Sun Beach Hitotsuba set the scene for
race day in the 2022 World Triathlon Cup Miyazaki, just outside of the city
centre. Elite athletes were greeted with a stunning coastal day, with slight
windy conditions, for the sprint-distance race which featured a 750m choppy
ocean swim, a flat 20km (4-lap) bike course with technical sections and a
twisting and fast 5-km (2-lap) run to finish the race. 47 Elite women lined up
on Sun Beach to contest in the battle for World Cup victory in Miyazaki.
In the women’s race Great Britain’s
Mathias led the field through the choppy 750m swim in Miyazaki. Italy’s Ilaria
Zane, Mathias and Spain’s Sara Guerrero Manson had smooth transitions to lead
the women out onto the 20km technical bike course. Sandra Dodet of France and
Claire Michel (BEL) didn’t make the front group in the swim and therefore had a
lot of work to do on the bike in an attempt to bridge the gap.
Through the final stages of the bike
segment, the leaders extended the gap out by 42-seconds. Denmark’s Alberte Kjær
Pedersen and Hungary’s Zsanett Bragmayer were taking turns in the front seat
while Mathias continued to keep the pressure on. Japan’s Niina Kishimoto was
showing her strength and power by sticking with this lead group, impressing all
the home-crowd support.
Out onto the twisting 5-km sun-drenched
run course, it was Mathias who went straight to the fun but it wasn’t long
before top-ranked Pedersen surged out front and continued to build into the
run, with no looking back. With no other women in sight, Pedersen was able to
soak up the finish line atmosphere as she powered down the finish chute to earn
another World Cup gold medal. Her first World Cup victory was in Huatulco,
Mexico in 2021. Pedersen was elated with the triumph in Japan after admitting
that the pressure of being the top-seeded Elite woman was nerve-wracking.
“I am just so happy, it was hard
wearing number one from the start and I just really wanted to win the race and
I did so I am just so happy.
“I was quite nervous before the run
today because I haven’t felt my run legs in the training lately. My plan was
just to keep with the other girls in the front and then tried to feel how the
legs were. I just felt good, just started running my pace and hopefully, no one
would catch me and I was quite happy.
“It gives me a lot of confidence and
it’s great to get to know the other girls so when we’re travelling around the
world, we’re friends outside the course as well so it’s quite nice,” said
Pedersen.
In an exciting battle for second and
third, Italy’s Zane showcased a powerful race set-up to earn silver in Miyazaki
and her first World Cup medal.
“Very emotional because it’s my first
podium ever, I am not as young as the others and I am really proud of the job
that I have put in the bag over the past month. I am over the moon because I
was excited. I was electric before the start and I love the waves, I made the
most of it.
“The swim was very difficult but I
always enjoy these waves. It was very fun out there, after the first few
strokes I was out the front with Olivia (Mathias) so I think everything went
smoothly and I am happy about that.
“I am racing the Finals in Abu Dhabi
and that will be my wrap-up for the season,” Zane said.
After not having the race she wanted
in the recent World Triathlon Cup Tongyeong, Mathias showcased a confident and
aggressive style of racing today which paid off as the British triathlete
claimed bronze and a career-first World Cup medal.
“I am so happy, just finally on the
podium. I feel like it’s been a long time coming this year. I had four shots
and finally on the fourth one.
“I just wanted to really enjoy it. I
kind of lost that last time in Tongyeong. I was just thinking just soak it up,
it’s the last one of the year. We’ve got a really good group here and although
I am the only GB girl, I’ve been here with the GB boys, they’ve taken me under
their wing and really looked out for me since being out here so thank you to
them.
“It actually started out quite bad, I
dived in and got hit by a wave and did a handstand, I literally hit the bottom
but when I got up I saw that everyone else had some the same so I told myself
not to panic. I couldn’t really see the buoys. I had picked out points before.
I tried to keep on the front and keep out of the fight,” said Mathias.
Lea Coninx (FRA) displayed a
brilliant run portion of the race to cross the line in fourth and Germany’s
Tanya Neubert in fifth.
Review the full results online. https://triathlon.org/results/result/2022_world_triathlon_cup_miyazaki/550760?mc_cid=9c604e2139&mc_eid=6139649918
Replay the race on-demand at TriathlonLIVE.tv
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