Lance Armstrong wins Central Florida Ironman triathlon
Lance Armstrong, the seven time Tour de France champion, won today’s Ironman 70.3 Florida at Lake Eva Park in Haines City as he dominated the field to finish in a time of 3 hours, 45 minutes, 38 seconds.
After the race Armstrong said : “It feels good. I can’t lie that I didn’t want to come back to the sport and win some races. “
It’s the fourth half triathlon in the last three months for Armstrong, who previously finished second in Panama, seventh in Texas and third in St. Croix.
Armstrong actually started his career as a triathlete before becoming an American icon as a cyclist. The half triathlon is comprised of a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and a 13.1-mile run.
Armstrong emerged from the swim in fourth place but as expected, he excelled on the bike and entered the run with a 10 minute lead. He eventually finished 11 minutes 18 seconds ahead of his closest pursuer, Ukraine’s Maxim Kriat.
“Despite feeling really good, I just tried to stay within myself [on the run],” Armstrong said. “I followed the GPS to make sure that I was on my pace, which was 5:45-5:50 and didn’t try to go any quicker.”
Armstrong now heads off for his next race on June 2 at the Ironman 70.3 Kona, Hawaii.
