After the first two legs of Sunday’s Ironman France it appeared Switzerland’s Mike Aigroz was absolutely untouchable. Aigroz was the first athlete out of the water and then stormed to a course-record 4:44:26 bike split. By the time he made it to T2, Aigroz had a lead of almost 10 minutes on defending champion Marcel Zamora Perez and the rest of the top contenders. However, as it often goes at Ironman, the race was ultimately decided on the marathon. Perez answered Aigroz by setting a new run course record of 2:45:21, over half an hour faster than the Swiss super-biker, who went on to finish sixth. Perez broke the tape in 8:34:18, besting local-star Herve Faure by seven minutes.

The women’s race wasn’t nearly as close as the men’s. Italy’s Martina Dogana was dominant from start to finish and backed up a day’s best ride with a jaw-dropping 3:07:32 marathon to win by over 25 minutes. Ironman-veteran Katja Schumacher of Germany squeaked by reigning champ Alexandra Louison for the runner-up spot.

Ironman France
Nice, France
June 21, 2008
2.4mi S/112mi B/26.2mi R

Men's Results
1. Marcel Zamora Perez (ESP) 8:34:18
2. Herve Faure (FRA) 8:41:55
3. Patrick Bringer (FRA) 8:45:15
4. Jose Jeuland (FRA) 8:53:34
5. Rutger Beke (BEL) 8:55:11

Women's Results
1. Martina Dogana (ITA) 9:35:29
2. Katja Schumacher (GER) 1:00:59
3. Alexandra Louison (FRA) 10:03:46
4. Ulrike Schwalbe (GER) 10:16:17
5. Katya Meyers (USA) 10:28:06