In terms of the format, Chase McQueen may have been the least experienced man on the USA team at the Groupe Copley World Triathlon Series Montreal Mixed Team Relay, but he delivered a consummate final leg to ensure that the USA left with the gold on Sunday afternoon. Taylor Spivey had bounced back from her huge effort over the previous two days' individual events to set the wheels of victory in motion, Seth Rider picking up the baton for an incredible sixth super-sprint race in 3 days and handing to Kirsten Kasper to tee up McQueen’s vital finish.
It had been a three-way tussle for
the podium places for the second half of the race, a young New Zealand side
eventually holding off Team Italy to win silver after Ainsley Thorpe's superb
effort and Saxon Morgan managing to out-pace Alessandro Fabian over the final
2km run.
“It feels really good,” said a
delighted McQueen. “The team set me up super well, I knew I couldn’t let them
down. Luckily, I was in a group of two so I didn’t have to bike by myself and
it was all I had until the finish line. I'm super happy to bring it home for
the team.”
“These two did a great job to set me
up with a good lead,” added Kasper. “I just tried to hold on for as long as I
could. It was truly a team effort and I am just so proud of everyone.”
“I feel pretty good,” said Rider
after his herculean effort over the three days in Montreal. “When you get on
the start line and you’re racing for your team you don’t feel anything anymore,
you just dive in and go for it and you give it everything you have. I got on
the run knowing it was the last race of my weekend and just gave it everything
I had to try and set it up for the team.”
“It definitely wasn’t easy after the
three days of racing," concluded Spivey, "but I think a lot of us
were in the same boat, so I gave it all for this team. I am so proud of how we
raced and it’s a testament to how strong these athletes really are.”
Fittingly, it was a Canadian that was
setting the early pace through the opening 300m swim, Kira Gupta-Baltazar
carving through the water out front with Miyu Sakai also going well for Japan.
Spivey was ten seconds back heading up into transition but was soon right on
their wheels and driving the pace out front.
Emma Jackson had fallen off the back
of the pack and wasn’t able to bring it back, while terrible luck with a chain
issue on the first lap effectively ended Japan’s challenge, Sakai suddenly off
the pace by over a minute as the first of the 2-lap, 6.6km bikes played out.
Out onto the run it was Nicole Van
Der Kaay leading Spivey, the only two women in their fifth races of the weekend
and seemingly feeling little effect from their efforts the previous day.
Beatrice Mallozzi was right with them for Italy and tagged Gianluca Pozzatti
who began his pursuit of Seth Rider (USA) and Dylan McCullough (NZL).
Behind them it was Radim Grebik 10
seconds off the front for Czech Republic, Adrien Briffod (SUI) 5 seconds behind
him and Valentin Wernz looking to haul Germany back into contention from a
25-second deficit.
Onto the bike, Rider still had enough
in the tank to try and drive on Pozzatti and McCullough, ensuring the chasers
couldn’t close in. Switzerland and Germany dropped back to 25 seconds off the
front and out of transition onto the run it was again Rider setting the pace,
pulling away for the handover to Kasper.
The third leg saw Alice Betto and
Ainsley Thorpe chasing for Italy and New Zealand respectively, Lisa Berger
(SUI), Nina Eim (GER) and Alzbeta Hruskova (CZE) looking to keep in the hunt
while Natalie Van Coevorden took up the task for Australia and Sarika Nakayama
for Japan.
The Australian dived in just as
Kasper rounded the buoy 150m in front of her, the American 15 seconds ahead of
Betto and Thorpe, but the two were slicing through the water well and, once out
onto the bike together, worked well to catch the leader on lap two. Behind
those three it was 40 seconds to Germany, Switzerland and Czech Republic and
time was running out for the chasers.
Thorpe was lightening through
transition and out first, Betto then flying over the opening stages of the
2-lap run to take the lead as Kasper dropped just off the back but always
remained in touch while Nina Eim was pulling clear in fourth for Germany and
had put 10 seconds into Hruskova hoping to set up Jonas Schomburg for a big
finale.
Alessandro Fabian was first into the
water for the final time, Saxon Morgan (NZL) right on his feet and Chase
McQueen (USA) now 9 seconds back, but the American soon pulled his way
alongside and then past those two and began the final run up the long route
into transition with a slender advantage.
By now it was over a minute to the
Swiss and Czech teams, Schomburg giving everything but all on his own as he
tried to reduce the 30-second deficit. There was nothing he or anyone else
could do once McQueen had his bike racked and was out onto the run, the
American stretching further and further towards his now inevitable golden
moment and the team that awaited him at the finish line.
The battle for silver was now being
won by Morgan, the New Zealander ensuring a memorable Series debut for himself
and McCullough, before Fabian delivered the bronze for the Italians.
Schomburg duly saw Germany home 20
seconds later, Sylvain Fridelance and Matthew Hauser crossing in fifth and
sixth for Switzerland and Australia followed by Jan Volar (CZE) and Jeremy
Briand (CAN), the Japanese lapped out with no luck on the day.
“It was a pretty cool feeling, pretty
hard racing out there but i’m proud of the team and we pulled through for
second, so I am really happy,” said New Zealand’s Saxon Morgan afterwards. “We
mixed up the team today and went through the order of where we should go and I
think we nailed it - I am super proud of the team and the effort" added
Ainsley Thorpe.” I am so proud of this team,” said Nicole Van Der Kaay. “Our
boys have never done anything like this so they really stepped up to the
challenge and we’re walking away with a medal, so I am over the moon.”
“Finally!" said a delighted
Alessandro Fabian. “Today was amazing, especially with this team, I have to
thank them for bringing me into the right position to get the medal. I
performed quite well and I am really happy to achieve this.”
“It was a really brutal weekend but
finally we are really happy with the result,” said Alice Betto. “I tried to do
my best, I wanted to be in the front from the beginning to the end because it
was important for us to try and get this result. I am really happy for me and
my team.”
ABOUT WORLD TRIATHLON
World Triathlon is the international
governing body for the Olympic and Paralympic sport of triathlon and all
related multisport disciplines around the world, including duathlon, aquathlon,
cross triathlon and winter triathlon. Triathlon made its Olympic debut in
Sydney 2000, with a third medal event, the Mixed Team Relay, added to the
programme at Tokyo 2020, while para triathlon was first added to the Paralympic
programme at Rio 2016. World Triathlon is proudly committed to the development
of the sport worldwide, with inclusion, equality, sustainability and transparency
at our core as we seek to help triathletes at all levels of the sport to be
extraordinary.
Michael Phelps Teaches Swimming
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