Nottingham hosted its debut ITU Mixed Relay World Series event today in the East Midlands, with the four-strong American team victorious after a fast and frenetic race.
Advertisement
The Brits – featuring a crack team of 2013 ITU World Champ Non Stanford, Derby’s ITU podium athlete Tom Bishop, Olympic Games bronze medallist Vicky Holland and two-time Olympic medallist Jonny Brownlee – had to settle for silver, but it did little to dampen the lively East Midlands atmosphere.
18 women are in the water and the debut #WTSNottingham#TriMixedRelay race has officially begun! Head on over to https://t.co/1kfqlhUSgA to catch this action for the next 1.5 hours! pic.twitter.com/0LsuzSU0Bf
— TriathlonLIVE (@triathlonlive) June 7, 2018
After its breakthrough event at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014, Mixed Relay has since been added to the Olympic Games schedule for 2020 and has witnessed the ITU create the Mixed Relay World Series, with the first 2018 leg taking place in Nottingham before heading to Hamburg and Edmonton in Canada.
BROWNLEE BATTLES
The first women’s leg began with a 300m swim in the River Trent, before a 6.6km bike and 1.5km run along the Victoria Embankment. Team France would end the first leg in first, with Stanford in fifth, before Derbyshire’s Bishop moved up to fourth on leg two.
The American Katie Zafares seized the initiative from the French on leg three, and had created a sizeable 35-second lead for the final U.S. athlete, Matthew McElroy, by the final swim in the Trent.
If local legend Brian Clough was said to walk on the River Trent, Jonny Brownlee would need to run on it to cut into the American lead and the Brit started in relentless fashion, already shaving that lead down to 23secs after the swim.
Onto the bike and Jonny Brownlee was flying in front of the partisan crowds, cutting into the American lead once more. But with just a 6km bike leg, would he have enough time to catch Matthew McElroy?
USA have a healthy lead but @jonny_brownlee will go on the hunt in second #WTSNottingham pic.twitter.com/U6P4yzP1oI
— British Triathlon (@BritTri) June 7, 2018
The frenetic pace perhaps inevitably dropped late onto the bike and the American entered T2 with their 30-second margin reestablished.
Advertisement
With rain beginning to fall, the 1.5km run proved just too short for the younger Brownlee to step into the lead, and the American team added the gold to go with their Mixed Relay world champs silver from 2017. Brownlee would cement the silver for GB before the French took bronze.
The Leeds-based sports nutrition company OTE Sports have become Alistair and Jonny’s official sports nutrition partner, helping them to hydrate, fuel, perform and recover with OTE’s range of energy gels, bars and drinks.
Advertisement
OTE Sports have revealed the partnership on the eve of the AJ Bell World Triathlon Series event in Leeds which the Brownlee brothers where instrumental in bringing to their home city for the first time in 2016.
Alistair, who retained the Olympic triathlon title at Rio 2016 following his Gold at London 2012 said: “I’m excited to be teaming up with OTE at a time when I’m taking part in some longer distance triathlons and fuelling strategies become even more important.”
Jonny Brownlee added “I’ve been using OTE products for some time now and I’m a big fan of the gels, drinks and Duo Bars in particular. Hydration will be a key focus for me as I start to build towards Tokyo 2020 so I’m looking forward to working closely with the OTE team.”
Alistair added: “It’s also great to be involved with another Yorkshire company who pride themselves on using natural ingredients and creating sports nutrition products that are super effective but also tastes great and are gentle on the stomach.”
Matt Harrison, managing director at OTE Sports said: “We’re extremely proud to reveal this exciting partnership with Alistair and Jonny and are looking forward to supporting them both with OTE’s natural sports nutrition products so they can compete at their best.”
Pete Slater, technical director at OTE Sports added: “I’ve been a triathlete for over 30 years now and worked in the sports nutrition industry for 25 years. We’re really looking forward to working closely with both Alistair and Jonny on further product innovation and also on nutritional strategies for longer distance racing.”
Jonny is aiming for another strong performance at the 2018 ITU Leeds race in front of a 50,000 strong home crowd following his second place finishes behind Alistair in 2016 and 2017.
5,000 people will take part in the amateur events across the weekend, from juniors and novices, to leading amateur athletes competing on the same course as the elites in the British Standard Distance Age-Group Triathlon Championships. OTE Sports will have an exhibition stand at Roundhay Park over the weekend to provide attendees with product samples, nutrition advice and exclusive promotions including the chance to get your hands on an OTE bottle signed by Alistair and Jonny.
Keen observers may also have noticed the OTE Sports logo on Jonny’s tri suit for the first time at the relay event in Nottingham on Thursday evening.
The partnership will see OTE Sports become Alistair and Jonny’s official sports nutrition partner, helping them to hydrate, fuel, perform and recover using our full range of award winning energy gels, bars and drinks.
To celebrate their partnership with the Brownlees OTE are giving 20% OFF their products this weekend!* Just enter the code OTEXBROWNLEE at the checkout to get your discount.
The Leeds-based sports nutrition company OTE Sports have become Alistair and Jonny’s official sports nutrition partner, helping them to hydrate, fuel, perform and recover with OTE’s range of energy gels, bars and drinks.
Advertisement
OTE Sports have revealed the partnership on the eve of the AJ Bell World Triathlon Series event in Leeds which the Brownlee brothers where instrumental in bringing to their home city for the first time in 2016.
Alistair, who retained the Olympic triathlon title at Rio 2016 following his Gold at London 2012 said: “I’m excited to be teaming up with OTE at a time when I’m taking part in some longer distance triathlons and fuelling strategies become even more important.”
Jonny Brownlee added “I’ve been using OTE products for some time now and I’m a big fan of the gels, drinks and Duo Bars in particular. Hydration will be a key focus for me as I start to build towards Tokyo 2020 so I’m looking forward to working closely with the OTE team.”
Alistair added: “It’s also great to be involved with another Yorkshire company who pride themselves on using natural ingredients and creating sports nutrition products that are super effective but also tastes great and are gentle on the stomach.”
Matt Harrison, managing director at OTE Sports said: “We’re extremely proud to reveal this exciting partnership with Alistair and Jonny and are looking forward to supporting them both with OTE’s natural sports nutrition products so they can compete at their best.”
Pete Slater, technical director at OTE Sports added: “I’ve been a triathlete for over 30 years now and worked in the sports nutrition industry for 25 years. We’re really looking forward to working closely with both Alistair and Jonny on further product innovation and also on nutritional strategies for longer distance racing.”
Jonny is aiming for another strong performance at the 2018 ITU Leeds race in front of a 50,000 strong home crowd following his second place finishes behind Alistair in 2016 and 2017.
5,000 people will take part in the amateur events across the weekend, from juniors and novices, to leading amateur athletes competing on the same course as the elites in the British Standard Distance Age-Group Triathlon Championships. OTE Sports will have an exhibition stand at Roundhay Park over the weekend to provide attendees with product samples, nutrition advice and exclusive promotions including the chance to get your hands on an OTE bottle signed by Alistair and Jonny.
Keen observers may also have noticed the OTE Sports logo on Jonny’s tri suit for the first time at the relay event in Nottingham on Thursday evening.
The partnership will see OTE Sports become Alistair and Jonny’s official sports nutrition partner, helping them to hydrate, fuel, perform and recover using our full range of award winning energy gels, bars and drinks.
To celebrate their partnership with the Brownlees OTE are giving 20% OFF their products this weekend!* Just enter the code OTEXBROWNLEE at the checkout to get your discount.
Sunday 10th of June started grey and overcast in Leeds, forcing organisers to cut the age-group swim to 750m due low visibility in Roundhay Park. But as the clocked ticked round to 1:06pm – the women’s start time – it was clear blue skies and air temps of 26°C.
Advertisement
With Series leader Flora Duffy (BER) a DNS due to a foot injury, number.1 status passed to Katie Zaferes (USA), who had celebrated becoming World Relays Champs with Team USA just three days earlier.
For Team GB, race morning brought with it the disappointing news that Non Stanford, who had helped Team GB to Relays silver, had had to pull out due to sickness. But with a five-strong showing for GB’s ladies, hopes were still high for a podium finish.
The day started strong with Leeds’ lass Jess Learmonth first out of the 1.5km swim and first into T1. But in her wake, came the forboding US trio of Zaferes, Summer Cook and Taylor Spivey. But she wasn’t alone for long as teammate Vicky Holland ran in for fifth.
Frustratingly, Holland just missed the lead quartet as they shot out of Roundhay and hit started their assault of Leeds’ streets. Cook couldn’t stick with the pace though, and soon fell back into the vast chase group, which was 30+ athletes by the end of lap one of seven on the 40km course.
Over the next six laps, a lead that had started at 50secs plus, was gradually chipped away until it was less than 10ecs at the end of lap 6. Lap six also saw the demise of GB’s Jodie Stimpson and Ashleigh Gentle (AUS), the former due to a puncture, the latter unknown at time of print.
Halfway through the final lap, one large group had formed at the front, obliterating the work the leading trio had put in since leaving T1. In a complete mix in T2, it was GB’s Sophie Coldwell and Georgia Taylor-Brown who capitalised on the scrum, pulling ahead on the first lap of four over the 10km run. Zaferes looked like she was going to make a move on the two Brits, but instead started going backwards as Coldwell pulled out a comfortable lead by the end of lap two.
With 6km to go, it was Coldwell, Holland and Traylor-Brown who had command of the British race. But it was experience that ruled the day, as the Rio bronze medallist took the lead with 5km to go. Taylor-Brown, meanwhile, moved into second and Coldwell third… until Zaferes swept into view for that final podium spot.
And so it was that Holland took her first WTS race in three years, becoming the first British woman to take the tape at the home race. In a career best, Taylor-Brown ran through for second, Zaferes third to take the Series lead.
“I battled and battled to stay with that lead group on the swim,” said Holland at the finish, “which put me in no man’s land at the start of the bike, and I was in lactic debt! Then the British girls were all so strong on the bike, and made my life really really hard all day long!
“It was only that very final bit of the run, on the hill, where I thought ‘okay, you’ve got this now, you’re going to win this.’
“To win in Leeds, it couldn’t have happened in a better place for me. Absolutely unbelievable, amazing day.”
“I wasn’t expecting a great deal, to be honest,” said Taylor-Brown post-race. “I just wanted to enjoy it!
“On the bike, when we made a big group I just thought ‘I really don’t want this many people’. But I was really happy that we managed to get the group a bit smaller by T2. And then even on the run, when I was second behind Sophie [Coldwell] I thought ‘what have I done? Why am in second? This is not going to end well.’ And I felt like I was shuffling. But I managed to hang on somehow, but I don’t think anyone ran fast today. It was just survival out there.
“Running in for second and seeing Vicky with open arms, it definitely gave me goosebumps all over my body, it’s an amazing feeling and I definitely want it again.”
Learmonth, who finished eighth at the line after spending most of the day up front, was as honest and self-deprecating as ever: “Yeah it was pretty horrendous. I was absolutely screwed after T2, this course doesn’t let up. To see your lead whittle down is just really depressing, knowing that everyone is going to be fresher than you. I could hardly get my bike in! but I’m still happy, I loved it! It could have just have been better!”
Sunday 10th of June started grey and overcast in Leeds, forcing organisers to cut the age-group swim to 750m due low visibility in Roundhay Park. But as the clocked ticked round to 1:06pm – the women’s start time – it was clear blue skies and air temps of 26°C.
Advertisement
With Series leader Flora Duffy (BER) a DNS due to a foot injury, number.1 status passed to Katie Zaferes (USA), who had celebrated becoming World Relays Champs with Team USA just three days earlier.
For Team GB, race morning brought with it the disappointing news that Non Stanford, who had helped Team GB to Relays silver, had had to pull out due to sickness. But with a five-strong showing for GB’s ladies, hopes were still high for a podium finish.
The day started strong with Leeds’ lass Jess Learmonth first out of the 1.5km swim and first into T1. But in her wake, came the forboding US trio of Zaferes, Summer Cook and Taylor Spivey. But she wasn’t alone for long as teammate Vicky Holland ran in for fifth.
Frustratingly, Holland just missed the lead quartet as they shot out of Roundhay and hit started their assault of Leeds’ streets. Cook couldn’t stick with the pace though, and soon fell back into the vast chase group, which was 30+ athletes by the end of lap one of seven on the 40km course.
Over the next six laps, a lead that had started at 50secs plus, was gradually chipped away until it was less than 10ecs at the end of lap 6. Lap six also saw the demise of GB’s Jodie Stimpson and Ashleigh Gentle (AUS), the former due to a puncture, the latter unknown at time of print.
Halfway through the final lap, one large group had formed at the front, obliterating the work the leading trio had put in since leaving T1. In a complete mix in T2, it was GB’s Sophie Coldwell and Georgia Taylor-Brown who capitalised on the scrum, pulling ahead on the first lap of four over the 10km run. Zaferes looked like she was going to make a move on the two Brits, but instead started going backwards as Coldwell pulled out a comfortable lead by the end of lap two.
With 6km to go, it was Coldwell, Holland and Traylor-Brown who had command of the British race. But it was experience that ruled the day, as the Rio bronze medallist took the lead with 5km to go. Taylor-Brown, meanwhile, moved into second and Coldwell third… until Zaferes swept into view for that final podium spot.
And so it was that Holland took her first WTS race in three years, becoming the first British woman to take the tape at the home race. In a career best, Taylor-Brown ran through for second, Zaferes third to take the Series lead.
“I battled and battled to stay with that lead group on the swim,” said Holland at the finish, “which put me in no man’s land at the start of the bike, and I was in lactic debt! Then the British girls were all so strong on the bike, and made my life really really hard all day long!
“It was only that very final bit of the run, on the hill, where I thought ‘okay, you’ve got this now, you’re going to win this.’
“To win in Leeds, it couldn’t have happened in a better place for me. Absolutely unbelievable, amazing day.”
“I wasn’t expecting a great deal, to be honest,” said Taylor-Brown post-race. “I just wanted to enjoy it!
“On the bike, when we made a big group I just thought ‘I really don’t want this many people’. But I was really happy that we managed to get the group a bit smaller by T2. And then even on the run, when I was second behind Sophie [Coldwell] I thought ‘what have I done? Why am in second? This is not going to end well.’ And I felt like I was shuffling. But I managed to hang on somehow, but I don’t think anyone ran fast today. It was just survival out there.
“Running in for second and seeing Vicky with open arms, it definitely gave me goosebumps all over my body, it’s an amazing feeling and I definitely want it again.”
Learmonth, who finished eighth at the line after spending most of the day up front, was as honest and self-deprecating as ever: “Yeah it was pretty horrendous. I was absolutely screwed after T2, this course doesn’t let up. To see your lead whittle down is just really depressing, knowing that everyone is going to be fresher than you. I could hardly get my bike in! but I’m still happy, I loved it! It could have just have been better!”
Advertisement
Coldwell rounded out the Brit finishers in 12th.
ICYMI, this happened today! Congratulations to @vixholland Phenomenal performance in bloody hot conditions!!! Smashed it
Buoyed by the glorious British weather, the crowds came out in force today to cheer on their hometown hero, Jonny Brownlee; the sole Brownlee racing as brother Alistair pulled out a week ago with an Achilles injury.
Advertisement
Hoping to spoil the crowd’s day was one of the strongest fields we’ve seen all season, including Commonwealth victor Henri Schoeman (RSA), Series leader Mario Mola, bike supremo Kristian Blummenfelt of Norway and the consistently swift runner Richard Murray.
Sticking to the well-worn script, Richard Varga was first out of the 1.5km swim, pulling in a group of 12, which included Brownlee and Schoeman.
For the first half of the seven-lap 40km run, there wasn’t much movement, just a couple of attempted, albeit short-lived, breakaways; the first from Ben Kanute (USA), the second from Schoeman and Le Corre.
But try as they might, the lead group just couldn’t hold off the chasing pack, which boasted the likes of Blummenfelt, Murray and Mola; the gap closed permanently with just three laps to go.
British hopes were further dashed with one lap to go, when a visibly distressed Brownlee was seen hanging off the back of the group.
Out of T2, and it was Murray who led the way, chasing down what would be his first Olympic-distance win in the World Tri Series.
After a troubled 1km of the 10km run, Brownlee called it a day, cluching his stomach and pulling into finish area to disappear into the medical tent.
With Murray having tied up first place, the battle was on for second as Mola exchanged places with the two Frenchman Luis and Pierre Le Corre.
But it was the Spanish flag that would rise over second place on the podium, with Luis edging his teammate for bronze; Mola’s silver also cementing his place at the top of the Series at the halfway point of the year.
GB’s Tom Bishop finished a solid sixth, to the great delight of the home crowds.
Advertisement
For full results, head to www.triathlon.org/results
Buoyed by the glorious British weather, the crowds came out in force today to cheer on their hometown hero, Jonny Brownlee; the sole Brownlee racing as brother Alistair pulled out a week ago with an Achilles injury.
Advertisement
Hoping to spoil the crowd’s day was one of the strongest fields we’ve seen all season, including Commonwealth victor Henri Schoeman (RSA), Series leader Mario Mola, bike supremo Kristian Blummenfelt of Norway and the consistently swift runner Richard Murray.
Sticking to the well-worn script, Richard Varga was first out of the 1.5km swim, pulling in a group of 12, which included Brownlee and Schoeman.
For the first half of the seven-lap 40km run, there wasn’t much movement, just a couple of attempted, albeit short-lived, breakaways; the first from Ben Kanute (USA), the second from Schoeman and Le Corre.
But try as they might, the lead group just couldn’t hold off the chasing pack, which boasted the likes of Blummenfelt, Murray and Mola; the gap closed permanently with just three laps to go.
British hopes were further dashed with one lap to go, when a visibly distressed Brownlee was seen hanging off the back of the group.
Out of T2, and it was Murray who led the way, chasing down what would be his first Olympic-distance win in the World Tri Series.
After a troubled 1km of the 10km run, Brownlee called it a day, cluching his stomach and pulling into finish area to disappear into the medical tent.
With Murray having tied up first place, the battle was on for second as Mola exchanged places with the two Frenchman Luis and Pierre Le Corre.
But it was the Spanish flag that would rise over second place on the podium, with Luis edging his teammate for bronze; Mola’s silver also cementing his place at the top of the Series at the halfway point of the year.
GB’s Tom Bishop finished a solid sixth, to the great delight of the home crowds.
Advertisement
For full results, head to www.triathlon.org/results
One of the most eagerly-awaited full Ironman debuts took place in Cairns, Australia, this weekend when Spanish superstar Javier Gomez took on 226km for the first time.
Advertisement
And the record ITU world championship-winning athlete didn’t disappoint, breaking the eight-hour barrier on debut to finish two minutes down on race winner Braden Currie to clinch silver at the Ironman Asia-Pacific Championship event.
Gomez, the five-time ITU and double Ironman 70.3 world champion and Bahrain Endurance athlete, emerged from the 3.8km sea swim in first place after clocking a swift 46:42 spilt. Onto the bike, and Gomez’s 180km time was 4:25:09, the seventh fastest of the day as Terrenzo Bozzone entered T2 first.
Advertisement
Currie was first to bridge the gap to Bozzone, but Gomez was increasing the pace and moving through the field, catching the two experienced iron athletes at the 14km mark. It would become a duel between Gomez and Currie for the top spot but, with 10km to go, Currie put in the breakaway to produce the win.
One of the most eagerly-awaited full Ironman debuts took place in Cairns, Australia, this weekend when Spanish superstar Javier Gomez took on 226km for the first time.
And the record ITU world championship-winning athlete didn’t disappoint, breaking the eight-hour barrier on debut to finish two minutes down on race winner Braden Currie to clinch silver at the Ironman Asia-Pacific Championship event.
Gomez, the five-time ITU and double Ironman 70.3 world champion and Bahrain Endurance athlete, emerged from the 3.8km sea swim in first place after clocking a swift 46:42 spilt. Onto the bike, and Gomez’s 180km time was 4:25:09, the seventh fastest of the day as Terrenzo Bozzone entered T2 first.
Advertisement
Currie was first to bridge the gap to Bozzone, but Gomez was increasing the pace and moving through the field, catching the two experienced iron athletes at the 14km mark. It would become a duel between Gomez and Currie for the top spot but, with 10km to go, Currie put in the breakaway to produce the win.
Celebrate the build-up to one of the world’s biggest annual sporting events with the ONLY UK Official 2018 Tour de France Race Guide.
Advertisement
Put together by the team behind Procycling magazine, BikeRadar.com and Cyclingnews.com, this year’s guide is out now priced at £9.99 and can be ordered with FREE UK delivery.
Inside your souvenir pack you will find a huge 220-page official programme packed with profiles of every team, stats for every rider, maps of every stage, interviews with the stars, expert analysis and so much more.
In addition to the official programme, the souvenir pack also contains:
* A giant wall chart for filling in the stage winner and jersey holders after each day’s racing
* A 68-page Tour de France Miscellany extracts book packed with tour trivia
* The official full-size fold-out route map
* Limited-edition postcards
Don’t miss out order your copy today with FREE UK delivery. You can purchase it here.
The Official 2018 Tour de France Race Guide is also available as a digital edition for Apple iOS devices, Android or Zinio.