WORLD TRIATHLON Golden day for David Cantero in Valencia

 

The golden hour in Valencia has a special meaning for David Cantero del Campo. The Spanish rising star made it clear that racing at home gives you “about a 10% of extra power” to claim the 2024 World Triathlon Cup Valencia in front of the home crowd that included his parents, friends and family. Second on the day was Australia’s Callum McClusky, while another Spaniard, Sergio Baxter Cabrera, rounded a perfect day for the Spanish team claiming the last spot of the podium.

The course in Valencia, flat, fast and technical looked like homemade for the star of the large Spanish team deployed in the Mediterranean city for the World Cup, David Cantero. The young rising star, only 22 years of age and born and raised in Valencia, had proven before that he is one of the fastest men on the circuit when it all comes down to a run, but the question of the day was if he would be able to repeat his outstanding victory on the same course just one year ago.

But one year can be a really long time, especially if the summer was one with a few set backs for the young Spaniard, who had to cope with a few injuries after his 4th place earlier this season in Hong Kong and a 5th in Samarkand. But missing the Olympics meant a long block of training for Cantero, and by the results of the race in Valencia, it did pay off.

The race started with a fast non wetsuit swim that was led by Darr Smith (USA) and Nicola Azzano (ITA), and both of them led a small group of 8 athletes that tried to break away in the first meters of the bike segment. The group of nine had newcomers on the circuit and getting organised was not easy, and soon the 15 seconds difference faded away, as the chase group led by Antonio Serrat Seoane, Sergio Baxter Cabrera, David Cantero and Gabor Faldum got the chasers organised.

Half way through the 20km bike, the leaders were caught by the chasers and a massive train, with over thirty athletes, just tried to save some legs during the remaining two laps of the flat bike course, but also trying to stay out of trouble by keeping positions in front of the group.

The first one to touch the ground in the second transition was Cantero, displaying a super fast dismount and transition, enough to give him a few seconds of a lead in the first meters of the run, along with Australia’s Callum McClusky, the only one able to follow the speedy Spaniard.

McClusky, another great runner, stayed right at the heels of Cantero during the first lap of the run, while behind them three other Spaniards -Serrat, Baxter and Genis Grau- along with Hungary’s Gabor Faldom followed their feet, knowing that they would have to fight for the remaining spot on the podium.

But Cantero was not willing to give anyone a chance and didn’t want to leave the glory for the last sprint. With almost two kilometers to go, the Spaniard pushed and this time, McClusky was not able to follow him, while the crowds went wild. Cheering Cantero’s name, the Spaniard flew back to the Marina to step on the blue carpet not looking back, ready to enjoy the last meters by himself, and crossed the finish line all smiles, with time to bow in respect for the crowds that helped him to get the victory in Valencia, second in a row for him. “This race couldn’t have been any better. I had my family and friends here supporting me and they gave me all the strengh I needed today to be able to win here”, he said. “This season has not been easy for me, but this win here gives me the confidence to end the season with a high. Today was a really tactic race but it did play out, I am really happy”, he explained.

Second on the day was McClusky, on his second podium on a World Cup after his win in Napier, the first World Cup of the season. “David Cantero pushed me all day today, it was a really good showdown and I can only congratulate him”, he said. “The start of the season was really good for me but I was not able to match that performance afterwards so I am really happy to be back in good form now”.

The sprint for bronze between Serrat and Baxter ended up with the younger, Baxter, claiming the remaining spot of the podium, a third place that meant the world for him, after a year dealing with multiple injuries and being sick in bed the last four days. “It feels great to be back on the podium, last time was quite a while ago, surely not this year. I haven’t been able to train properly for a while, so really happy to be back on the podium, and even more here on home soil”. “I tried to leave Serrat behind on the second lap but I couldn’t. We both knew that one will go home without a medal and I didn’t want to be that one, so I found a last push and made it”, he said.

Serrat ended up with the bittersweet chocolate medal, fourth place, while Arnaud Mengal (BEL) closed the top five with a great run split, 14:30. The 6th place was for Azzano, with Reese Vannerson (USA), Liam Donnelly (CAN), Grau and Faldum rounding the top ten, a mix of new comers to the circuit with some of the most experienced athletes.

Canoe Polo Clubs European Champion titles to Spain and Great Britain

 

We have the 2024 ECA Canoe Polo Clubs European Champions. FOA Liverpool took the win in men's part of the tournament, held in Bacoli – Naples, Italy, while Spanish team Deportiva Pinatarense won the title in women's tournament.

After two days of exciting 2024 ECA Canoe Polo Clubs European Championships in Bacoli – Naples, two new teams were crowned Club Champions of the old continent. FOA Liverpool succeeded MKC Duisburg in men’s tournament, and Deportiva Pinatarense last year’s champions Avranches in women’s part of the tournament.

In men’s gold medal match the defending champions MKC Duisburg played against the British team FOA Liverpool. It was not a match for those with weak heart as it brought a lot of interesting developments. The FOA Liverpool took the lead 3:0 thanks to Andreas Iverson, Jack Inder and Shivan McCutcheon, but this lead was not enough for tranquil remaining of the match. The Germans were very persistent, and they managed to get back fully into the game with three consecutive goals and the result was tied to 3:3. Tim Riecke with one goal and Erik Beukenbusch tied the result for open remaining of the match. Then Andreas Iverson scored his second goal of the final match for another lead of British team, when Moritz Backer scored the fourth goal of the MKC Duisburg. The hero of the final for FOA Liverpool was Santanman McCutcheon who scored the winning fifth goal.

The local club Canoa Club Napoli played in the bronze medal match against French team Avranches and managed to win the third place in front of their home crowd. Italians won with a result 5:4. The match was very intense with the result tied at 1:1, 2:2, 3:3 and 4:4. The winning fifth goal was scored by Alessandro Schiano Di Cola. Andrea Silvio Costagliola scored twice for Napoli, and Michele Manuel Pugliese and Fabrizio Massa contributed a goal each to bring a win to the local team. Pierre Batin, Guillaume Morin, Leo Dehainault and Thomas Thieulent scored for Avranches.

The winners of the women’s part of the tournament come from Spain. The Deportiva Pinatarense club celebrated European Champion title in a match against German KRM Essen, where they won with a score 3:2. The Spanish team took the 3:0 lead thanks to Beatriz Carmona Quevedo, Lorena Nieto Perez and Nerea Saez Dia. The German team fought hard, and they were brought back into the game with goals from Annabel Wolff and Jill Rutzen (3:2). However, the result was not overturned, and the Spanish team managed to defend their minimal lead until the end of the match.

There were more goals scored in the bronze medal match. KV Keistad from Netherlands stood against Italian team Canottieri Ichnusa and won with a result 4:2. The Dutch team took a 3:0 lead. Selina Dijkstra scored the first two goals of the match and Sara Lanao – Madden scored for 3:0. The next two goals were scored by Anna Esposito and Roberta Catania, but the hopes were crushed by the fourth goal of KV Keistad, scored by Marijke Dijkman for a final 4:2 win.

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WORLD TRIATHLON Lisa Tertsch outruns the field to take the tape at the Valencia World Cup

It was no turning back for Germany’s Lisa Tertsch as the current Olympic champion of the Mixed Relay delivered a classy run segment to take the tape of the 2024 World Triathlon Cup Valencia on her first race after the Olympics. Second on the day was Olivia Mathias, delivering an impressive race beginning to end after two years struggling with injuries, while the bronze medal was for France’s Candice Denizot on her first ever World Cup podium.

Over 40 women lined up at the Valencia Marina with the sun shining bright up on the sky of the Mediterranean city, with the water at 28 degrees and the sea calm and flat, but the swim was not an easy one, with a large group making it together to the first buoy, ending up with many involved in the usual ‘washing machine’ before heading back to the Marina.

And it was Australia’s Emma Jeffcoat the one who faced the swim exit ramp in first place, followed by Candice Denizot (FRA), Olivia Mathias (GBR) and Sophie Howell (CAN), with Zuzana Michalickova (SVK) and Diana Isakova (AIN) the first ones that were not able to make the lead group.

As soon as the four leaders were on the bike, Mathias and Jeffcoat started to get organised and push hard to try to open a significant break, knowing that the German squad, led by Lisa Tertsch and Tanja Neubert, would be trying to catch them before they finish the 20km bike course.

Mathias and Jeffcoat put their heads down and worked in turns, followed by Howell and Denizot, and by the time they were half way through the bike, the four had a 40 seconds lead over the chase group, let by Tertsch, Anna Godoy Contreras (ESP), Noelia Juan (ESP), Maria Casals Mujica (ESP), Solveig Løvseth (NOR) and Tanja Neubert (GER). The flat out and back course made it hard for the large chase group, while the four in front were not taking it easy. With less than one lap to go, Løvseth and Neubert added one extra gear and left the chase group on the chase of the leaders, but ended up on no one’s land for the last two kilometers, to hit the second transition just 15 seconds before the leading four.

Mathias and Denizot had both excellent transitions and were quickly on the run before the chasers hit the blue carpet, but the large group managed to finally get organised and started the run only 21 seconds behind. And that’s the moment when the real chase started. While Mathias and Denizot moved up in front, Tertscht moved like a panther, and by the time they had finished the first couple of kilometers, she was already breathing on the neck of Emma Jeffcoat, at that moment in third place.

Mathias and Denizot started to look behind them quite nervous, but the German look determined and continued the chase, and with 1.5 kilometers to go moved to the first place, not even looking back when she passed the Brit and the French, knowing that behind them another fast German was coming: Tanja Neubert. She also managed to move in front of Jeffcoat, who struggled in the second lap of the run, and brought with her Solveig Løvseth, also in the chase of a podium position.

Facing the blue carpet, Tertscht had no one on sight and was all smiles when she grabbed the tape to claim the second gold of her career at the Valencia World Cup, after her victory in 2022, a boost of confidence for the German before heading to Weihai for the next stop of the World Triathlon Championship Series. “I am exhausted now, but I could feel that my legs were ready for a good run today, so I am really happy with the result”, she said, after crossing the finish line. “I knew that I had some time to make up for, I was trying to run at my own pace in the first lap, but of course you see that you are coming closer and is easy to go too fast so I was trying to not over pace myself, although is very tempting to push more. I didn’t want to leave it til the blue carpet, you never know what every one has on their legs at the end but it did work out well for me”, she said.

The German clocked a fantastic 16:05 run split to claim gold, while Mathias managed to cross the finish line in second place, a silver with a taste of much more after the challenging year for the Brit. “Finally we managed to make a swim-bike breakaway and make it until the finish line or almost. All four of us worked so hard on the bike to get away, I can only congratulate them (Jeffcoat, Howell and Denizot) for their amazing work today. It doesn’t happen often to have all of us willing to commit and I can only thank them. I knew that after that bike the run will be hard, but I just tried to stay calm and believe on myself. This year has been rough, so this just feels great”, said Mathias.

Also delighted was Denizot, climbing on a World Cup podium for the first time of her career on her second World Cup appearance. “I am really happy, we all did a great jov today”, she said.

Fourth on the finish line was Neubert, with Løvseth close behind to round a top five. Diana Isakova crossed the finish line in 6th place, followed by Emma Jeffcoat, Jule Behrens (GER), Anna Godoy Contreras (ESP) and Zuzana Michalickova (SVK) closing the top 10.