Rutger wins Ironman Cozumel in 8:18:40

Hello,
Yes,  I just claimed my second Ironman victory, here in Cozumel. This way, I have closed off a disastrous 2009 season with a superb performance. And, also very important for next season: I already have conquered my ticket for Hawaii 2010!
What follows is a short race report. At 6.55am the pro's were let go. This time the swimming went quite smoothly for me, even though I personally thought i was not doing so well in the water. But when I reached the transition zone, Tine Deckers (winner of Ironman Nice 2009 and my helpfull assistant here in cozumel) told me that I had lost only about 3 minutes to Steven Bayliss and 2 minutes to Victor Zyemtsev. It came as a surprise to me, but luckily a positive surprise!

My biking went quite well. Before the end of the first lap, I already had passed the two triathletes just mentioned and I managed to take the lead, together with a certain Sebastian Pedraza. I had no single weak moment in the other 2 laps, but what bugged me was that I did not know my compadre, who apparently was able to stay with me all along. I had no clue on whether he was a good runner or not and that made me a little bit nervous.  Meanwhile, the rest of the crowd (I was especially looking at Bayliss and Zyemtsev) had lost many minutes on the two of us.

Immediately after the bike transition, I ran my first few kilometers at a high pace. This came as a result of some high-tech and real-time communication. During the bike ride, I had yelled to Tine, that i did not know Pedraza  and his running capabilities. Tine then immediately had sent a text message to my wife Sofie in Belgium. Sofie went on the internet and discovered that Pedraza had run a 3h11min marathon in the Ironman Zurich, which meant he probably was not a very fast runner. So, Sofie returned this news in a text message back to Tine in Mexico, who was able to tell me at the start of the marathon.   So, for a while, I put the pedal to the metal and became the only leader immediately. Pedraza lost some 2 minutes in the first lap, so I did not have to worry about him any longer. I knew that my short preparation to this race (because of my september injury)  would show up most likely during thee running leg of the race. Therefore I switched back to a more normal pace soon. I was still worried about Zyemtsev, whom I knew from previous races as a superb runner. While he was able to take back some time in the first lap, he remained at about 10 minutes behind me afterwards. The last lap was a tough one for me, but luckily for my competitors too.

The finish was splendid! A huge crowd of local Mexicans were encouraging us. A fantastic athmosphere! Some time later i starred in the podium ceremony.  I am now an official hero and VIP in Cozumel. For more than an hour people asked me to join with their wives, husbands, kids, family and more, so that they could take a picture.
This first Ironman in Cozumel was a superb experience. I probably will come back later. Tine Deckers, who, for the first time, participated in an Ironman event as a spectator, came to the conclusion that chearing and being a fan during such a race is quite fatiguing too. Next time, she wants to be in the race herself!
regards,
Rutger