Ironman world champion Chelsea Sodaro just behind, along with Swiss star Daniela Ryf and Germany’s Haug.

How did the bike unfold?

Charles-Barclay retained her minute gap at the front through the early stages of the 80km bike leg and Lee came through into second place, joined by Langridge and the fast-travelling Findlay.

Despite the firepower in the chasing pace-line of six, with the 20m draft rule in place and governed by the new Race Ranger anti-drafting technology, Charles-Barclay was able to continue to extend her lead at the front.

There was little to separate any of the leading women in terms of pace on the bike, but Gentle – winner of both PTO Opens in Edmonton and Dallas last year – was looking ominous alongside Findlay, Wilms, Lee and Langridge as they headed back to T2, with Haug also moving up by posting one of the fastest splits.

How did the run unfold?

Haug set about whittling away at Charles-Barclay’s lead from the get-go, passing Gentle for second place, and could see the gap close at every turnaround point once they reached the main part of the course, the six laps around the Ibiza old town.

The German was the fastest runner on the course and never looked threatened at the front, but Pallant-Browne was also running hard as she attempted to forge her way onto the podium.

The now dominant Haug crossed the line in 3:38:00, followed by Gentle some 2mins 30secs down the road. Charles-Barclay followed in 26secs later, with Pallant-Browne next across the line in fourth.

Findlay ran through for fifth place with the fast-finishing Tamara Jewett in sixth, Lee in seventh and Brazil’s Luisa Baptista in eighth.

What Anne Haug had to say post-race

“It’s mind-blowing. They are the best in the world and to be on top is absolutely fantastic. My previous races this season were ok but they are not comparable to a race like this. The race dynamic is a completely different one.

“I knew I would be a chaser the whole day and it’s always harder to chase than to have the race in your own hands.

“I was worried and nervous, but I had really good bike legs and it put me in position for a strong run and it was the perfect race.

“I knew I could outrun the girls by 2min and if I was within that range anything was possible and the crowd were pushing me all the way.”

On her longevity in the sport, Haug said: “I think you need the desire to get better every single day. To have a long career, it’s not about winning all the time, it’s beating yourself every day. That’s the key.”

What Lucy Charles-Barclay said

“It feels like quite a while since I’ve raced. I’ve had a good block of training and my main thing was to go out there and enjoy it and I definitely did that .

“I was trying to get as much of a gap as I could and then see how strongly I could run. I was trying to hang on because the run is the last little piece of the puzzle to try and move up the podium.

“It was choppy out there and I thought it might play into my favour with my open water background. After lap one it was quite a surprise I had such a gap.

“When you know that it’s Ashleigh and Anne who are in the first group [chasing you], it’s not ideal. My main thing was just to do my own thing and run strong. It took them a fair while to catch and I tried not to let them go when they came past. I thought I might be able to claw Ashleigh back at the end.

“I’m just happy to be here. Happy to be healthy and to compete with these top girls. It’s so exciting what the PTO are doing and I think the future of this sport is only going up from here.”

PTO European Open women’s results

1. Anne Haug; 3:38:00
2. Ashleigh Gentle; 3:40:30
3. Lucy Charles-Barclay; 3:40:56
4. Emma Pallant-Browne; 3:42:19
5. Paula Findlay; 3:43:34
6. Tamara Jewett; 3:43:51
7. India Lee; 3:45:23
8. Luisa Baptista; 3:46:35
9. Lotte Wilms; 3:47:14
10. Holly Lawrence; 3:47:47

Top image credit: James Mitchell/PTO