Denis Chevrot held off a fast-finishing Peter Kerr to cross the line in three hours, 49 minutes and 34 seconds and win the pro men’s Ironman 70.3 Ballarat.
Chevrot showed no signs of fatigue despite completing Ironman 70.3 Busselton in Western Australia last week - where he finished fifth.
Following the race Chevrot joked that maybe competing in back-to-back Ironman’s was not such a bad idea after all.
“It was a big week, I have never done this before, so I was not sure how it would work out, but it worked much better than I thought. Maybe an Ironman the week before is a good way to go,” Chevrot said.
The 28-year-old said he enjoyed the Ballarat course and said he would definitely be back.
“I will be back.
“The course is very nice, I like the bike and the swim - even though it was cold and was quite fast. And the run was good with three laps.”
Chevrot completed the swim in 23 minutes before working his way into a lead group of four at the conclusion of the bike leg.
He was joined by Sam Betten, Tim Van Berkel and event ambassador Luke Bell as the 21.1km run got under way.
Betten took the lead midway through the final leg before Chevrot quickly responded to take the ascendancy. Geelong’s Peter Kerr entered the frame as he flew home as the fastest runner on-course.
But the Frenchman held on to finish 28 seconds clear of Kerr while Betten rounded out the podium with a time of 3:50:39.
