The stunning coastline of Busan set the scene for the inaugural World Triathlon Cup off Haeundae Beach. The elite women’s race commenced racing proceedings at 0830AM (KST) while we men’s start was at 1030AM.
Great Britain’s Beth Potter dominated
the women’s race to secure World Cup gold in Busan and Frenchman Anthony
Pujades ran away with victory in the men’s race.
Elite women’s report
A spectacular sunrise was the opening
scene for the inaugural World Triathlon Cup in South Korea. The water
temperature was 21.3°C and air temperature measured at 15.4°C, for the start of
the women’s race, ensuring a wetsuit swim was allowed. Race favourites Zsanett
Bragmayer (HUN), Beth Potter (GBR) and Kate Waugh (GBR) led the 750m swim and
were the first women’s in the first transition to commence the 20km (5-lapped)
bike course. Bragmayer and Potter exited transition first and led through the
first lap of the bike course.
By the second lap Waugh made contact
with the top women and the trio rode together and continued to establish a
sizeable gap on the rest of the field. Waugh looked fixed and comfortable,
taking her turn at the front.
The chasing group of women featured a
group of experienced of race specialists including Frenchwoman Sandra Dodet,
Roksana Slupek (POL), Italy’s Bianca Seregni, Japan’s Niina Kishimoto,
Australia’s Charlotte McShane and reigning Junior World Champion Beatrice
Mallozzi of Italy.
With two laps left on the bike to
negotiate, the breakaway trip, still Potter, Bragmayer and Waugh, had
established a 30-secong gap on the chase group. By this stage, the chase pack
had increased their advantage over the second pack, by 20-seconds.
On the final lap, the chasers were
unable to bridge the gap and Potter, Bragmayer and Waugh cleared through
transition together. Potter had an issue with her shoe in the second
transition, which lost her some time. Bragmayer and Waugh were the first to
enter the 5km foot race in Busan, over 4-laps.
It was only a matter of time and
Potter had reeled in Bragmayer and Waugh to lead the race. The Hungarian was
showing signs of fatigue out on the final stage of the run and Great Britain’s
Waugh was in contention for the silver medal.
Over the final few hundred metres of
the run, Potter applied the pressure to extend her lead and runaway with
victory in the first-ever World Triathlon Cup Haeundae. Potter was thrilled
with her gold medal, despite a mishap with her show in her second transition.
“It wasn’t quite perfect out there. I
lost my shoe in transition so I had a bit of work to do on the run but I was
able to get back and I am happy with the performance. I am off to (World
Triathlon Cup) Tongyeong to race next week and really looking forward to
it," said Potter.
“It’s really nice here in Haeundae,
like a big city beach.”
Training partner Waugh crossed the
line and was delighted to be awarded the silver medal, her highest result on
the World Triathlon stage to date.
“I am really pleased with my overall
performance today. I love a beach start and I love diving through big waves so
I was really excited because the swell was pretty big before we started. I had
a really good swim and we managed to get a breakaway on the bike. The girls
worked really well on the bike, we all knew were in podium position which
really helped to push us on. I set off on the run, I nailed my transition for
like the first time this year, so I was really pleased and just held on for
second," Waugh said.
“I knew Beth (Potter) would be coming
in hot so I just tried to stick with her.”
“It’s no nice to race here. Korea is
absolutely beautiful and I hope to be back.”
Bragmayer, who is known for her
powerful swim and bike combination, hung tough to earn bronze in Busan.
“After Hamburg I tried to stay in
shape as much as possible but my body and mind is really tired now. Today’s
race was really tough and fun. We worked really well on the run, I really
needed that breakaway on the run," Bragmayer said.
“I didn’t expect that, I thought it
would be a big group together but my swim was really good, it was just the two
British girls coming with me so it was really good and helpful for me in the
breakaway.”
Polish triathlete Roksana Slupek
crossed the line in fourth place with Frenchwomen Sandra Dodet in fifth.
Replay the races on-demand at
TriathlonLIVE.tv
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.
MichaelPhelps Teaches Swimming - Most of us can swim, but there’s a difference between dog paddling on vacation and swimming for fitness. If you’re looking to unlock the low-impact, calorie-burning benefits of swimming, check out this course from Michael Phelps on This Skills. The 26-time Olympic gold medalist will cover everything you need to feel confidant and comfortable swimming laps. You’ll learn all the basic strokes, plus wall kicking, diving and other techniques, but you’ll also get a glimpse into the mindset of the most decorated Olympian of all time. Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/v4nmne8h
No comments:
Post a Comment