Don’t miss our photo gallery of the event.

Last week, the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Panama went from a low-key season kick-off to a high-profile sporting event in what seemed like minutes. On Thursday, WTC announced a partnership with the Lance Armstrong Foundation, and the seven-time Tour de France winner’s plans to compete in a full serving of races this season. The Twitter rumors were true: Lance would get the ball rolling just three days later in Panama.

The hot day of racing brought a few interesting turns, both expected and not. Matty Reed led the men out of the water, while uber-biker Chris Lieto led the bike throughout, finishing in 2:31:44. Armstrong, however, wasn’t far behind, with a split of 2:31:49. As always, the race was decided on the run.

In the end, Armstrong managed to power through an uncomfortably hot day, as he later stated in an interview. Lance maintained his lead until the tail end of the race when Bevan Docherty, one of triathlon’s best runners, passed him. (Docherty was a bronze medalist in Beijing, and a sliver medalist in Athens. Moreover, he has never been beaten at this distance.)

“I didn’t really know that I could win this. It is my first half Ironman race in 12 years and I wasn’t sure how to pace myself. I got my second wind in the last 4 km and was able to catch Lance,” said the New Zealander to Ironman.com reporter Kevin MacKinnon after the race. Docherty finished in 3:50:13, and Armstrong in 3:50:55–a seriously impressive debut for the cyclist-turned-triathlete.

Though not touched by the presence of a worldwide celebrity, the women’s race was an exciting one as well. Third-place Kona winner Leanda Cave was a pre-race favorite, as was Canada’s Angela Naeth. Nina Kraft led the women out of the water, but it was Naeth’s well-established power on the bike that pushed her to the front of the pack. With the fastest bike split of the day (2:26:31), Naeth was well-positioned for a win.

Naeth’s half marathon time of 1:21:44 was the second-fastest of the day, next to Kelly Williamson’s (1:16:18), but her bike had positioned her well, and she soared to her second ever 70.3 victory in 4:15:31. Williams managed a second-place finish, with Margaret Shapiro and Leanda Cave taking third and fourth place respectively.

All eyes will be on Armstrong in Galveston, Texas, where he’ll contest another 70.3 title and show the world that–in the words of hos memoir–it’s still not about the bike. This time, it’s also about the swim and the run.

Watch a post-race interview with Lance Armstrong here; visit Ironmanlive.com for video interviews with Naeth and Docherty.

Top 10 Pro Men

1. Bevan Docherty (NZL) 3:50:13
2. Lance Armstron(USA) 3:50:55
3. Richie Cunningh (AUS) 3:52:59
4. Rasmus Henning (DOM) 3:53:38
5. Romain Guillaum (FRA) 3:54:44
6. Jesse Thomas (USA) 3:55:30
7. Chris Lieto (USA) 3:56:21
8. Ivan Vasilyev Moscow (RUS) 3:58:32
9. Oscar Galindez (ARG) 4:00:53
10. Bert Jammaer (BEL) 4:01:24

Top 10 Pro Women

1. Angela Naeth (CAN) 4:15:31
2. Kelly Williams (USA) 4:19:11
3. Margaret Shapiro (USA) 4:19:34
4. Leanda Cave (GBR) 4:21:42
5. Tine Deckers Kessel (BEL) 4:25:29
6. Yvonne Van Vler (NLD) 4:29:00
7. Natascha Badmann Oftringen (CHE) 13:46
8. Michelle Vesterby Odense (DNK) 4:30:20
9. Bree Wee (USA) 4:31:09
10. Dede Griesbauer (USA) 4:33:03