Charlotte Deldaele wins Veurne (picture: 3athlon.be/Hans Cleemput)
The first Argenta Sporkin Olympic triathlon at Veurne showed it had the potential to grow into a lasting race on the calendar. Pamphiel Pareyn and Charlotte Deldaele were the meriting victors. The finish was on the market square, among a massive crowd who enjoyed the opener of the individual summer season.
It should have come as no surprise that LTTD-Oilservice took the win at the TeamTriathlon nationals last Tuesday. With Louis Naeyaert second, Arne Devliegher fourth and Sybren Baelde on five they showed up at Veurne with another strong collective. But Pamphiel Pareyn outshone them all.
Pamphiel Pareyn from start 'till finish (picture: 3athlon.be/Hans Cleemput)
The 3MD-athlete grew up in Veurne and took his home race by the horns. After a scorching swim he went solo on the bike. The wind was not to advantage of a solo run, but he kept his lead over a following pack of four and started the run with a 1'40 lead.
"Familiar terrain"
Omar Brons, Ruben Geys and teammates Louis Naeyaert and Arne Devliegher did not succeed in closing the gap, Pamphiel continued his run in the same fashion. "I had a small dip entering the last lap, but the crowd kept me going plus I was on home soil. I did not only enjoy my own performance, but also my girlfriend's. I have passed a good winter, training myself obviously bears its fruits," says Pamphiel concluding the biggest win of his career. When looking at the top-30 you notice abundance of big names. Louis Naeyaert ran to second ahead of Ruben Geys and Arne Devliegher. Sybren Baelden had the fastest run split and came fifth. Hannes Cool finished 6th, just ahead of fast Dutch Omar Brons.
Naeyaert, Pareyn and Geys, top-3 at Veurne (picture: 3athlon.be/Hans Cleemput)
Deldaele solo
The female race was no match for Charlotte Deldaele. After the bike she had a four minute lead and on the run she had no competition as well. After ending on the podium during the national Team championships she took a well deserved win. Frauke Timmerman, Pamphiel Pareyn's girlfriend, took second as best of the rest. Lies Vermont was long since in the running for third, but eventually it was Jolien Vandemoortele who took bronze.
"The legs were feeling quite sore after the sprint at Doornik," say Charlotte. "All was going fine and there was quite a crowd along the course. It's lovely to win a race which gets so much attention. Hats off to the organization," says Charlotte.
Timmerman, Deldaele and Vandemoortele, top-3 female (picture: 3athlon.be/Hans Cleemput)
The Argenta Sporkin triathlon at Veurne had an enlarged podium ceremony thanks to Sandman Events. Age groups per 5 years were honored, which was much appreciated by the competitors. Ward D'Hulster took the win among the paratriathletes.
Veurne has all what it takes to become a classic. We saw very pleased athletes in the finish area, a central location is obviously a big plus for a triathlon. Our 3athlon.be-Sportoase athlete Gert-Jan D'haene confirmed the latter, he came 45th, 32nd elite on his brand new Ridley Dean.
Original article on 3athlon.be by Hans Cleemput on 06/05/2018
Translation by @T0v3