Mike Phillips and Els Visser Take the Lead at Ironman New Zealand

Mike Phillips and Els Visser are leading the men's and women's professional fields, respectively, at New Zealand after the bike leg.

Phillips, the 2019 Ironman New Zealand champion, finished the 180km bike course in 4:15:42, while Visser completed it in 4:50:21. Phillips was nearly three minutes ahead of defending professional men's champion Braden Currie, with Australian Matt Burton a further four minutes behind in third.

The two New Zealanders swapped the lead several times, with Phillips taking the lead in the final 30km stretch to open up a gap heading back into Taupō.

Meanwhile, Visser entered transition with a one-minute lead over 2021 champion Hannah Berry and Rebecca Clarke. Clarke led the way onto the bike, with Berry gradually reducing the gap until she took the lead with around 80km remaining.

However, Visser moved her way up from sixth at the start of the bike to take the lead on one of the final climbs heading back into town. The athletes are currently completing the 42.2km run leg along the Taupō waterfront.

IRONMAN NEW ZEALAND – BIKE LEG RESULTS

Professional Men

1. Mike Phillips – 5:06:58
2. Braden Currie – 5:09:46
3. Matt Burton – 5:14:29
4. Sebastian Kienle – 5:21:10
5. Jan Van Berkel – 5:26:30
6. Matt Kerr – 5:26:41
7. Simon Cochrane – 5:30:53
8. Cameron Brown – 5:39:24
9. Scott Harpham – 5:40:22
10. Lucas Duross – 5:41:54
11. Jason Christie – 5:47:13
12. Levi Hauwert – 5:56:32
13. Mike Tong – 5:57:21

Professional Women

1. Els Visser – 5:50:39
2. Hannah Berry – 5:51:40
3. Rebecca Clarke – 5:51:44
4. Meredith Kessler – 6:07:53