Vicky Holland had the race of her life in Cape Town today, claiming her first WTS title to continue her remarkable comeback from injury.
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The race began in very chilly 11c waters, meaning the swim was reduced to one lap (750m). The cold waters had little effect on the pace and Katy Zaferes in particular, who led the pack out onto the bike in search of her first WTS title.
A group of four formed a front group onto the bike made up of Zaferes (USA), Pamella Oliveira (BRA), Flora Duffy (BER) and Brit Helen Jenkins. Oliveira was quickly dropped and left in no mans land, leaving the top three to try to pull away from the large chasing group, which included Olympic champion Nicola Spirig.
The three leaders were chased down with 26km of the bike to go, creating a very large peloton at the front of the race, with Jenkins still going strong and other British entrants Emma Pallant and Vicky Holland also making the front pack.
Remarkably there were no crashes on the tight and technical bike course despite there being 28 women in the front group – Gillian Sanders (RSA) suffered a mechanical but had already fallen behind the pace.
On the run, Olympic champion Spirig took the initiative and shot out into the lead, but most of the front group kept up and all the pre-race contenders were in contention. All three British women stayed at the front with Sarah True (USA) unable to keep up with the pace, surprisingly set by Vicky Holland who led past the 5km point.
10 women formed the front group heading into the final quarter of the run, made up of the three Brits, three Americans (Zaferes, Kirsten Kasper and Chelsea Burns) three Germans (Sophia Saller, Anne Haug and Rebecca Robisch) and Spirig.
In the most hotly-contested women’s WTS race of the season so far, Holland, Saller, Zaferes, Spirig and Jenkins broke away, but it was Holland who really started to stretch out and created a gap with 1km to go. The gap continued to widen, and Holland looked strong as she approached Green Point Stadium for a lap of the athletics track.
It turned out to be a victory lap for Holland, who had time to spare as she sprinted all the way to the line to finish in 1:49:51. Zaferes held on for 2nd coming in on 1:49:53, and Nicola Spirig took 3rd place. Helen Jenkins had an impressive return from injury coming 7th, and Emma Pallant came 10th meaning all three British women made the top 10.
Holland was understandably emotional at the end of the race, and has no doubt created another welcome headache for British Triathlon’s Olympic selectors for Rio 2016:
“I’ve felt good in training recently and thought a podium finish might be possible if I executed everything perfectly, I really didn’t think I’d win it though!
“The game plan definitely wasn’t to take off with 1km to go, I’m sure my coach would’ve been tearing his hair out but it paid off on the day and I’m absolutely thrilled to come home first!”
(Images: Delly Carr / ITU Media)
Results: Elite Women
1. Vicky Holland (GBR) – 1:49:51
2. Katie Zaferes (USA) – 1:49:53
3. Nicola Spirig (SUI) – 1:49:56
4. Sophia Saller (GER) – 1:50:07
5. Rebecca Robisch (GER) – 1:50:09
6. Kirsten Kasper (USA) – 1:50:10
7. Helen Jenkins (GBR) – 1:50:16
8. Anne Haug (GER) – 1:50:21
9. Chelsea Burns (USA) – 1:50:24
10. Emma Pallant (GBR) – 1:50:34
Series Rankings 2015 after WTS Cape Town
1. Katie Zaferes (USA) – 2905pts
2. Gwen Jorgensen (USA) – 2400pts
3. Sarah True (USA) – 1947pts
4. Andrea Hewitt (NZL) – 1904pts
5. Lindsey Jerdonek (USA) – 1387pts
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What did you think of the race? Let us know in the comments!
Vicky Holland had the race of her life in Cape Town today, claiming her first WTS title to continue her remarkable comeback from injury.
Advertisement
The race began in very chilly 11c waters, meaning the swim was reduced to one lap (750m). The cold waters had little effect on the pace and Katy Zaferes in particular, who led the pack out onto the bike in search of her first WTS title.
A group of four formed a front group onto the bike made up of Zaferes (USA), Pamella Oliveira (BRA), Flora Duffy (BER) and Brit Helen Jenkins. Oliveira was quickly dropped and left in no mans land, leaving the top three to try to pull away from the large chasing group, which included Olympic champion Nicola Spirig.
The three leaders were chased down with 26km of the bike to go, creating a very large peloton at the front of the race, with Jenkins still going strong and other British entrants Emma Pallant and Vicky Holland also making the front pack.
Remarkably there were no crashes on the tight and technical bike course despite there being 28 women in the front group – Gillian Sanders (RSA) suffered a mechanical but had already fallen behind the pace.
On the run, Olympic champion Spirig took the initiative and shot out into the lead, but most of the front group kept up and all the pre-race contenders were in contention. All three British women stayed at the front with Sarah True (USA) unable to keep up with the pace, surprisingly set by Vicky Holland who led past the 5km point.
10 women formed the front group heading into the final quarter of the run, made up of the three Brits, three Americans (Zaferes, Kirsten Kasper and Chelsea Burns) three Germans (Sophia Saller, Anne Haug and Rebecca Robisch) and Spirig.
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In the most hotly-contested women’s WTS race of the season so far, Holland, Saller, Zaferes, Spirig and Jenkins broke away, but it was Holland who really started to stretch out and created a gap with 1km to go. The gap continued to widen, and Holland looked strong as she approached Green Point Stadium for a lap of the athletics track.
It turned out to be a victory lap for Holland, who had time to spare as she sprinted all the way to the line to finish in 1:49:51. Zaferes held on for 2nd coming in on 1:49:53, and Nicola Spirig took 3rd place. Helen Jenkins had an impressive return from injury coming 7th, and Emma Pallant came 10th meaning all three British women made the top 10.
Holland was understandably emotional at the end of the race, and has no doubt created another welcome headache for British Triathlon’s Olympic selectors for Rio 2016:
“I’ve felt good in training recently and thought a podium finish might be possible if I executed everything perfectly, I really didn’t think I’d win it though!
“The game plan definitely wasn’t to take off with 1km to go, I’m sure my coach would’ve been tearing his hair out but it paid off on the day and I’m absolutely thrilled to come home first!”
(Images: Delly Carr / ITU Media)
Results: Elite Women
1. Vicky Holland (GBR) – 1:49:51
2. Katie Zaferes (USA) – 1:49:53
3. Nicola Spirig (SUI) – 1:49:56
4. Sophia Saller (GER) – 1:50:07
5. Rebecca Robisch (GER) – 1:50:09
6. Kirsten Kasper (USA) – 1:50:10
7. Helen Jenkins (GBR) – 1:50:16
8. Anne Haug (GER) – 1:50:21
9. Chelsea Burns (USA) – 1:50:24
10. Emma Pallant (GBR) – 1:50:34
Series Rankings 2015 after WTS Cape Town
1. Katie Zaferes (USA) – 2905pts
2. Gwen Jorgensen (USA) – 2400pts
3. Sarah True (USA) – 1947pts
4. Andrea Hewitt (NZL) – 1904pts
5. Lindsey Jerdonek (USA) – 1387pts
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What did you think of the race? Let us know in the comments!
Alistair Brownlee made an incredible return from injury in Cape Town as he was victorious in his first WTS race of the season, capping off a perfect weekend for British Triathlon as Vicky Holland was also victorious in the women’s race.
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Brownlee’s performance was dominant as he surged away from old rival Javier Gomez Noya with a mile of the run to go, showing no signs of an athlete who was unable to compete in the first three WTS races of the season due to injury.
As in the women’s race yesterday the swim was shortened to 750m due to the very chilly 11c water temperature. Defending title holder from Cape Town 2014 Javier Gomez Noya (ESP) set a blistering pace and was first out of the water, closely followed by the only British entrant and Olympic champion Brownlee, competing in his first World Series race since winning the WTS Grand Final in Edmonton last year.
A huge peloton formed early on the bike course, the shortened swim lending itself an advantage to the weaker swimmers as over half of the 66 competitors found themselves in the lead group.
Whilst the women avoided crashes on the previous day despite a similarly large peloton the men weren’t so lucky, with Lucas Siska (SVK) taking a nasty fall at almost full speed with less than 10km of the bike gone. Lawrence Fanous (JOR) was also caught up in the melee. All the major pre-race favourites including Brownlee, Gomez, Mario Mola (ESP) and Cape Town local Richard Murray (RSA) stayed out of trouble and continued to sit comfortably in the lead group.
With less than half of the bike leg to go the chasing pack merged with the leaders, creating an extraordinarily large number of almost 60 riders at the front, a sight more akin to the Tour de France as opposed to ITU racing.
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Murray decided to inject some pace with around 15km of the bike to go, but no one was willing to take the bait and the group stayed intact. Allessandro Fabian (ITA) also made a break with Murray following but the peloton chased them down with ease.
With so many riders coming into transition positioning was key, and Brownlee read it perfectly as he managed to arrive 1st into T2 as he headed out for the 10km run. Gomez, Murray, Vincent Luis (FRA) and Fernando Alarza (ESP) also followed, forming a front group of 5 in the first mile of the run. Renowned runner Mola led the 2nd group which included Sven Riederer (SUI), but perhaps surprisingly was unable to bridge the gap.
Frustratingly Brownlee took a fall half way through the run meaning Alarza had to effectively hurdle over him as he picked himself up – however Brownlee gritted his teeth and quickly bridged the gap back up to Gomez, Luis and Murray, leaving the fading Alarza behind him.
Four then became three as Luis was dropped, and a familiar sight of Gomez and Brownlee (with the increasingly familiar sight of Murray) began to pull away.
As they approached Green Point stadium for a lap of the athletics track Brownlee had opened a significant gap after surging away from old nemesis Gomez, and had time to soak up the atmosphere as he crossed the line in 1:39:19.
Ever-present podium finisher Gomez came home in 1:39:24, and Vincent Luis came 3rd in 1:39:28 after moving past Murray, who had blown up with 800m to go.
After finishing, Brownlee briefly analysed his tumble on the run, before expressing delight at taking his 18th WTS title despite being plagued with injuries through the winter:
“I think Javier (Gomez) may have run across me when I tripped, but in the heat of the moment when everyone’s going hard these things can happen, I don’t think it was done in bad faith though.”
“I am delighted with this win considering I didn’t really feel I even had good legs today, I think I’m only going to get fitter so I’m really looking forward to the next race in the World Series.”
The prospect of Brownlee senior getting stronger through the rest of the season is undoubtedly an exciting one, as brother Jonny Brownlee won his first two races of the season in Auckland and Gold Coast. The final podium for the 2015 World Triathlon Series is looking increasingly likely to be Brownlee-dominated once more.
(Images: Delly Carr / ITU Media)
Results
1. Alistair Brownlee (GBR) – 1:39:19
2. Javier Gomez Noya (ESP) – 1:39:24
3. Vincent Luis (FRA) – 1:39:28
4. Richard Murray (RSA) – 1:39:39
5. Fernando Alarza (ESP) – 1:39:51
6. Sven Riederer (SUI) – 1:40:00
7. Pierre Le Corre (FRA) – 1:40:07
8. Mario Mola (ESP) – 1:40:16
9. Crisanto Grajales (MEX) – 1:40:30
10. Joao Pereira (POR) – 1:40:32
Series rankings 2015 after WTS Cape Town:
1. Javier Gomez (ESP) – 2707pts
2. Mario Mola (ESP) – 2273pts
3. Fernando Alarza (ESP) – 2221pts
4. Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) – 2186pts
5. Richard Murray (RSA) – 1904pts
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What did you think of the race? Let us know in the comments!
Alistair Brownlee made an incredible return from injury in Cape Town as he was victorious in his first WTS race of the season, capping off a perfect weekend for British Triathlon as Vicky Holland was also victorious in the women’s race.
Advertisement
Brownlee’s performance was dominant as he surged away from old rival Javier Gomez Noya with a mile of the run to go, showing no signs of an athlete who was unable to compete in the first three WTS races of the season due to injury.
As in the women’s race yesterday the swim was shortened to 750m due to the very chilly 11c water temperature. Defending title holder from Cape Town 2014 Javier Gomez Noya (ESP) set a blistering pace and was first out of the water, closely followed by the only British entrant and Olympic champion Brownlee, competing in his first World Series race since winning the WTS Grand Final in Edmonton last year.
A huge peloton formed early on the bike course, the shortened swim lending itself an advantage to the weaker swimmers as over half of the 66 competitors found themselves in the lead group.
Whilst the women avoided crashes on the previous day despite a similarly large peloton the men weren’t so lucky, with Lucas Siska (SVK) taking a nasty fall at almost full speed with less than 10km of the bike gone. Lawrence Fanous (JOR) was also caught up in the melee. All the major pre-race favourites including Brownlee, Gomez, Mario Mola (ESP) and Cape Town local Richard Murray (RSA) stayed out of trouble and continued to sit comfortably in the lead group.
With less than half of the bike leg to go the chasing pack merged with the leaders, creating an extraordinarily large number of almost 60 riders at the front, a sight more akin to the Tour de France as opposed to ITU racing.
Murray decided to inject some pace with around 15km of the bike to go, but no one was willing to take the bait and the group stayed intact. Allessandro Fabian (ITA) also made a break with Murray following but the peloton chased them down with ease.
With so many riders coming into transition positioning was key, and Brownlee read it perfectly as he managed to arrive 1st into T2 as he headed out for the 10km run. Gomez, Murray, Vincent Luis (FRA) and Fernando Alarza (ESP) also followed, forming a front group of 5 in the first mile of the run. Renowned runner Mola led the 2nd group which included Sven Riederer (SUI), but perhaps surprisingly was unable to bridge the gap.
Frustratingly Brownlee took a fall half way through the run meaning Alarza had to effectively hurdle over him as he picked himself up – however Brownlee gritted his teeth and quickly bridged the gap back up to Gomez, Luis and Murray, leaving the fading Alarza behind him.
Four then became three as Luis was dropped, and a familiar sight of Gomez and Brownlee (with the increasingly familiar sight of Murray) began to pull away.
As they approached Green Point stadium for a lap of the athletics track Brownlee had opened a significant gap after surging away from old nemesis Gomez, and had time to soak up the atmosphere as he crossed the line in 1:39:19.
Ever-present podium finisher Gomez came home in 1:39:24, and Vincent Luis came 3rd in 1:39:28 after moving past Murray, who had blown up with 800m to go.
After finishing, Brownlee briefly analysed his tumble on the run, before expressing delight at taking his 18th WTS title despite being plagued with injuries through the winter:
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“I think Javier (Gomez) may have run across me when I tripped, but in the heat of the moment when everyone’s going hard these things can happen, I don’t think it was done in bad faith though.”
“I am delighted with this win considering I didn’t really feel I even had good legs today, I think I’m only going to get fitter so I’m really looking forward to the next race in the World Series.”
The prospect of Brownlee senior getting stronger through the rest of the season is undoubtedly an exciting one, as brother Jonny Brownlee won his first two races of the season in Auckland and Gold Coast. The final podium for the 2015 World Triathlon Series is looking increasingly likely to be Brownlee-dominated once more.
(Images: Delly Carr / ITU Media)
Results
1. Alistair Brownlee (GBR) – 1:39:19
2. Javier Gomez Noya (ESP) – 1:39:24
3. Vincent Luis (FRA) – 1:39:28
4. Richard Murray (RSA) – 1:39:39
5. Fernando Alarza (ESP) – 1:39:51
6. Sven Riederer (SUI) – 1:40:00
7. Pierre Le Corre (FRA) – 1:40:07
8. Mario Mola (ESP) – 1:40:16
9. Crisanto Grajales (MEX) – 1:40:30
10. Joao Pereira (POR) – 1:40:32
Series rankings 2015 after WTS Cape Town:
1. Javier Gomez (ESP) – 2707pts
2. Mario Mola (ESP) – 2273pts
3. Fernando Alarza (ESP) – 2221pts
4. Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) – 2186pts
5. Richard Murray (RSA) – 1904pts
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What did you think of the race? Let us know in the comments!
What a weekend for British Triathlon – Vicky Holland claimed her first ever WTS gold in Cape Town, and Alistair Brownlee won his 18th title despite a big stumble during the run.
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>>> Alistair Brownlee wins first World Triathlon Series title of 2015
Women’s elite race
>>> Vicky Holland claims spectacular victory in Cape Town
(Images: Delly Carr / ITU Media)
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What did you think of the weekend’s races? Let us know in the comments below!
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What a weekend for British Triathlon – Vicky Holland claimed her first ever WTS gold in Cape Town, and Alistair Brownlee won his 18th title despite a big stumble during the run.
Advertisement
>>> Alistair Brownlee wins first World Triathlon Series title of 2015
Women’s elite race
>>> Vicky Holland claims spectacular victory in Cape Town
(Images: Delly Carr / ITU Media)
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What did you think of the weekend’s races? Let us know in the comments below!
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It’s here – the latest issue of 220 Triathlon went on sale today, packed to bursting with essential advice on how to swim, bike and run faster this race season.
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Highlights include:
The Road to Rio – how the GB Paratri team train to win
45 ways to race faster with targeted sessions, nutrition a dive and transition tips
Bike skills masterclass
How to build strength – improve your endurance with Chrissie Wellington
Gear focus – race running shoes
Our big wetsuits grouptest – 13 reviewed and rated
Women’s tri-suits on test
Find 220 Triathlon on sale at newsagents across the UK, and the digital edition can be picked up via the iTunes store, Google Play and Zinio.
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Bonus digital content includes: Behind-the-scenes footage from the GB Paratri squad’s training camp in Lanzarote; check out this month’s Fuji bike test and shoot; watch highlights from the first-ever Ghana Triathlon.
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It’s here – the latest issue of 220 Triathlon went on sale today, packed to bursting with essential advice on how to swim, bike and run faster this race season.
Advertisement
Highlights include:
The Road to Rio – how the GB Paratri team train to win
45 ways to race faster with targeted sessions, nutrition a dive and transition tips
Bike skills masterclass
How to build strength – improve your endurance with Chrissie Wellington
Gear focus – race running shoes
Our big wetsuits grouptest – 13 reviewed and rated
Women’s tri-suits on test
Find 220 Triathlon on sale at newsagents across the UK, and the digital edition can be picked up via the iTunes store, Google Play and Zinio.
Advertisement
Bonus digital content includes: Behind-the-scenes footage from the GB Paratri squad’s training camp in Lanzarote; check out this month’s Fuji bike test and shoot; watch highlights from the first-ever Ghana Triathlon.
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Returning to Challenge Weymouth this September? The organisers have made some minor tweaks to the bike course that you’ll want to know about, including the possibility of a few more roundabouts.
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>>> Gallery: Challenge Weymouth 2014
The route has been altered to make it more spectator friendly, with the second lap starting just before the entrance of Lodmoor Country Park, where transition is located. Last year’s female winner Eleanor Haresign says that the route is better for racers and spectators, but suggests athletes might like to practise their roundabout skills.
Challenge Weymouth bike route. Here is a link to RidewithGPS.
Last year’s Challenge Weymouth saw more than 1,200 athletes take part across both half- and iron-distance races, with British athletes Joe Skipper and Eleanor Haresign taking gold in the men’s and women’s races respectively.
This year’s race returns on 13 September and will host the ETU European Long Distance Triathlon Championships – a major coup for the organisers considering the event is only in its second year. For more info head here.
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Will you be racing Challenge Weymouth? Let us know in the comments below!
Returning to Challenge Weymouth this September? The organisers have made some minor tweaks to the bike course that you’ll want to know about, including the possibility of a few more roundabouts.
Advertisement
>>> Gallery: Challenge Weymouth 2014
The route has been altered to make it more spectator friendly, with the second lap starting just before the entrance of Lodmoor Country Park, where transition is located. Last year’s female winner Eleanor Haresign says that the route is better for racers and spectators, but suggests athletes might like to practise their roundabout skills.
Challenge Weymouth bike route. Here is a link to RidewithGPS.
Last year’s Challenge Weymouth saw more than 1,200 athletes take part across both half- and iron-distance races, with British athletes Joe Skipper and Eleanor Haresign taking gold in the men’s and women’s races respectively.
This year’s race returns on 13 September and will host the ETU European Long Distance Triathlon Championships – a major coup for the organisers considering the event is only in its second year. For more info head here.
Advertisement
Will you be racing Challenge Weymouth? Let us know in the comments below!
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