Overcast and frankly dismal conditions in Edmonton, Canada today, yet Vicky Holland didn’t slow down for the World Triathlon Series’ penultimate stop, coming away with her second gold of 2015 after a ferocious run.
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Despite recent algae worries the swim went ahead as planned with a beach start replacing the more usual pontoon. Water temps of 16.1°C were brisk but better than the ambient temperature of 7.6°C. Carolina Routier (ESP) led out of the one-lap swim as she so often does, but two Brits were mere seconds behind – Helen Jenkins in 3rd, and Holland in sixth.
Among the lead pack Flora Duffy (BER), Ashleigh Gentle (AUS), Pamela Oliveira (BRA) and Holland all shared the load at the sharp end, while Non Stanford (GBR) had plenty to do at the front of a chase group nearly 1min back.
Kirsten Sweetland (CAN) and Ashleigh Gentle (AUS) managed to effect a breakaway just before the end of lap two on the bike, edging a 10sec gap over the chase pack led by Stanford. Meanwhile, at the front, Flora Duffy made a break for it but was reeled back in by Oliveira. Australia’s Emma Moffat took her turn at the front, her running abilities well known to the others.
Spot the blue carpet from over #WTSEdmonton. LIVE in 5. www.triathlon http://t.co/riRXm1qKhn pic.twitter.com/kBqDcJtOMD
— World Triathlon (@worldtriathlon) September 6, 2015
Lingering surface water meant the frequent corners had to be negotiated carefully as the lead pack closed the final kilometres before T2. Germany’s Anja Knapp had a dream transition, practically flawless, but once Holland had got her running shoes on she wasted no time getting going.
Within minutes Holland had caught and overtaken Knapp, and she quickly assumed pole position with Flora Duffy just behind. There was no respite for the Bermudan though, as Holland kept her cadence high and the gap grew bigger and bigger.
Come the final stages and there could only be one result, Holland looking the best runner out there by a country mile. She crossed the line in 58:55mins, followed by Duffy and Gillian Backhouse (AUS).
Never been so cold in my life! But still all smiles for the @BritTri girls in post race anti doping #WTSEdmonton pic.twitter.com/xf9drnHs0x
There was a well-deserved win for South Africa’s Richard Murray at WTS Edmonton yesterday, showing great running strength to pull away from series leader Javier Gomez in chilly, wintry conditions.
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Raoul Shaw (FRA) and Eric Lagerstrom (USA) led the men out of the quick 750m one-lap swim and into T1. With no time to create a gap, a group of just over 20 men formed together to make up the lead pack on the four-lap 20km bike.
Tucked safely inside the lead group were pre-race heavyweights Murray, Gomez, and Vincent Luis (FRA), while Aaron Royle (AUS) and Tom Bishop (GBR) consistently hammered away at the front.
However, their efforts weren’t enough to keep away the chasers, which included Mola, from bridging up as more than 40 men came together at the end of the third bike lap.
Britain’s Tom Bishop on the bike at WTS Edmonton
Off the bike, Murray and his South African teammate Wian Sullwald gunned to the front of the pack early on the first of three run laps. But by the end of that lap, Murray had pulled away and Gomez – who won WTS Stockholm two weeks ago followed by a bronze at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships last weekend – showed his tenacity and went with him.
Behind them, Royle ran past Sullwald in an effort to repeat his WTS Stockholm podium. But it wasn’t to be as Mola mustered up the guts to overtake the Australian on the second lap.
While Gomez stayed on Murray’s hip throughout the run, the South African was just too strong on Sunday as he lengthened his stride and pulled far enough away on the last lap to keep the reigning World Champ at a great enough distance to win the race.
A moment that stands in time …. Emotions running wild through me . @WTS_Edmonton worth ever sweat and shiver pic.twitter.com/xopbxyQsqf
— Richard Murray (@RD_murray) September 7, 2015
Gomez held the pace to keep himself in second, and Mola crossed over with the third fastest race of the day in bronze medal position. Britain’s Tom Bishop finished eleventh. Full results here.
“Javi was hanging on the whole time and I really had to give it everything,” said Murray afterwards. “I had some issues at the start of the day. I broke my swim cap, I had to give it everything in the end. My swim was much better than last year, and I managed to push hard on the bike.”
Mola meanwhile reflected on a difficult day’s work: “It’s been the toughest hour of my life. I kept thinking it wasn’t going to end. It was good for me with third. It was important for me to get a good result here to be able to fight for the World Championship in Chicago. Javi isn’t going to make it easy for me.”
These results mean that Gomez remains top of the leaderboard with 3820pts, but Mola sits just 225pts behind with two weeks to go until the World Champs in Chicago.
Vincent Luis (FRA) moved into third over Spaniard Fernando Alarza. Luis’ fourth place finish makes him just 277 points behind leader Gomez.
Likewise, Murray’s win makes him fourth in the rankings with just 530 points separating the top four men, meaning any of them could be named World Champion on September 19. Full rankings.
World Triathlon Series rankings
1.
Javier Gomez Noya
ESP
3820
2.
Mario Mola
ESP
3595
3.
Vincent Luis
FRA
3543
4.
Richard Murray
RSA
3290
5.
Fernando Alarza
ESP
2961
6.
Ryan Bailie
AUS
2601
7.
Henri Schoeman
RSA
2518
8.
Joao Pereira
POR
2344
9.
Alistair Brownlee
GBR
2340
10.
Vicente Hernandez
ESP
2321
(Images: Rich Cruse / ITU)
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What did you think of the race? Let us know in the comments below!
There were two familiar faces on the podium at the 2015 ITU Powerman Long Distance Duathlon World Championships in Switzerland over the weekend: Britain’s Emma Pooley and France’s Gaël Le Bellec both defended their 2014 titles.
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Former pro cyclist Pooley finished the challenging route (10km run/150km bike/30km) in 7:01:49, more than 10mins ahead of Germany’s Julia Viellehner who celebrated her 30th birthday on race day. Denmark’s Susanne Svendsen finished third.
Gael Le Bellec wins ITU Powerman Long Distance Duathlon World Champs 2015
In the men’s race, Le Bellec finished the route in 6:20:36, more than 4mins ahead of Belgium’s Seppe Odeyn, who jumped on the podium with second. Denmark’s Søren Bystrup repeated his third place from last year. Overall there where more than 1,400 competitors over the whole Powerman Zofingen weekend.
(Images: Raphael Galliker)
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It seems only fitting that in an event billed as one of the world’s toughest endurance races, the 10th aniversary of ÖtillÖ should see an epic battle to the finish.
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220 Triathlon were out in Sweden following the events, as 120 teams took on the 26 islands and sea stretches making up Stockholm’s archipelago. In the men’s race, we saw a front group of teams play to their respective swim and run strengths putting on thrilling performances over the 75km swim-run course. Swedish team Addnature Osterjosimmet led for much of the race – no surprise as both members, Simon Borjeson and Rasmus Regnstrand, are experienced racers and used to training in tough conditions, recently completing a swim-run from Sweden to Finland!
Borjeson and Regnstrand completed the infamous 1.4km swim leg of the race against a strong current known as the ‘pig swim’ in just 23mins – a section that takes many competitors an hour. Occurring in the middle part of the race, when athletes have already been facing the gruelling trail runs and sea swims for five hours or more, it is notorious for throwing racers off course and sapping energy.
With a gap of 11mins at one point on the course, Borjeson and Regnstrand were looking strong for the win, however the second part of the race focusses more on trail running, with one section from Orno to Angsholmen totalling almost half marathon distance. With both the 2014 and 2013 race winners on their heels, nothing was certain and in the end it was the other team’s running strength that saw them clinch the victory.
Finishing strong
Crossing the line first in 8:29:11 and visibly emotional were Team Head Swimming, comprising Bjorn Englund and Paul Krochak, who won in 2013. “It took so much morale and character for us to catch them,” said Englund. “We kept good pace but had mixed emotions [when we passed them]. We were so tired but we wanted to look so strong! We hammered it to the finish. Paul was so strong, I thought I was going to faint at one point but he kept us going.”
When asked about race conditions Englund said: “The conditions were tough. I don’t think the waves have been this big in my seven years here.” Last year’s winners and course record holders Lennart Moberg and Daniel Hansson came in second, with Borjeson and Regnstrand finishing fourth.
Record smashed
The mixed race was no less exciting, with a course record being set by winners Steffan Bjorklund and Marika Wagner who finished fifth overall in 8:55:39 and took nearly an hour off the course record. Wagner said: “It’s been a great day. We have been solid and not too stressed about other teams or times – just doing our own thing! It’s been a tough race, but solid. Our plan was not to get too eager in the beginning but to keep good pace.”
In the women’s race, first place was taken by Sweden’s Annika Ericsson and Maya Tesch in 10:30:36, while several GB athletes on the course also put in strong performances. Mark Threlfall and Jack Grundy of T3 Triathlon came ninth overall in 9:24:41, while Bike Science’s Ed Charlton-Weedy and Paul Horsfall finished in 10:30:19. Also competing for GB was Pippa Middleton who, along with many other teams, was still on the course at the time of publishing. To find out how her and the rest of the competitors got on, see OtillO’s live tracking here.
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We’ll be posting a gallery of images from the race online soon. Plus, don’t miss the next issue of 220 Triathlon for a full feature on the development of swim-run racing including tips on how to try the format yourself.
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There are four British men on the list: Tim Don, Joe Skipper, David McNamee and Fraser Cartmell. Out of this four, Don is ranked highest thanks to a raft of strong performances that have included wins at Ironman 70.3 Monterrey, Ironman 70.3 Latin American Champs Brasilia and the Ironman 70.3 North American Champs St. George. He also came second at Ironman 70.3 Boulder, and could deliver big things on his Hawaii debut.
Joe Skipper comes third at Ironman UK
Joe Skipper meanwhile has enjoyed a stellar 2015 that included fastest bike leg at Ironman Texas, third at the ITU Long Distance World Champs and third at Ironman UK. It was David McNamee, racing his first M-dot season since leaving ITU racing, who won Ironman UK this year in a time of 8:46:37. Cartmell top results this year include second at Ironman UK, and sixth at Ironman 70.3 Kraichgau.
Top name on the men’s starting list? 2014 champ Sebastian Kienle, of course. The German superbiker won Ironman 70.3 Kraichgau back in June, and came second at Ironman Frankfurt. It was his compatriot Jan Frodeno who won out at the Ironman European Champs, and Frodeno sits second in the rankings thanks to a win at the 70.3 Worlds recently.
Jan Frodeno wins Ironman 70.3 World Champs 2015 (image: Nils Nilsen/Ironman)
Other top-ranked men include 2013 Kona champ Frederik Van Lierde (BEL), Ben Hoffman (USA) who came second last year, multiple Escape from Alcatraz winner Andy Potts (USA), Nils Frommhold (GER) and Timothy Van Berkel (AUS). Bart Aernouts (BEL), Lionel Sanders (CAN) and Ronnie Schildknecht (SUI) round out the top ten on the start list.
Female starters
Among the 42 pro women on the start list, there are six British names: Jodie Swallow, Rachel Joyce, Leanda Cave, Lucy Gossage, Susie Cheetham and Corinne Abraham.
Jodie Swallow wins Challenge Dubai
Out of this six, Swallow is highest ranked in third position, thanks to a superb 2015 that’s included smashing the course record at the Ironman Africa Champs in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Joyce meanwhile finished one place higher than Swallow in Kona last year, where she grabbed third place.
Rachel Joyce on the run at Kona 2014 (image: Paul Phillips)
“I feel like things have come right this year at the right time,” Joyce tells 220. “Bring on Kona. I am hungry to get back there.”
Gossage and Cheetham have both enjoyed a string of good M-dot results this year, including wins at Ironman 70.3 Staffs and Ironman UK for Gossage, and 70.3 Dublin for Cheetham. They both shared the podium with Swallow in Port Elizabeth. Cave and Abraham are ranked 10th and 35th respectively.
No surprise that top-ranked female is 2014 winner Mirinda Carfrae (AUS), who’s had a quiet season so far, placing seventh at Ironman Melbourne and third at 70.3 Vineman. The Aussie rocket presents a huge threat off the bike though: “You can never have too many world titles,” she told 220 last year, after clawing back a 14min deficit at Kona last year to beat Brett Sutton’s protégeé Daniela Ryf (SUI).
Daniela Ryf wins Ironman Frankfurt
Ryf just won the 70.3 World Champs in Austria however, and presents a growing threat to the crown. She also won Challenge Dubai in hot temps last February. We’d be surprised if she didn’t reach the podium this year.
Rounding out the top-ten women are Caroline Steffen (SUI), Julia Gajer (GER), The USA’s ‘Honey Badger’ Mary Beth Ellis, Gina Crawford (NZL) and Meredith Kessler (USA).
Among the notable absences this year are Craig Alexander and Yvonne van Vlerken, who are taking a pass this year, while Linsey Corbin and Sonja Tajsich have or are dealing with injuries.
Full Kona start list.
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Who do you think will win Kona 2015? Let us know in the comments below!
A major new event is coming to the 2016 race calendar – Windsor Duathlon, which will host no fewer than five British Championships plus the opportunity to qualify for the Great Britain Age-Group Team.
Organised by British Triathlon, it will be held in the magnificent setting of Windsor Great Park on 3rd April 2016. Places are limited to just 1,000 spots across mass participation sprint and standard distance races.
The full list of British Champs hosted at Windsor Duathlon is as follows:
· British Age-Group Standard Distance Duathlon Champs (GB Age-Group qualifier) · British Elite Senior Duathlon Championships · British Elite Youth Duathlon Championships · British Elite Junior Duathlon Championships · British Paraduathlon Championships
The sprint races will involve a 5km run followed by a 20km bike, finishing with a 2.5km run. The standard distance doubles that (10km/40km/5km), and there will also be a relay (5km run, 20km bike, 2.5km run) and paraduathlon (5km run, 20km bike, 2.5km run) races.
Windsor Castle, viewed from the Long Walk
“This is an event that is set to become one of the real highlights in the world of multisport,” said British Triathlon’s director for major and national events, Jon Ridgeon. “With British titles available for both elite and age-group competitors alongside sprint, standard, relay and paraduathlon races for newcomers to the sport, this will be a true festival of duathlon.”
To register your interest in taking part in Windsor Duathlon, visit www.windsorduathlon.com. Registration will ensure you are the first to hear about entries opening to the general public.
Home Nation members will receive an exclusive priority entry window that will begin on 1 October 2015. To join your Home Nation in advance of entries opening, visit www.britishtriathlon.org/join.
(Images: Peter Suranyi / Diliff)
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If you’re an aspiring GB age-grouper or championship contender then have a look at these dates for British Triathlon’s major events calendar for 2016, featuring five draft-legal races among the team qualifiers.
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The full calendar includes all Triathlon England and British Triathlon Age-Group Championships, as well as the Great Britain Age-Group Team qualification events taking place next season.
Great Britain Age-Group Team ITU/ETU Championship Qualifiers
Next year’s calendar has six qualification events for the 2016 ITU Sprint and Standard Distance Triathlon World Championships, and five qualifiers for 2016 ITU Sprint and Standard Distance Duathlon World Championships.
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With next year’s ITU Sprint Distance Triathlon and Duathlon World Champs being made draft-legal, British Triathlon has made all domestic qualifying races draft-legal to get British athletes ready.
The draft-legal triathlon qualifiers include Eton Dorney on May 22, Strathclyde Multisport Festival on June 5, and Llandudno Sea Triathlon on June 19.
The draft-legal duathlon qualifiers include Oulton Park on March 6, and Bedford Autodrome on March 13.
British Triathlon Age-Group Championships 2016
The 2016 British Triathlon Age-Group Championships will get started with the newly-announced Windsor Duathlon on 3 April 2016.
The British Sprint Distance Triathlon Championships will take place at the Big Cow Sprint Triathlon on 15 May 2016, followed by the British Middle Distance Triathlon Championships on 22 May 2016 hosted at the Grafman.
The British Standard Distance Triathlon Championships return to Tri Liverpool on 14 August 2016.
Triathlon England National Championships 2016
The Triathlon England – National Championships kick-off with the National Duathlon Championships at Stockton Duathlon Festival on 24 April 2016.
The National Standard Distance Triathlon Championships will take place at St Neots Triathlon on 8 May 2016, whilst World Triathlon Leeds will host the National Aquathlon Championships on 11 June 2016.
Leeds Castle Triathlon will host the National Sprint Distance Triathlon Championships on 25 June 2016, with the National Relay Championships taking place at the Triathlon Relays in late August (date TBC).
The final Championship of the year, the National Middle Distance Triathlon Championships takes place at Vitruvian Triathlon on 10 September 2016.
The full British Triathlon events calendar for 2016 can be found here.
(Images: British Triathlon)
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Did you race Helvellyn Triathlon last weekend? The Lake District enjoyed plenty of sunshine for this year’s race – but it’s still one of the hardest on the UK calendar.
After swimming 1.6km in crystal clear Ullswater lake, athletes must face ‘The Struggle’ on the 60km bike leg, involving 455m of climbing to the top of Kirkstone Pass, finishing with a 14km run up and down the mountain of Helvellyn (950m).
This year’s men’s race was won by Alex Lawton, who set a new course record of 3:27:05 – more than 1min faster than 2007 winner Alistair Brownlee – while Bonnie Van Wilgenburg won the women’s race in 4:18:23. Full results here.
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Overall winner Alex Lawton
‘Lanterne Rouge’ carrier Peter Ball, who finished in 8:27hrs
A match for the AEW Women’s World title has been announced for Double or Nothing.
AEW confirmed tonight on Dynamite that Hikaru Shida will defend the title against Britt Baker at Double or Nothing on May 30 . The two have been feuding in recent weeks, with the storyline being that Baker has racked up victories on Dark and Dark: Elevation, putting her at the top of the women’s division rankings.
In recent months, Shida has defended the AEW Women’s title against Ryo Mizunami, Abadon, and most recently Tay Conti on the April 21 edition of Dynamite. After Shida successfully retained the title, Baker came out and showed a graphic of her officially becoming the number one contender.
The AEW Women’s Championship match is the first match to be announced for Double or Nothing, which is expected to be the first AEW event with a full capacity crowd since March of 2020. A number one contender’s match between PAC and Orange Cassidy will determine Kenny Omega’s opponent for the show on next week’s Dynamite, and Cody Rhodes will make a major announcement regarding Double or Nothing on the same show.
In contrast to last year, the 2015 edition of Challenge Weymouth brought calm seas for the thousands racing on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast earlier today.
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Britain’s Stephen Bayliss was first out the water in 50:06mins with Jaroslav Kovacic (SLO) just one second behind him and Marek Jaskolka (POL) 1:30mins further back.
And so this group of three remained for the first lap of the bike with a chase group five minutes back led by Chris Fischer (DEN) and including Graham Stewart (GBR) and David Näsvik (SWE).
However, by 99km it was all change with Jaskolka breaking away, Bayliss dropping back and Fischer and Stewart picking up the pace to chase Jaskolka. Jaskolka’s calculated decision to break away paid off and he proved uncatchable for the rest of the race, posting a 2:57hrs marathon split to take the win and European title.
Meanwhile behind him the battle for the podium continued with Näsvik holding second place until the 30km mark when Kovacic proved too fast and overtook. In the meantime Marques had been working his way up the field from seventh place and 16mins down off the bike to round off the podium in third, posting the fastest run split of the day in 2:45:19. Stewart was top-placing Brit in fifth.
Women’s race
The women’s race was dominated at the start by Kate Comber (GBR) and Eva Potuckova (CZE) who exited the water first in 57:26. By the second lap of the bike course, Comber had put three minutes into Potuckova and came into T2 2:35mins up.
Up until this point, Sweden’s Camilla Lindholm had been under the radar, playing catch-up after a 1:11hrs swim and not registering on the timing system due to a chip issue. Arriving in T2 in third, she soon made her presence known.
By 10km, she had formed a 1:13min lead over Comber and continued to extend this over the multi-lap course along Weymouth’s beachfront promenade, taking the European title 10:50mins ahead of second-placed Comber. Vicky Gill rounded off the women’s podium in 9:53:26.
Men’s results
1. Marek Jaskolka (POL) – 8:42:32 2. Jaroslav Kovacic (SLO) – 8:45:51 3. Sergio Marques (POR) – 8:46:51 4. David Näsvik (SWE) – 8:51:38 5. Graeme Stewart (GBR) – 8:53:04