There is no better way to round up a bittersweet year than with a victory, and that is exactly what Jelle Geens accomplished this Friday in Abu Dhabi. After missing out the individual race of the Tokyo Olympics due to a positive Covid case, and breaking his wrist in Montreal, the Belgian returned to the World Triathlon circuit in style to win the 2021 World Triathlon Championship Series Abu Dhabi defeating his training partner Vincent Luis (FRA) in the last kilometre of the run. Young Hungarian Bence Bicsak crossed the finish line in third place to claim his second Series podium ever.
It was quite an unusual start for the
Men’s race, with Germany’s Tim Hellwig wearing number one and with some of the
favourites for the podium with quite high numbered bibs, after missing the
first race of the season in Hamburg. That meant that Vincent Luis, Hayden Wilde
(NZL), Jelle Geens or Tyler Mislawchuk (CAN), to name a few, were caught in the
middle of the pontoon at Yas Marina Island. But it was just a matter of the
first strokes that Luis managed to find some clear water ahead of him and led
the 55 men during the 750m swim in the hot waters of Abu Dhabi, over 31ºC.
Right at his feet Hungary’s Mark Devay, another excellent swimmer, who exited
the water just a second behind the Frenchman.
The long ramp to transition was
enough for Takumi Hojo (JPN), Kenji Nener (JPN), Miguel Hidalgo (BRA) and
Pierre Le Corre (FRA) to catch up with them and leave the first transition with
a bit of a gap, but with a large train of athletes behind them ready to make an
statement from the beginning.
With a fast and technical bike course
like the one set in the Formula 1 track, it was a matter of time to have the
stronger bikers taking the lead of the group, with Hayden Wilde, Leo Bergere,
Jelle Geens or Vasco Vilaca charging hard, but not enough to break up the
group. It was enough, though, to start losing members on the big lead group
with most of the big names in there, and almost40 seconds of difference with
the chasers.
It was clear for all of them in the
last laps of the bike that it all would be decided on the run, and with the
extreme heat conditions they all tried to save as much energy as they could,
knowing that the 5km run along the circuit could be brutal. Right after the
second transition, it took only a few meters for Hayden Wilde to make a
statement and start pushing hard, taking the lead of the small leading grup.
The kiwi lost two flights to Abu Dhabi due to some issues with his passport and
only arrived to UAE hours before the start, and was stung by a jellyfish while
warming up for the race, and had to be treated by the medical personnel minutes
before the start of the race.
But Wilde forgot that along with him
were some of the best runners of the circuit. Luis, Geens, Antonio Serrat
Seoane (ESP) and Bence Bicsak saw the kiwi going for it and decided that it was
too early. by the time they started the second and last lap, Wilde was slowly
fading, the heat and the stress of the last hours making an impact, and it was
then when Luis and Geens decided to go for it. Both of them run shoulder to
shoulder trying to keep it cool until the last meters, but with one kilometer
to go it was the Belgian who went for the last final push, and Luis couldn’t
help but watch his training mate going for gold.
“I have been training very well for
the last weeks, I knew I was in shape but everyone here is. I am extremely
happy to finish the season with this win, means a lot to me”, said the Belgian.
“I felt quite good during the run but I didn’t want to go to early. Here it can
be deadly if you go too early. I knew I could do it so I just had to wait for
the moment. The first 500m was taught, I know Vince is fast but I thought that
he wouldn’t be able to catch me, so it was just tough mentally and physically,
but I made it”, he explained.
Geens stopped the clock on 52’20’‘,
with Luis crossing the finish line in second place and Bicsak claiming in Abu
Dhabi the second podium in the Series of his career. “I am super happy even
finishing second”, explained the Frenchman. “There are two reasons why I am
very happy, one is Jelle (Geens) winning, and the second is that I am back in
shape, even if I finished in second here. I have been through hell the whole
summer, it was a hard time for me, and this is a great way to start the season
and finish the year”, he said.
“The 5km on the run were incredibly
hard for me, I used my last gear on the bike and it was really tough for me”
said Bicsak, also back in the circuit after an injury after the Tokyo Olympics.
“I went to different hospitals to be treated and I only had three weeks to
prepare for this race, so I am extremely happy with the result”, he explained.
Fourth place was for another
frenchman, Pierre Le Corre, back among the top athletes of the world, while the
fifth place was for Serrat Seoane, who is also the new Maurice Lacroix World
Triathlon Championship Series Ranking leader.
Results: Elite Men
1.Jelle Geens BEL00:52:20
2.Vincent Luis FRA 00:52:25
3.Bence Bicsák HUN 00:52:28
4.Pierre Le Corre FRA 00:52:34
5.Antonio Serrat Seoane ESP 00:52:37
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.
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