At the end of Sunday’s final action
of a glittering 2023 World Triathlon Multisports Championships Ibiza, Frenchman
Clement Mignon reigned supreme to win the men’s Long Distance world title in
dramatic fashion. Crashing into transition at the end of a 120km bike,
gathering himself and then leaving it late to pass Antonio Benitez was all in a
day’s work for the 24-year-old on route to gold, the Spaniard hanging tough for
silver ahead of South Africa’s Matt Trautman.
On the women's race, having clocked
her first plus-100km bike sessions only months before, France’s Marjolaine
Pierre -Mignon's parner- summoned a hugely impressive Long Distance World
Championship-winning display in Ibiza to win by almost ten minutes.Well-placed
out of the water, the 23-year-old found herself in unfamiliar territory leading
a long distance race from the early stages of the 116km bike, but never looked
anything but right at home as she soared over the 30km run to the tape.
Sweden’s Sara Svensk crossed for the silver, the fastest run of the day
ensuring home bronze for Gurutze Frades Larralde.
Men's review
A beautiful beach start greeted the
43 men lined up for the 2023 Long Distance World Championships, the prospect of
a tough 3km swim ahead in what had become choppy waters, especially around the
far side of Rat Island.
It was no surprise to see the figures
of Richard Varga and Joshua Amberger first to emerge from the swim, having
stretched out the field through the waves and made sure the advantage to the
chasers was as big as possible as they made the long run through transition.
It was just under 30 seconds to a
group of six that included Christophe de Keyser (BEL), Clement Mignon (FRA) and Rico Bogen (GER),
Lukas Kocar (CZE) three minutes off the pace and Britain’s Joe Skipper already
finding himself over six minutes back and with work to do.
De Keyser made up good ground in
transition and was soon up on the front two, passing Amberger to take the lead
as they approached the halfway point of lap one of two.
By the end of the first lap, Skipper
hadn’t been able to bring down the difference, he and Cody Beals (CAN) working
together now 6m45s back, another Brit, James Teagle, moving well up ahead into
6th place but also losing time on Bogen, who had now worked his way to the
front.
Mignon, Bogen and Benito were riding
well together over the final stages of the near-120km ride, Varga sitting
two-and-a-half minutes back, Amberger’s deficit now 4 minutes to the front.
Teagle was still hanging tough as Skipper slipped to 7.5 minutes off, De Keyser
now nine minutes back and Beals over eleven minutes as the athletes began to
prepare for the three-lap, 30km run.
Over those closing stages, Benito
slipped 80 seconds back as Bogen and Mignon made another surge towards the
transition, but it was there that the Frenchman got caught in his pedal at
dismount and went flying to the floor. Dazed and a little shaken, he took his
time getting into the shoes and spent the majority of the first lap trying to
regain his composure and focus on the task in hand.
Bogen was also struggling to click
into gear on that first lap, so it was to be Benitez seizing the initiative and
closing in on the German before passing on lap two and wasting no time in
carving out a useful 30 seconds lead.
Mignon did likewise as he found his
rhythm, Varga too was going well 150 seconds back, Trautman, James Teagle and
Amberger all within 15 seconds of each other at the halfway point.
With just one 10km lap to go, it
looked like Benitez might have the race sewn up, but Mignon was able to summon
the reserves for one final push, drawing up on the Spaniard who had nothing
left to respond with after a gruelling five hours of racing.
The Frenchman took the tape with
delight, Benitez finishing 30 seconds back but safely over for silver ahead of
South Africa’s Matt Trautman who ran his way onto the podium and into a world
championship medal.
Women's review
It was the Spaniard Helene Alberdi
Sololuze who dominated the 3km swim, emerging nearly 30 seconds ahead of
Denmark’s Camilla Pedersen onto the beach along with Pierre, a full two minutes
ahead of Nina Derron (SUI), Japan’s AI Ueda and pre-race favourite Kat Matthews
(GBR).
Pierre was soon in full flow,
breezing past Alberdi and taking up point position so that within the first
30km she had already put two minutes of daylight between herself and Matthews
in second.
At the end of the first bike lap that
lead was out to nearly six minutes over the Brit, a group riding together
behind that included Ruth Astle, Alberdi, Svensk and Ueda just off the back.
It was over the opening kilometres of
the second lap that Astle was able to surge and pull clear into second after
Matthews sadly pulled up. With the exertions of an Ironman win in Texas just
two weeks before, her challenge for the title was over before it had really
begun, Astle now trying to pick her way towards the flying Frenchwoman.
Svensk was also going well ahead of
Pedersen in fourth, Ueda now 15 minutes back, Astle just 3.5 minutes off the
leader out of transition for the last time, only for her promising charge to
come to an end, leg cramps forcing the second British challenger out as the run
was just beginning to unfold.
Even with a gruelling 30km ahead, the
fact that Pierre was now enjoying a 7-minute gap to the nearest chaser Svensk
allowed her to relax into the task in hand.
Pedersen was well set in third after
lap one, but Frades was really going through the gears and the rest of the
field once she got going. Pierre took the tape after nearly 6 hours of racing,
Svensk home in silver, and Frades managed to pass Pedersen and Germany’s Svenja
Throes to take the bronze.
Check all the results here https://www.triathlon.org/results/result/2023_world_triathlon_multisport_championships_ibiza?mc_cid=2475c1df8e&mc_eid=6139649918
ABOUT WORLD TRIATHLON
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