It’s launched an innovative ‘short chute’, is giving short shrift to conventional triathlon wisdom, and will be hosting its first grand final in Singapore this coming weekend. Super League Triathlon has arrived as multisport’s brash new kid on the block and whether a flash in the pan or the future of swim, bike, run, the weekend’s action in the Far East should be another yardstick for its evolution.
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Ahead of the action, 220 Triathlon columnist Tim Heming caught up with its figurehead, the multiple triathlon world champion, Chris McCormack, in Thailand to find out what to expect…
220: How are the preparations going for Singapore?
CM: It’s difficult to deliver events of this magnitude in Asia, but we’re building a nice level of excitement in a region of the world that isn’t dominant in triathlon. Singapore is the most modern city on the planet, but it’s so organised it has a lot of red tape that can delay things longer than other cities we’ve dealt with.
220: What about the course itself?
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CM: The venue is magnificent. A mile from the city centre on the private island of Sentosa. If you’re a billionaire and live in Asia, you’ve got a home in Sentosa. It’s home to super yachts. We’re trying to deliver the events around marinas and attach triathlon to that demographic.
The course is relatively flat with four technical left-hand turns. Everyone thinks you need hills, but like any good crit, you can make a parking lot difficult – with wide entries into corners and narrow exits that line athletes out. We pride ourselves on producing challenging courses. In Mallorca, Alistair Brownlee made a lot of changes to the top part of the bike course and that did a lot of damage [to break up the racing].
220: France’s Vincent Luis and USA’s Katie Zafares have healthy leads in the series, but do they have the overall titles wrapped up?
CM: With double points available, both athletes have to be on their game. If Vincent finishes third or fourth, Henri [Schoeman], Richard [Murray] or Jonny [Brownlee] could still win. It’s still wide open. We’re talking about what system we’ll move towards for next season and whether we stay with points or change to accumulated time. We want to make sure that unlike other series, Super League comes down to the final event and there are multiple triathletes who can still win.
220: Has anything surprised you in Super League’s short history?
CM: We knew it was going to be a big workload, but trying to build a worldwide series is tough. We based a lot of the concept on the Formula 1 series in Australia in the 90s, and if we were only delivering this in Australia it’d be a breeze. The biggest difficulty has been how different cities do things.
From an athlete perspective, I’m surprised at the discrepancy in skillsets, chiefly bike handling and transition skills. The top triathletes are very good, but the drop-off is massive. It’ll take one or two seasons, but I believe you’ll be able to tell the difference between those athletes that have done Super League and those that haven’t. After all, we’re running triathletes through transition 20 times over the weekend.
220: From a British standpoint, Jonny Brownlee probably had the worst season of his career in 2018, but looked reinvigorated by Super League in Malta and Mallorca…
CM: I’d agree. In Jersey, he didn’t seem to have the same look in his eyes as he did in Malta and Mallorca. Some silly mistakes cost him in Malta, but in Mallorca, when he took the short chute in the last race [in an attempt to beat Vincent Luis], all bets were off. That said a lot. He’s understandably keen to make 2019 a big season with the Tokyo Olympics next year, and needs to get his head around racing in hot conditions so has been over here training in Phuket.
220: Do you have venues secured for next season?
CM: We have qualification events in Bali, Poznan and Ottawa, and Penticton might be an age-group only race. Then we’ll return to Jersey, Malta and Mallorca, we’re speaking to Singapore again and we’re close to signing off in Shanghai, Dubai and Belgium.
220: How are revenues generated?
It’s mainly advertising. A big portion is corporate hospitality, but we don’t make anything out of TV revenue as we’re building an audience and continuing to work on the product. I don’t think we’re there yet. For example, we only went to two days of racing because of [the opening showcase event on] Hamilton Island where the athletes said it was fantastic. I’d always imagined having just one day. We’re thinking of maybe having heats and a final, but we’re still trying to refine that.
220: How viable is age-group racing in the Super League formats?
CM: We have the corporate experience of ‘Racing Like A Pro’, with 50 teams of six-to-12 paying £20,000. That sells out. It’s a no-brainer. For the age-groupers, we’re moving to an enduro type format – swim, bike, run, swim, bike, run – but we’re not looking to get rich from mass participation.
Unfortunately, Ironman has created a perception that people only race two to three times a year, but for 80 bucks you can come and do a Super League event. Poznan had 4,000 taking part, 2,000 in the enduro, plus a conventional sprint triathlon and fun runs. We want to build festivals. Ten to 15 years ago, people identified by a sport, but now they might do a Tough Mudder one weekend and then a triathlon the next. If it’s cool, you’ll do it.
220: Finally, how do you see the future for Super League?
CM: After Singapore, we’ll set up offices in London, and our ultimate aim is to have a grand final with athletes qualifying from European, Australasian and American leagues. We’d take the 10 best triathletes from each league and have five days or two/three weekends of racing in a grand finale that has big bucks on it – whether that’s in Dubai or Bahrain or wherever. That’d be the perfect scenario.
We would like to move our series closer to launching in late August/early September and finish within the calendar year. That’s what the TV networks would prefer too. But I’ve always wanted to create a professional landscape and not inhibit triathletes’ aspirations to win Olympic gold medals, so we’ve tried to communicate openly with the ITU and position events around their calendar, not encroach.
I think this style of racing is the direction the ITU wants to go and for a TV product you have to go this way. From the Nielsen [media coverage] reports we can see that 4.5 million watched the series. Our best viewing figures were in France and the UK. For perspective, 75,000 watched Ironman live at the world championship and its NBC highlights coverage was the lowest viewed ever at under 1 million. Triathletes are always happy to eat the crumbs that other sports drop, but it’s a beautiful sport people can relate to and by creating characters we can build audiences. The numbers to get to are not so high any more either. Sports viewing is not decreasing, it’s just that people have more options.
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The Super League Triathlon Grand Finale will take place on 23-24 February in Singapore. You can follow the action at superleaguetriathlon.com. Check out the next issue of 220, on sale 21 February, for an Insider’s Guide to Super League Triathlon.
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It all kicked off a few days after Ironman Wales in 2016. I was still feeling ropey, so I went to the doctors and got whisked off to hospital with pneumonia and sepsis. I wasn’t quite expecting that. I was in there for four days, pumped full of antibiotics, but then they found a residual shadow on my lung so they did some x-rays.
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After that, they sent me for some scans to try and find out more about this shadow. Lesions were spotted everywhere. It seemed they had been there for the year leading up to the Ironman, but any aches, pains or fatigue I had, I just put down to the training.
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After blood tests in March 2017, I was diagnosed with myeloma, a type of blood cancer. I’ve been given seven years to live unless I can find a stem cell match, and it’s been constant cycles of chemotherapy.
I went from the high of Ironman Wales to being incarcerated in the Christie [Hospital]. I’ve been trying to maintain fitness throughout, so they brought in an exercise bike. I can swim and cycle but no running, because I broke a vertebra in my back – a side effect is weak bones.
I’d never heard of myeloma, so when my doctor told me I had it, I said “Can it be cleared with antibiotics?” Then he explained…
In a strange way, I was lucky, because with myeloma it’s usual to ignore the signs, then get kidney failure because your bones are being broken down by cancer, leading to high levels of calcium in your blood. So, in a way, Ironman helped me get my diagnosis expedited.
The first round of chemo I had didn’t work, and the second and third stopped working. I had a stem cell transplant too, which got me to a position where I feel good, but there’s only so many treatments and drugs I can use – a stem cell donor is crucial for me to stay alive.
I’ve turned this into something proactive – I started the campaign of 10,000 donors to try and get people registered on the stem cell register and raise awareness.
People who do triathlon are all of a certain mindset and there’s a proactive and positive approach to keep pushing the boundaries. When you’re surrounded by people like that, they keep you going.
I love triathlon because it made me achieve something I didn’t think I could do. I think the fitter you are, the quicker you get through these things. They usually predict a six-month recovery after the stem cell transplant, and I managed to get around the Weymouth bike course in a relay not long after.
You can register as a potential lifesaver online at dkms.org.uk and receive your home swab kit.
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Peter McCleave
After competing in Ironman Wales in 2016, Peter was diagnosed with an incurable blood cancer called myeloma; doctors estimated he had seven years to live unless a stem cell donor was found. After repeated rounds of chemotherapy, and stem cell transplants, Peter is campaigning to raise awareness and encourage more people to sign up to the register to save lives, like his own.
On 29 March 2019, the Brownlee brothers will be formally opening the UK’s largest triathlon show, Triathlon Show: London, at the Dockland’s ExCeL Centre. The show caters for swimmers, cyclists, runners and triathletes with 100’s of exhibitors.
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The performance stage line up
Got tickets for the Friday? Don’t miss Alistair and Jonny talking to 220‘s editor Helen Webster at 12pm on the performance stage. They will be followed on the stage by Dirty Sanchez star Matthew Pritchard, who will be speaking about his journey from extreme partying to extreme triathlon. Then at 3pm Helen will be talking to Greg Whyte, a professor in Applied Sport & Exercise Science and the man behind many of Comic Relief’s challenges.
Heading there Saturday? Helen will be chatting to four-time Kona champ Chrissie Wellington at 1pm and BBC presenter and Team GB triathlete Louise Minchin.
220 Expert Stage
Meanwhile the line-up on the 220 expert stage includes top tri coaches Joe Beer and Mark Kleanthous, hydration expert Andy Blow, Paralympic gold medallist Andy Lewis, 220‘s columnist Martyn Brunt, and rising ITU star Georgia Taylor-Brown.
And while you’re there don’t forget to check out all the latest tri kit. So many of us order our tri kit online without seeing it in person beforehand. Triathlon Show: London gives athletes the opportunity to have a good look at the latest kit and triathlon products and ask the expert representatives from each brand any questions they may have. If you’re going there to specifically look for new kit, check out our triathlon gear buying guides first.
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The show runs at London’s Excel Centre from Friday 29 to Sunday 31 March. Read more about the show here and click this link to get your discounted entry tickets.
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Britain’s Alex Yee finished second to world champion Mario Mola of Spain as the ITU World Series kicked off in high-octane style on the Formula One track of Abu Dhabi.
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It was an impressive debut at the top level from the 21-year-old Yee, who trains in Leeds and had already showed his class by winning a second tier World Cup race in Cape Town, also over the sprint distance, last month.
But it still wasn’t quite enough to defeat Mola, who has won the past three world titles, and once again showed why his biggest strength is the run. The 29-year-old surged to the front with 1.7km remaining and eased clear of Yee in the final stretch to take the tape in 52min.
“It’s above and beyond what I expected,” Yee said, having run 14:07 for the 5km. “I came in wanting to get a bit of experience, but I felt really prepared and ready to go and give it my best shot. These guys are my idols, and I look up to them and have watched them since I was a kid.”
Mola recorded his 16th World Series victory and was generous with his praise for the young Brit, who has recovered from a near career-ending bike crash when racing in Calgary in 2017.
“I had to dig deep to bridge the gap,” he said. “I know how talented Alex is and it was great to have a battle against him. It’s great to have a new generation coming up.”
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What made Yee’s result even more impressive was the quality of the field assembled in the Emirates’ capital.
The entire top 10 from last year’s ranking were present, with newly crowned Super League champion Vincent Luis and last year’s Commonwealth gold medallist Henri Schoeman among them. Double-Olympic medallist Jonny Brownlee was the only notable absentee.
While Slovakian Richard Varga predictably led out of the water after the 750m swim, the race came together on the 20km cycle around the Yas Marina F1 track and a large pack entered T2 together.
New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde bravely took the race by its scruff and forged a six-second gap that he held until midway through the run, when first Yee and then Mola took charge.
Spain’s Fernando Alarza sprinted from the chasing pack to take the final spot on the podium, with Britain’s only other competitor, Tom Bishop – on a course where he had his best WTS finish of second in 2017 – finishing strongly in ninth, one place ahead of an exhausted Wilde.
There is now a six-week break before the World Series resumes in Bermuda for the second of eight events.
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You can follow all the action live, plus re-live past races, highlights and interviews at triathlonlive.tv
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Third-place Jess Learmonth led the British charge in the first World Series race of the season as Non Stanford, Vicky Holland and Georgie Taylor-Brown also finished in the top 10.
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USA’s Katie Zafares, who finished runner-up to Holland in last year’s World Series, sealed a commanding victory in Abu Dhabi by breaking clear on the 5km run.
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With her compatriot Taylor Spivey in second, it was left for Learmonth to out-sprint Under-23 world champion Taylor Knibb to stop a US podium sweep.
“I thought I’d shove ‘em out, “Learmonth joked. “She [Knibb] kept pushing and I thought it was going to come to a sprint finish. I thought: ‘She’s a young buck, she’s not 30-odd, she’ll get me, so I’ll have to push on to getaway.’
“We were working really hard [on the bike]. I’m glad that finally we had a breakaway that worked. I’ve got to be honest, I hadn’t aimed for this race. I’ve had a bit of a bad lead-up and I said I’m just going to get round. It’s a big year for selection and the girls are so strong so I’m just going to take it a race at a time.”
After Learmonth had led out of the water in the 750m swim, a front group that was eventually whittled down to six opened an insurmountable 65sec gaps on the main pack over the 20km bike course.
Even for the calibre of France’s Cassandra Beaugrand and Stanford, it was always going to be too much of a gap and the ever-consistent Zafares, who had stood 17 times on the World Series podium, but only once on the top step, ran clear to win by 26sec in 55min 31sec.
The American also clocked the fastest 5km run leg with a time of 16:09. It was 2sec faster than Stanford, who having left Leeds to join Canadian Joel Filliol’s training group will be encouraged by her start to the World Series. India Lee was the final British competitor in 26th.
There is now a six-week break before the World Series resumes in Bermuda for the second of eight events.
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You can follow all the action live, plus re-live past races, highlights and interviews at triathlonlive.tv
Commonwealth champions Australia underlined their mixed relay credentials with victory on the opening World Series weekend, as Britain’s quartet toiled home in seventh.
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Despite having two debutants in their line-up, Jake Birtwhistle, fast becoming a relay specialist, brought the Aussies to the tape in Abu Dhabi, having caught USA’s Eli Hemming on the final bike leg and eased clear on the 1,500m run.
New Zealand finished in third, with Alex Yee, runner-up in the individual contest yesterday, running Britain up to seventh, 68sec adrift of the winners.
Over a 300m swim, 7.6km bike and 1.5km run course, Britain, who were led off by Vicky Holland struggled to make an impact throughout.
The race was split early as USA’s Taylor Spivey biked clear on the first leg to build an 18sec lead into T2, with Australia’s Ashleigh Gentle pegging back most of the deficit on the run.
Germany and Italy then joined the USA’s Ben Kanute and Australia’s Luke Willian to form a front pack of four, with Tom Bishop battling to keep Britain in the top 10.
Kanute and Willian broke free on the run to give Katie Zafares and Emma Jeffcoat some breathing space on the changeover, with Zafares superior footspeed giving the Americans a 17sec lead on to the final leg.
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That was soon whittled away though as Birtwhistle caught Hemming, and the former track ace was dominant over the final 1.5km to take the tape.
“We’ve never used this team before, but once again we’ve come out and won the race,” Birtwhistle said. “It’s great for us all and great for triathlon in Australia.”
A strong second half of the race by Leonie Periault and Leo Bergere had put reigning world champions France clear in third, but with Bergere having to stand down for a penalty, New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde ran through for the bronze. Non Stanford and Yee rounded out the British effort, but it never looked enough to challenge the podium.
The first of four mixed relays in the 2019 World Series, Abu Dhabi will be followed by Nottingham (June), Edmonton (July) and Grand Final in Lausanne (August).
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To watch all the coverage live, plus highlights, race re-runs and interviews, visit triathlonlive.tv
The ITU World Series got underway in the Emirates’ capital this weekend, with success for Mario Mola and Katie Zafares in the individual races and Australia in the mixed relay. But beyond the headlines, what else did we learn from the elite level racing? 220 columnist Tim Heming reflects.
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1. Super League Triathlon has upped the ante. Compared to the fast-paced, multi-transition, mixed-up world that Chris McCormack and co have delivered, the World Series – even at sprint distance – looks pedestrian. It’s particularly a problem on the bike, where triathletes such as Flora Duffy and Alistair Brownlee, who can really blow racing apart, are sorely missed. The men’s race in Abu Dhabi was effectively neutralised until T2, and if new fans are to be engaged, that must change.
2. Abu Dhabi’s state-of-the-art Yas Marina motor-racing circuit fails to convince. Yes, it’s a fillip that ITU now has an established venue for the World Series curtain-raiser and the warm climate is no doubt welcomed by the triathletes. But the eerie, empty grandstands draw obvious if unfair comparisons with the fervour of when Formula One lands here in December, and the wide, sweeping track also doesn’t make for exciting cycle racing – until the bike tyres hit a patch of motor oil.
3. Transition practice under pressure pays off. This shouldn’t turn into an ode to Super League, but the new race series could also claim credit for improving triathletes’ competency in triathlon’s ‘fourth discipline’. Although the men’s individual race arrived at T1 in a large pack, it was Vincent Luis, Ben Kanute and Henri Schoeman – all fresh from Super League in Singapore – who emerged first to form an early three-man break on the bike.
4. Mario Mola cements the favourite tag. While Luis, Schoeman and Kristian Blummenfelt were putting on a show at Super League over the past few months, the genial Spaniard was getting stuck into winter training. Arriving fresh in Abu Dhabi, he showed he will again be the man to beat as he looks for a fourth successive world title, which would be an unprecedented feat in short-course racing.
5. Alex Yee can win a World Series race in 2019. If the 21-year-old’s performance to win a World Cup race in Cape Town last month was a breakthrough, then finishing runner-up in on his World Series debut was another level again. While British Triathlon will not want to rush Yee’s development, there’s little reason he cannot claim a win on the series in 2019 if he stays fit and healthy. A lack of challenging bike courses that could otherwise break up the race and leave him isolated before the run, also plays to Yee’s advantage.
6. Olympic gold is anyone’s right now. Although wins for Katie Zafares and Mola in Abu Dhabi will surprise no-one, looking ahead to Tokyo 2020, it appears as wide-open as it ever has in a pre-Olympic year. Both Zafares and Mola have earned their No 1 status through consistency more than triumphing on the big one-off occasion, and there are other established performers, up-and-coming talent, and big names currently on the sidelines such as Flora Duffy, Nicola Spirig and even Alistair Brownlee, who could all have a case made for them.
7. Consistency working for Non Stanford. The Welsh triathlete has been blighted by injury since winning the world title in 2013, but a move to Canadian Joel Filliol’s training group, where consistency has largely replaced intensity, looks to have put her in good stead for a solid season. Although unable to make the front pack on the bike, Stanford was quicker than France’s Cassandre Beaugrand – arguably the fastest runner in the sport – over the last 5km to make the top five.
8. The Americans just keep coming. Just when you might have thought they couldn’t become any stronger, the USA’s impressive roster of senior talent now includes the fast-blossoming Taylor Knibb. The 21-year-old has won successive junior and U23 world titles and finished fourth in Abu Dhabi, yet still looks far from the finished article. She’s already one of the strongest bikers in the field – in last year’s U23 Championship in Gold Coast she was 2:30mins quicker on two wheels than the rest of the field. Some serious pedal power.
9. Jessica Learmonth’s strength could be Britain’s undoing. Learmonth once again showed that she’s the fastest female swimmer in ITU racing, but the knock-on effect is that her British team-mates become relegated to also-rans. The Leeds’ triathlete’s pace upfront had the biggest impact on Stanford, Vicky Holland and Georgia Taylor-Brown not being able to make the front pack in Abu Dhabi. While it’s not a pressing issue because the women race as individuals on the World Series, when it comes to Olympic selection, it could make for some tricky decisions for selectors.
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10. The Aussies, Americans and French are mixed relay aces. While New Zealand snuck into third place in the final reckoning, it was only because world champions France were served a penalty on the final leg. That’s racing, of course, but it also didn’t mask that Australia, USA and France are currently head and shoulders above the other nations when it comes to the format. Britain were without the Brownlees, granted, but whether Team GB’s undoubted experience can match the specificity and youthful endeavour of the top three looks increasingly questionable.
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Taking place at ExCel London on 29-31 March 2019, the show offers the best opportunity for triathletes and cyclists of all disciplines to learn more about their favourite brands. With so many bike, kit and accessory brands on display and abundant opportunities to test ride the latest bikes on the test track, kids test track and a mini pump track for those up for showing off their riding skills, the London Bike Show and Triathlon Show: London offer an amazing day out for cycling and triathlon fans with plenty to see and do.
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London based Sigma Sports bring an array of names to the show over the weekend; Tacx, Specialized, MAAP, VEL, Maurten and Black Sheep Clothing all featuring at their stand. A mix of urban and E-bikes will be on display from Ribble, as they continue to diversify, alongside their popular range of road bikes.
Tri UK once again bring with them a whole host of familiar names; Cannondale, GT, Fabric, Cervélo, Focus, Muc Off, 2XU, Dirty Dog, Mizuno, Dare2Tri and Foor Wetsuits. Canyon will be at hand to showcase their latest models for 2019 alongside the World Champion bikes of Mathieu Van Der Poel, Alejandro Valverde and Patrick Lange, and offering attendees the chance to test ride a selection of Canyon bikes on the show’s official test track.
Award winning OTE Sports bring their naturally flavoured nutrition range to the show, as well as Team GB athletes Alistair & Jonny Brownlee and Georgia Taylor-Brown. Urban electric bikes, Gocycle, display their full choice of models at the show including the new GX; from super fast folding builds to the optimum commuting companion.
Brownlees to open The London Bike Show and Triathlon Show: London
The all-star line up for The Triathlon Show: London
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Triathlon brands such as HUUB and Zone 3 shall provide attendees the opportunity to test their wetsuits during the three days too. Wattbike, Hedkayse, Calibre Bikes and Oakley are all in attendance as well, while Ison Distribution bring with them Surly, The Light Blue, BZ Optics and Miss Grape Bikepacking. Polar, Gore, On and Hoka shall be hosted by Alton Sports, while Atherton Bikes offer the public their first look at the prototype bikes which they have been developing with Dan, Rachel and Gee; who shall also be speaking on the main stage.
Frazer Clifford, Show Owner, said of the announcement: “We are proud to have assembled such a fantastic array of exciting brands, firm favourites and new, from the world of both cycling and triathlon. As ever, the shows offer attendees the chance to get up close with much loved brands, gain first hand insight and test ride bikes they have always wanted. With another fantastic schedule of speakers across all three days as well, there is always something to be enjoyed while at the shows.”
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To see the full list of brands exhibiting at the London Bike Show and Triathlon Show: London 2019, visit www.thelondonbikeshow.co.uk/exhibitors
France’s Dorian Coninx proved a surprise winner of the second round of the World Triathlon Series in Bermuda ahead of returning Spaniard Javier Gomez, who laid down an ominous marker for his Olympic rivals.
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Coninx, a former junior and under-23 world champion, produced a gutsy performance to claw his way back in the second half of the run before pulling away from veteran Gomez and Norwegian Gustav Iden to take the tape in 1:50:36.
It was a race full of surprises, with Britain’s Jonny Brownlee short of his best form on the run to finish 11th and world champion Mario Mola cut adrift during the swim to tail in 26th.
“It’s just crazy,” Coninx said. “The run was really hard, but I think I paced it well. I’ve never had the perfect race before this one, but I guess the planets aligned today.”
While Coninx was recording his first World Series victory, 35-year-old Gomez secured a remarkable 38th podium in 57 starts. The five-time ITU world champion, who last raced in the World Series in the Grand Final in Rotterdam in 2017, has returned to short course racing eyeing a fourth attempt at Olympic glory next year.
“It was very tough race and none of us had much left at the end,” Gomez said. “I closed my eyes and went as hard as I could. I was pretty happy with my race. I knew I was fit but after being out for a year, but you don’t know how much the others have moved on.
“My goal is to qualify for Tokyo. I’m enjoying what I’m doing and want to give it a shot and see how it goes.”
Coninx’s compatriot Vincent Luis finished fourth having produced his most impressive World Series swim to date to lead out of the water in 17:54, 10 seconds clear of Brownlee with renowned Slovakian swimmer Richard Varga and Gomez even further back.
Luis, who has won the past two World Series Grand Finals and the inaugural Super League title in February, led a group of 19 on to the bike, and with Brownlee driving them up the first of 10 climbs of the testing Corkscrew Hill they quickly opened a 45sec lead over the chasers.
By halfway the lead pack had been whittled down to 16, but with Brownlee bereft of allies to push the pace, the advantage over the second group was also halved. Norwegian trio Kristian Blummenfelt, Casper Stornes and Iden – looking to provide another spectacle after sweeping the podium 2018 – were all prominent among the chase group.
None of this was helping three-time and reigning world champion Mola, who was languishing almost 2mins down. The Spaniard finished fourth in Bermuda in 2018, the only time all season he failed to make the top two, and it would be another unsatisfactory day for the favourite as the gap extended to almost 3mins by the time he completed the ride.
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At the sharp end, the race came back together, before a three-man break in the final 10km of the bike involving Jorik van Egdom, Coninx and German Jonas Schomburg, led to the latter breaking away and reaching T2 with a 35sec lead.
The 25-year-old had finished 18th in Abu Dhabi in the opening race and 10th in the European Championship in Glasgow last year, but had never threatened a World Series podium before and the lead lasted barely one lap of the four-lap 10km course before a six-man pack of Blummenfelt, Gomez, Iden, Luis, Portugal’s Joao Periera and Commonwealth champion Henri Schoeman gained the ascendancy.
With Periera and Schoeman unable to stick the pace, Coninx then fought his way back to the front group in an increasingly unpredictable contest. Gomez seized the initiative with 3km remaining and Blummenfelt was next to drop off, followed by Luis, as the lead changed hands several times approaching the final throes.
Coninx’s kick up the last climb proved decisive and he held the gap to claim the $18,000 first prize, with Gomez pipping Iden in a sprint on the blue carpet for second, meaning the Norwegian repeated his third-place finish of last year.
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Luis moved to the top of the overall standings ahead of Spain’s Fernando Alarza and France’s Leo Bergere, but with six races remaining there is all to play for as they head to Yokohama in Japan in three weeks.
USA’s Katie Zafares continued her perfect start to the World Triathlon Series after easing to victory in Bermuda ahead of Britain’s Jess Learmonth.
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Zafares, 29, who was narrowly beaten to the world title by Vicky Holland in the final race of the 2018 season, made it two wins from two WTS starts after victory in Abu Dhabi in March.
Holland finished 15th having broken away with the leaders early in the 40km bike ride, but was unable to hold the pace. Fellow Brit Georgia Taylor-Brown came through for fifth, with Non Stanford producing the fastest run leg in the field to claim 13th.
The home crowd had hoped to see the return of local favourite and Commonwealth champion Flora Duffy, who had succeeded with a solo charge to win the inaugural WTS contest on the island last year.
But Duffy, who has struggled with injury since taking the Commonwealth title last spring, withdrew in the build-up and has delayed setting a date for her return.
In her absence, Zafares became the dominant force and looked untroubled on the run, closing out with a 34:36 10km split and a comfortable 1:41 victory margin.
“Inspired by Flora in last year’s race I just wanted to commit to those first few laps [on the bike],” she said. “Jess and Lotte [Miller] did so much work, we just kept pushing the entire 10 laps and it put us in a good position for the run.”
A downpour and flash floods greeted the start of the women’s race, meaning choppier conditions and poor visibility during the swim and plenty of surface water for the beginning of the bike leg.
“It was torrential,” Learmonth said. “I was halfway through [the swim] and ready to roll on to my back and put my arm in the air to be rescued – you couldn’t see a thing. So that were a drama. On the bike, Zafares is a train – I was dying. The run, I was just trying to get through. I’m glad we got just enough time because I was hanging on. I’m delighted with second place.”
As has become routine in WTS racing, Learmonth led the out of the water after the 1.5km two-lap swim, but world champion Holland was in close attendance along with Holland’s Maya Kingma. Zafares was fourth leaving T1 and quickly closed the gap as they approached the first of 10 climbs up Corkscrew Hill – the one meaningful incline on the course – showing her power that would soon split the race apart.
Norway’s Miller also made the front pack and after Kingma had been jettisoned it was Holland who was next to suffer as the front three broke away.
From there Zafares continued to drive the pace and the gap over the 40km bike ride grew from seconds to minutes as the trio built on their advantage.
They made it to T2 over 2mins clear of the second pack and although Learmonth was first to emerge, Zafares quickly forged ahead and by the end of the first 2.5km lap was 23sec clear.
Miller’s valiant effort to equal Gustav Iden’s feat in the men’s race and grab the final podium berth for Norway was thwarted when Canadian Commonwealth bronze medallist Joanna Brown passed her with 3km remaining.
Miller eventually dropped to eighth to add to her sixth place in Abu Dhabi, but it was a brave performance that suggests it’s not just the Scandinavian men who are becoming a force to be reckoned with at this level.
Learmonth wasn’t threatened for second, and although she is yet to win a World Series race, has now recorded five podiums along with Commonwealth silver and a European title.
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The 31-year-old lies second in the overall standings behind Zafares, with USA’s Taylor Spivey in third and Georgia Taylor-Brown in fourth.
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