Javier Gómez-Noya lived up to his tag of favorite this Saturday and was proclaimed absolute champion of the third edition of the VI Half Gasteiz Triathlon. The award-winning Galician triathlete commanded the race from the beginning and confirmed his superiority in the streets of Vitoria to take the victory with a margin of almost seven minutes over the second classified. The award-winning athlete -among other titles he won the silver medal at the 2012 Olympic Games- stopped the stopwatch in a time of 3 hours, 41 minutes and 44 seconds.

The 2024 edition of the OTSO VI Half Gasteiz started punctually at 12:30 in the morning in a spectacular atmosphere. The men's category started first and three minutes later the women took to the waters of Ullibarri-Gamboa from the Garaio Park to complete the 1900 meters swim.

In this sector, Gómez-Noya set the best time and took the reins and the lead of the race that he would not leave until the end.

The podium was completed by Valencia's Emilio Aguayo, with a time of 3:48.33, and Biscay's Joanes Goitisolo, with a time of 3.54.53. The fourth classified, also from the Basque Country, Mikel Múgica, also managed to go under four hours thanks to his time of 3:56.11. Fifth was Sergio López from Vitoria, who narrowly beat the four-hour mark.

In the women's category, the victory went to the Basque Helene Alberdi. Ruth Brito from Alava was second, less than four minutes behind the champion. The podium was closed shortly after by the French Chloe Nicolas.

The rain made an appearance in the early stages of the race, during the swim in the Ullibarri Gamboa reservoir. But as the hours went by, the weather became more stable and Gómez Noya took advantage of it. The Galician finished the 1.9-kilometer swim first, with a lead of more than a minute over the second place, which allowed him to dose himself in the 90-kilometer bike and 21-kilometer run.

An edition that undoubtedly certifies this event as one of the places of pilgrimage for lovers of sport in general and triathlon in particular, thanks, as the organizers commented, “to the excellent work of more than 400 volunteers and to the collaboration and trust of the participants”.

Happy riding #ROTORian