Sarah True once again claimed the top spot in Stockholm with a dominant performance on the run, beating favourite Katie Zaferes and Olympic champion Nicola Spirig in the process.
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True won her first World Triathlon Series event in the Swedish capital last year over sprint distance, and this year she increased her margin of victory to 14 seconds over the standard distance course to come home in 2:01:05.
With the current world champion Gwen Jorgensen choosing to sit this one out along with Brits Vicky Holland and Non Stanford, there were few athletes in the field who have split True and Zaferes this season.
This was true from the outset, as the two Americans emerged from the swim far ahead of the main pack of swimmers, and even seconds in front of super-swimmer Carolina Routier (ESP). Olympic champion Nicola Spirig (SUI) was already 48 seconds back going into T1.
True and Zaferes dropped Routier straight away on the bike but were soon joined by Bermudan Flora Duffy. They pushed the pace but by lap 4 of 6 Spirig had caught up, and by lap 5 they were swallowed by a chase pack which included Andrea Hewitt (NZL) Rachel Klamer (NED) and Erin Densham (AUS). The pack stayed together into T2 despite some breakaway attempts, and began the run on a steep incline.
True, Duffy and Spirig stormed into the lead at the start of the four-lap run course, followed closely by seven other athletes.
Sarah True pulls clear towards the end of the 10km run in Stockholm
True made gains over the field at the start of each 2.5km lap by pushing hard up the hill, and eventually pulled clear of second-placed Hewitt on the third lap, opening up a clear lead. It was now a race for the next two podium places, and despite Hewitt’s best efforts she was unable to hold on for a repeat of her second place finish from Stockholm 2014, with Zaferes making a late surge on the last lap to take the silver.
True’s run split of 33:14 was the best of the day, and meant she had time to high-five the crowd on her way down the finish chute. Duffy finished fourth with Spirig in fifth and Densham sixth. India Lee, the only Brit to finish the race after Jessica Learmonth pulled out, came in 26th place.
Following the race True said of her victory: “Stockholm is a beautiful city, a beautiful place to race. I came back here wanting to give last year justice and I am pleasantly surprised.”
It means True is still in third place in the World Series rankings, with Gwen Jorgensen in first and Zaferes second.
Hard to believe, but reigning world champ Javier Gomez had never won WTS Stockholm before today – and he finally put that right this afternoon with a dominant display that carried him across the finish line nearly 1min ahead of second-placed Joao Pereira (POR).
That makes it his sixth podium of the 2015 season, and Gomez is looking increasingly likely to become the first athlete to win five ITU World Championships – just two WTS races remain this season, Edmonton and Chicago.
The other two podium spots came down to an impressive battle between Pereira and Aaron Royle (AUS), neither of whom have seen a podium yet this year. Ultimately a last-minute push from Pereira granted him the silver medal, leaving Royle with bronze.
With the air a perfect 25°C and the water just above 20°C, the men ditched their neoprene for a non-wetsuit swim, which was a game changer for some men. Choppy waters didn’t keep Henri Schoeman (RSA) from flying through the two-lap swim, taking the lead on each of the two laps. Royle continued his Olympic qualification form from two weeks ago, joining Schoeman as one of the top men to reach the first of two transitions, along with Spaniard Francesc Godoy and France’s Aurelien Raphael.
Although the men’s field was slightly strung out after the two-lap swim, with Gomez down 22secs after the first swim lap, it took just one turn around the bike course for more than 20 men to come together over the cobblestoned streets. With a solid strategy in place that saw athlete after athlete take their turn at the helm of the pack, the lead opened up a 30-second gap over the chase after the first bike lap.
Strong cyclists like Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) ensured that their advantage increased 10secs on every turn around the nine-lap bike course for nearly a minute over the chase, which included Mario Mola (ESP), by the third lap. That advantage would carry the men throughout the entire bike leg and into the second transition, which meant that those looking to stand out would have to do it on the run.
A tough hill caused some groupings to shift and those with the legs were able to capitalise and push out ahead once the run began. Those legs belonged to Gomez, Pereira and Royle, who ran as a trio for the first lap. Schoeman and Ryan Bailie (AUS) paired up immediately and followed as a two-man chase vying for the fourth and fifth position.
Realising he needed to control the pace, Gomez utilized the second lap to finally break away and create some space between the other men. He gradually increased his lead in the next two laps until he reached a healthy 53-second lead that allowed him to hit autopilot and bring it home to the finish.
One step closer to another world title! @Jgomeznoya pic.twitter.com/INiHCPQlwq
— TriathlonLIVE (@triathlonlive) August 23, 2015
“I didn’t feel good with the swim, I was a little bit asleep at the start, so when I knew I was far behind I fought the second lap to move forward a little bit in the swim, I think I was the last person to make the first group on the bike,” said Gomez.
“It was an intense first lap on the bike, and then after that I just worked to keep the distance between the second group. I knew I had a good chance to win the race. I felt pretty good in the run because I could control the pace the whole time, so I am pretty happy.”
With two more podium spots up for grabs, the momentum shifted when Schoeman and Bailie caught up to Pereira and Royle, creating a four-man pack with only two medals up for the taking. The last lap saw Bailie drop out of the running however, followed by Schoeman in the last kilometre. It was only at the carpet did Pereira showcase an extra ounce of effort that allowed him to overtake Royle for the silver medal.
2015 ITU World Triathlon Stockholm elite men
1.
Javier Gomez Noya
ESP
01:49:33
2.
Joao Pereira
POR
01:50:18
3.
Aaron Royle
AUS
01:50:26
4.
Henri Schoeman
RSA
01:50:42
5.
Ryan Bailie
AUS
01:50:42
6.
Ryan Sissons
NZL
01:50:47
7.
Vicente Hernandez
ESP
01:50:53
8.
Alessandro Fabian
ITA
01:51:11
9.
Aurelien Raphael
FRA
01:51:17
10.
Fernando Alarza
ESP
01:51:17
(Image: @triathlonLIVE)
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What did you think of today’s race? Let us know in the comments below!
The suspense didn’t let up in the women’s race at Challenge Walchsee in Austria last weekend, with Britain’s Catherine Jameson and Lucy Gossage right up there at the front of the pack throughout the middle-distance race.
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Jameson led out of the swim, and over the first 60km of the bike she held a 3:30mins gap over her pursuers Gossage, Daniela Sämmler (GER), defending champ Yvonne van Vlerken (NED) and Simone Braendli (SUI).
Sämmler subsequently fell back, but the remaining trio of Gossage, Van Vlerken and Braendli kept calm and by T2 they had closed the gap. Within seconds of each other the top four women headed out onto the run.
Braendli quickly showed her running strength, putting in 1:25mins over van Vlerken by the 5km mark and 4:22mins by the halfway point. She crossed the line more than seven minutes ahead of second-placed Gossage, with one of the fastest run splits ever seen at Challenge Walchsee of 1:20:30. Van Vlerken rounded out the podium in third place.
Pretty pleased with 2nd on a day where nothing felt easy.Grimace and grit it out!Congrats to Simone. Another amazing race.
— lucy gossage (@lucygoss) August 23, 2015
Jameson finished in ninth position, around 20mins behind Gossage. Full results here.
Men’s race
A duel between Filip Ospalý (CZE) and defending champ Giulio Molinari (ITA) was expected, but, the Italian went all-out for a win from the beginning. While Ospaly led out out of transition, Molinari attacked hard and rode from ninth place to take the lead in a few short kilometres.
Reaching T2 he had expanded his lead over the mountainous 90km bike leg to 6:42mins ahead of Per Bittner (GER) and Nick Kastelein (AUS) who were just three seconds apart.
On the run Kastelein started eating into Molinari’s lead, followed closely by Bittner and Andreas Giglmayer (AUT), but Molinari crossed the line with over 4mins in hand. Behind him, the fight for second and third was fierce with Giglmayer finally taking second and the day’s fastest run split (1:15:39) and Bittner third. Full results here.
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Did you race Challenge Walchsee? Let us know in the comments!
The Triathlon England – National Relay Championships saw teams from all over the country compete last weekend (22-23rd August) for Triathlon England national titles at the Zoot Triathlon Relays.
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Hosted in Nottingham, just as it has been since 1991, the Zoot Triathlon Relays also saw new elite style relays and team time trials take place on Sunday alongside the traditional format.
Sunday
Saturday saw hundreds of teams take part in two waves of relays that offered prizes in men’s, women’s, mixed and open categories across a range of age-groups. The quickest teams got all four relay members around the 500m swim, 15km bike and 5km run course in less than three hours, whilst others went round at a more sedate pace in the freakishly hot 30 degree temperatures.
Teams from Optima, Tricamp-Tfn, Army, Erdinger AF, Cambridge University and BRAT bagged the top prizes and many of those were back on Sunday morning to race again in the new elite format team heats.
For provisional event results from the event, visit the One Step Beyond website. A full breakdown of Triathlon England National Champions will be confirmed shortly.
Sunday
The new elite style racing on Sunday saw each athlete cover a 250m swim, 5km bike and 1500m run before handing over to their teammate. The elite Jackpot racing team of Max Hazel, David Bishop, Tom Bishop and Adam Bowden were the quickest around the course in the heats recording a time of 01:05.16.
Loughborough Triathlon and Arragons Cumbrian Triathlon Club were the top two Home Nation affiliated clubs in the heats and successfully qualified to represent Great Britain at the ETU Triathlon Club European Championships in Nice on 4 October 2015.
Following the heats, the top ten men’s, women’s, mixed and open teams went forward to the team time trial final over double the race distance. Jackpot Racing set off last by being the fastest qualifiers, with Racetime RT a minute ahead and teams from Optima, Red Venom and Tricamp/Tfn ahead of them.
Jackpot closed that gap and all of the top teams demonstrated well-drilled team working skills in an exciting final. Jackpot took the win in 31:30mins, ahead of Racetime in 32:11mins and Optima in 32:58mins.
The final Triathlon England – National Championships of the year takes place at Oulton Park, host of the Triathlon England – National Duathlon Championships on 4 October 2015.
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Did you race at the National Relay Champs? Let us know in the comments!
Two changes for 2016’s Blenheim Palace Triathlon: the event will be held slightly earlier than in previous years, and long-time sponsor Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research has changed its name to Bloodwise.
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>>> Blenheim Palace Triathlon 2015 – in pics
Next year’s Bloodwise Blenheim Palace Triathlon will be held on 4-5 June and entries go on sale to the general public on 3 September 2015. The iconic Oxfordshire event is set in the spectacular grounds of Blenheim Palace, a World Heritage Site renowned as the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.
Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research chose Bloodwise as its new name after listening and responding to the needs of patients. The charity says its new name better captures all the life-changing work now being done – its continuing world-class research, its expanding portfolio of patient support services, and its role speaking up on behalf of those affected by blood cancer.
Matt Lawley, Head of Sports Events at Bloodwise, said: “Over the past three years the Blenheim Palace Triathlon has helped to raise awareness of our charity and over £1.5million to beat blood cancers. Next year’s event will be an amazing opportunity to make people aware of our new name.”
Thanks to everyone who’s signed our Thunderclap so far. Together we will beat blood cancer: http://t.co/Cj8f5zwuVN pic.twitter.com/rRrkZAUxup
— Beat Blood Cancers (@beatbloodcancer) August 24, 2015
This year’s event saw more than 7,000 people race around the palace, with Chris Perham and India Lee winning the elite races last June as part of the British Super Series.
For next year’s Bloodline Blenheim Palace Triathlon, participants are encouraged to get 48 hr priority entry for 2016 now by registering their interest.
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Will you be racing at Blenheim Palace next year? Let us know in the comments below!
Spain and the USA continue to bestride the World Triathlon Series leaderboards for 2015, hogging the top-three spots for the men’s and women’s title races respectively.
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In the men’s rankings, 2014 champ Javier Gomez (ESP) managed to record a winning margin of 45 seconds for WTS Stockholm last weekend – the biggest gap for a WTS race in two years. It surely helped that neither Alistair nor Jonny Brownlee were racing though.
This means that Gomez now has a career record of 34 WTS podiums from 46 race starts, and sits top of the 2015 leaderboard with 3820 points. His high-flying compatriot Mario Mola didn’t have such a good race in Stockholm, finishing 12th, but remains second on the leaderboard (3374pts). Fernando Alarza rounds out the top three (2961pts), thanks to a consistent run of results this season topped by silver in London.
France’s Vincent Luis sits in fourth position (2910pts), having grabbed gold at WTS Hamburg last month and racked up four podiums in total this year. South Africa’s Richard Murray is not far behind with 2857pts, though his best WTS result so far this season was bronze in Abu Dhabi.
And the Brits? Alistair and Jonny are in ninth and tenth at the moment, with just four points between them. Alistair made a strong start to the Rio 2016 test event earlier this month before being forced to slow down by an ankle injury, while Jonny remains out with a stress fracture picked up in St. Moritz. It’s not clear yet if either Brownlee will return to WTS racing this year.
Women’s rankings
Sarah True clearly enjoys Sweden – having grabbed the first WTS gold of her career in Stockholm last year, she repeated the feat over the weekend and strengthened her third place (3322pts) in the leaderboard rankings with just Edmonton and the Chicago Grand Final remaining.
With Gwen Jorgensen (4000pts) having won all six races she has started in 2015, True joins Britain’s Vicky Holland as the only other athlete to reach the top step of a WTS podium in 2015.
The USA’s Katie Zaferes continued her incredible run of second-place finishes in Stockholm, taking her fifth silver medal of the season last weekend, and currently sits in second position behind Jorgensen with 3700pts.
New Zealand’s Andrew Hewitt is in fourth position on the leaderboard with 3131pts, thanks to a consistent run of top-10 finishes that’s included bronze in Auckland and Stockholm. Rachel Klamer (NED) holds fifth position in the points race (2196pts), despite not reaching a WTS podium yet this year.
Non Stanford, Gwen Jorgensen and Vicky Holland racing at Rio 2016 test event
Vicky Holland is top-ranked Brits with 2126pts in sixth place, having won WTS Cape Town and taken silver in Hamburg. Resurgent fellow Brit Non Stanford is out of the title race with 1238pts, after being forced to miss a number of races due to injury, but thrilling performances in her last few races suggest the 2013 world champ is getting back to top form.
The next stop on the World Triathlon Series is Edmonton, Canada on September 6th over the Sprint distance, followed by the Grand Final in Chicago on 18-19 September. We’ll be in Chicago to bring you all the action live right here on 220triathlon.com.
Columbia Threadneedle Rankings following ITU World Triathlon, Stockholm
Men
1st – Javier Gomez Noya (ESP) 3820 2nd – Mario Mola (ESP) 3374 3rd – Fernando Alarza (ESP) 2961 4th – Vincent Luis (FRA) 2910 5th – Richard Murray (RSA) 2857 6th – Ryan Bailie (AUS) 2601 7th – Henri Schoeman (RSA) 2508 8th – Joao Pereira (POR) 2344 9th – Alistair Brownlee (GBR) 2340 10th – Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) 2186
Biggest rankings mover: Eric Lagerstrom (USA) – from 103rd to 66th (254 points).
It’s official – Ironman has been acquired by Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group for $650m, joining football club Atlético Madrid on the latter’s roster of investments in Western sports enterprises.
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The news broke early this morning, and Wanda Group assumes Ironman’s existing – unspecified – debts from current owner Providence Equity Partners.
The finish chute at the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii (Paul Phillips)
Ironman CEO Andrew Messick said: “Wanda Group’s acquisition of Ironman marks another exciting chapter and opportunity for the future growth of Ironman after seven very successful years of ownership by Providence Equity Partners.
“Wanda Group is a global-minded organisation that shares our desire for excellence and continued growth, particularly in Asia. We are delighted to be part of the Wanda Group family of companies and are excited about the future of Ironman as we continue to provide life changing race experiences for athletes of all levels from their first step to the finish line.”
There’s certainly plenty of headroom for growth in the Far East – just 100 Chinese athletes have completed an Ironman race in the history of triathlon, a company spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal.
Industry watcher Gary Roethenbaugh, founder of news source Triathlon Business, believes the acquisition represents a “major shift in gear” for the M-Dot brand.
“While it is understood that it will be business as usual for the Ironman team in Tampa, Florida – with Ironman now part of the rapidly expanding Wanda Group, we can expect to see a flurry of activity for Ironman and IM 70.3 in the Asia region in particular.”
During the announcement, Ironman also revealed it expects to generate revenues of $183m in 2015, and has increased revenue at a compound annual growth rate of 21% over the past four years.
More information and comment to follow…
(Main image: Getty)
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What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!
It’s the end of an era for ‘The Caveman’ – South Africa’s Conrad Stoltz says he’ll retire after Xterra UK this weekend (29-30 August).
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>>> Is there any stopping ‘Caveman’ Conrad Stoltz?
“I’m pretty sure this it,” says the four-time Xterra world champ. “I don’t have regrets. I’m 41, I had a fantastic career, have lots of memories and have done a lot of neat stuff.”
The most successful off-road triathlete ever, Stoltz has racked up 51 career championship wins (53 if you count Buffelspoort cross triathlon) and seven world titles, including four Xterra world titles and three ITU Cross Triathlon world titles.
Stoltz says the best thing that ever happened was the birth of his baby girl Xena in the off-season. “She changed our lives in a huge way. Everything else pales in comparison now that we have this little bundle. My retirement means we can really spend a lot of time with her and we literally have her with us all the time. Being a Dad is indescribable. It’s awesome.”
Hugely respected for his fearless downhill skills, fierce competitive streak and warm demeanour, Stoltz will be hoping to bow out with a win at Vachery Estate in Surrey this weekend – he won last year’s event by nearly three minutes.
Over the past 15 years racing Xterra, The Caveman has become known as one of the most approachable and generous athletes in the sport – from signing autographs and providing simple words of advice to full-blown mentoring gigs and visiting sick kids at children’s hospitals.
#TBT The story of my first XTERRA: http://t.co/zOAwuM9Apo @XTERRAoffroad
And the secret to his longevity? His Dad said: “I once showed him a dung beetle that was trying to roll his ball of dung up a very steep incline. The ball kept rolling back, but the beetle kept retrieving the ball and pressing forward. I said to Conrad, ‘That’s how one should live one’s life. One never gives up.’”
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Can The Caveman make it one last win in Cranleigh? Let us know in the comments!
No sooner had Ironman revealed its new owner this morning than the comments started flying in on social media.
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>>> Ironman bought by China’s Dalian Wanda group for $650
No surprise really – it’s triathlon’s biggest corporate deal yet, and involves arguably the sport’s biggest player, a brand that has gone from a handful of endurance enthusiasts in Hawaii to a global business worth $650m.
So what do triathletes and other commentators think? Well some are (understandably) concerned this might lead to a rise in entry prices:
Others wonder if there will be a change at feed stations:
And Joe Richer hopes it doesn’t mean any changes for the famous finish line chute salute:
More than one reader thinks it’ll be ‘business as usual’:
Killian Long points out there’s still a long way for triathlon to go in China:
Tony Ball hopes the live coverage will benefit:
Finally, Tim Tansley says now might be the time to start investing in tattoo removal firms:
Yorkshire-born trio the ‘Wild Swimming Brothers’ have become the first people ever to swim the length of the River Eden from its source in the Cumbrian mountains to the sea – a journey of 145km.
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>>> How to conquer any open-water challenge
The three siblings Jack, Calum and Robbie Hudson took nine days to complete the challenge and finished last Sunday (23 August) in the Solway Firth, just south of Whitehaven.
It wasn’t all smiles though – middle brother Calum, 25, picked up an ear infection in the latter stages of the challenge and struggled. “I thought the hardest thing was getting up early and putting on a cold wetsuit. But then I got a really bad ear infection about two days ago. So I found out that the combination of earache and spending 10 hours a day in cold river water were my two least favourite things.”
Berlin-based eldest brother Robbie, 27, added that the swim had been “a challenge”. Youngest brother Jack, 23, said it was an “incredible achievement”. The three siblings were on home territory though – they grew up in the Cumbrian village of Langwathby, mere metres from the River Eden.
“From its bubbling source in the mountains of Mallerstang, through the steep gorges and cascades of Hell Gill, past our old family home at Langwathby, the deep sandstone ravines and rapids of Armathwaite, to the wide floodplains of Carlisle and out into the mud flats, estuary and sands of the Solway Firth and the Irish Sea, we swam, scrambled, crawled, walked, jumped, climbed and floated every single inch,” said the brothers afterwards.
Their exploits have already raised £2,200 for The Swimming Trust, and are aiming for a total of £2,500 (donate here). Every penny of the money raised will be put back into swimming through setting up a bursary scheme in Cumbria to help more swimming teachers gain their level 2 qualification.
Three key takeaways
For all 220 readers inspired by the Wild Swimming Brothers’ exploits, they offer three tips for planning your own river swim:
1. Trek to the source of a river, It’s fascinating, bizarre and will give you a totally different perspective on them. The Eden bubbles up from the ground at the top of a mountain, a deep dark hole belching up murky brown water which flowed through a deep soggy bog before cascading down a ravine, truly awesome!
2. Never underestimate the power of duct tape.
3. There are adventures to be had in the places you least expect.
“We would like to say HUGE thank you’s to every single person that has helped, supported, fed, advised, housed, donated, given us fresh milk, kayaked, swam with us and been part of this adventure,” say Robbie, Calum and Jack.
“We’d like to give a special thank you to James Silson who was alongside us every single mile, we couldn’t have done it without him, an honorary brother! Also David Ronton who kayaked five full days with us and kept us motivated and supplied us with whisky.
“Also our Dad Ralph Hudson who was a crucial support car, all round fixer and cartographer. Finally our Mum Tina Wild who appeared countless times out of nowhere to rescue us when we were at our lowest points and in dire need of food and support. Truly a team effort and something we will never forget!”
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Head to our Training section for lots more open-water swimming advice