Freddie Croneborg breaks the drought in Bintan

Manama : Freddie Croneborg won his first Ironman 70.3 title in Bintan, Indonesia at the weekend after finishing on the podium year and overhauling the men’s field in the hot and humid race.

Exiting from the water in the chase group nearly four minutes back from the leaders, Croneborg bided his time on the bike course he knows so well and took the lead 16 kilometres into the run and broke the tape in 3 hours 59 minutes and 28 seconds.

“The key was the run because Matt Burton got away and we all came together at the start of the run and it was quite tight,” said Croneborg.

“Handling the heat on the run is probably the key as the others went out a little bit too fast and I paced myself well to catch Matt but not overdo it.”

The Swede was jubilant over the win, especially after coming back from the hilly Embrunman long-distance triathlon barely two weeks ago.

“I lost count how many times I raced on Bintan Island but never managed to be on top of the podium, and now I finally did it! Great racing with Matt Burton and Michael Fox sharing the podium.”