Frederik Van Lierde flew to Ironman South Africa title
Belgian Frederik Van Lierde made no secret of the fact that he came ideally prepared to Port Elizabeth and fight for the victory.
To secure his 2015 Kona slot he would only have to finish the race. But that’s not his character. The 2013 Ironman World Champion is confident to peak three times this year (Ironman Germany and Kona to follow) and set off to outclass the rest of the field.
Right from the start at Nelson Mandela Bay, Van Lierde was always among the leaders. He entered T1 in 3rd place and subsequently put the hammer down on the bike. The Belgian set the fastest bike split of the day with 4:32:45, followed by a time of 2:49:45 for the concluding marathon. Well enough for an unchallenged victory despite strong competitors.
Van Lierde after the race:
“I came to Africa to win, and I did. Even though I didn’t break the record, I am happy with a win for now. Next time I will take the record.”
Top 3 men:
1. Frederik Van Lierde (BEL) 8:16:35
2. Ivan Rana (ESP) 8:30:45
3. Bart Aernouts (BEL) 8:35:59
Photo Courtesy: Chris Hichcock/Ironman
Free Sanremo Suit – The winning formula for Van Lierde
Van Lierde who previously used to race in his Free ITU Suit, dressed in Castelli’s Free Sanremo Suit SS for the first time in a race.
The short sleeved version of our one piece suit showed a 12 watt savings at 50 km/h in the wind tunnel compared to a sleeveless version, an advantage nobody should give away. The reason for this is, that we were able to improve air flow around the shoulders, one of the most important areas for aerodynamics.
The full zipper is probably the most visible feature.
We’ve built these suits with our Sanremo construction, a speciality initially designed for road racing. It’s a one piece suit, but is only joined at the waist on the back and sides. The front is an overlap design with a full length YKK® camlock zipper. You get the smooth fit of a one piece, with the convenience of a two piece.
For swimming, you can pull down the top part of the suit and roll it around the waist with your wetsuit or swim skin over the top. Then it’s quick to pull on in T1 and offers significant savings throughout the ride.
Our Free Sanremo Suits are available as short sleeved and sleeveless version as shown below:
FREE SANREMO SUIT SS FREE SANREMO SUIT SLEEVELESS (available in two colors)
Another reason for best aerodynamics is the construction of our back pockets. We engineered a pocket opening that is actually held in closed in tension during the swim and on the bike for nearly 0 extra drag. Yet the pockets are bigger than most. Our design criteria was to make this top your choice even for a cold race day, with pockets that can hold a vest and arm warmers so you can start the bike leg warm and stash away extra layers if needed. Plus there’s still room for nutrition.
All this “Free Speed” isn’t reserved for the pros and is also available for every triathlete. Full Castelli Triathlon collection
The FREE Sanremo Suits (and most parts of our triathlon collection) are completely customizable with your team’s colors and graphics.
For more information have a look at our Servizio Corse website or browse through our custom team online catalog: