Triathlon Daily

Race Preview: Madrid - BG Triathlon World Cup race #6

from Triathlon.org…

ITU celebrates a major anniversary this weekend at the Madrid BG Triathlon World Cup as the event is the 200th world cup in ITU history. Since humble beginnings in 1991, the world cup series has come a long way with more prize money, much more competitive fields and high stakes that include coveted Olympic qualifying points.

This Sunday the world’s best flock to Madrid for the sixth straight year to challenge the tough course, a favorite for many triathletes including Vanessa Fernandes. The world champion has made the Madrid course her personal playground for the past half decade, winning every year since 2003. It will be a tall order for the other women to break the Fernandes stranglehold on the event. New Zealand’s Andrea Hewitt has performed well on the Madrid course and has been runner-up to Fernandes for the past two years. Swede Lisa Norden is enjoying a career year, already with a pair of world cup podiums and a bronze at the European championships.

Adding to the lustre of the event is Olympic qualifying spots at stake for both the German and British teams. For the Germans, just one spot remains and it will be a fierce battle between Joelle Franzmann and Christiane Pilz. Whoever cross the line first can book her ticket to Beijing. Franzmann is seeking her third trip to the Olympics while Pilz is racing for her first Olympic berth. In 2004 she was forced to miss the Games after sustaining an injury shortly before the opening ceremonies.

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Race Results: Women’s 2008 Lisbon European Champs

Portugal’s prodigious Vanessa Fernandes won a record-breaking fifth consecutive European Championship today, taking gold with a time of 2 hours, 5 minutes and 46 seconds. Italian veteran Nadia Cortassa took the silver, her fourth career medal at European championships. Swede Lisa Norden continued her breakthrough season, out-sprinting last year’s bronze medalist Nicola Spirig of Switzerland down the stretch for the bronze.

“It was a dream today. There were lots of people giving me strength,” said Fernandes at the finish line. “It is very important for me to show these people in Portugal what triathlon is. I can show Portugal what Portuguese athletes can do.”

Joelle Franzmann of Germany led the women out of the water with the day’s fastest swim. She left T1 with a 20-second lead over her chasers which included Magali Di marco of Switzerland and Eva Dollinger of Austria. Fernandes was a further two seconds back. But Franzmann’s solo ride on the flat 40-kilometer bike course did not last long as the chase pack quickly caught, forming a 13-woman lead group. Not far behind was cycling powerhouse Spirig who brought herself and four others up with the leaders.

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Race Results: 2008 Men’s Richards Bay BG Triathlon World Cup

from Triathlon.org…

It’s not often an athlete wins a world championship before a world cup but that’s exactly what German Daniel Unger has done. After a stunning performance in Hamburg last year to be crowned world champion, Unger won his first world cup today in another thrilling finish in Richards Bay. He becomes just the third German man to win a world cup and the first since Maik Petzold won in Salford in 2004, out-sprinting American Matt Reed and South African Hendrik DeVilliers down the final stretch.

Powerful swimmer Marko Albert of Estonia led the men out of the water and into T1. Just behind him were Swiss Sebastien Gacond and Volodymyr Polikarpenko of the Ukraine, last year’s silver medalist. Other notables were Matt Reed of the U.S. who was 12 seconds back of Albert and defending champion Hendrik DeVilliers of South Africa who was a further four seconds behind Reed.

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Race Results: 2008 Women’s Tongyeong BG Triathlon World Cup

from Triathlon.org…

New Zealand’s Beijing-bound Samantha Warriner claimed her sixth world cup title today in the 2008 Tongyeong BG Triathlon World Cup, the 198th world cup ever staged in ITU’s history. A strong swim put the top Kiwi at the front of the group and enabled her to utilize her running speed to cruise to gold medal in a time of 1 hour 49 minutes and 49 seconds. In second place was young Hollie Avil of Great Britain, 9 seconds back. This is the second podium in as many races for the 2007 Junior champion Avil. In third, following a strong finish to 2007, was Vendula Frintova of the Czech Republic, a further 22 seconds down.

“I’m pretty stoked,” said the 36-year old Warriner. “I was feeling good. In New Plymouth I made lots of mistakes. I made sure not to make the same mistakes here and it worked.”

“It’s just great to run with other athletes – like Sam [Warriner],” said the 18-year old Avil, with Tongyeong being only her second Olympic distance race ever. “I’ve never got to run with her before…it was a quick run today, it was ever more experience, more learning in the bag and I’m just loving it out there.”

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Race Preview: Tongyeong - BG Triathlon World Cup race #4

from Triathlon.org…

The BG Triathlon World Cup series heads to South Korea this Saturday for the first time since 2004. As one of just six world cup events before the end of ITU Olympic qualifying, Tongyeong welcomes a world class field that is expected to include a number of contenders including Beijing bound Jan Frodeno of Germany, four-time world cup winner Rasmus Henning of Denmark, Olympic silver medalist Bevan Docherty and 2006 world champion Tim Don of Great Britain. Click here for men’s start list

Headlining the women’s field are Olympic bound athletes prepping for Beijing including five-time World Cup winner Samantha Warriner of New Zealand, and German Ricarda Lisk. The 2006 junior world champion Kirsten Sweetland from Canada opens her 2008 world cup season in Tongyeong as will teammate Lauren Groves who’s coming off a silver medal performance at the PATCO Pan American Championships in Mazatlan, Mexico. Also in the field will be Great Britain’s promising youngster Hollie Avil who will compete in just her elite world cup. Last year’s junior world and European champion was impressive in her debut, taking bronze at the Ishigaki BG Triathlon World Cup. Click here for women’s start list

Also at stake for the athletes is a US$100,000 prize purse. After diving off a pontoon, athletes will complete a 2-lap 1.5-kilometer ocean swim. At the end of the first lap, athletes will have to come out on the pontoon and dive back in. Wetsuits are expected as water temperature will be between 15 and 17 degrees Celsius. Out of the water athletes will cycle 5 laps around an 8-kilometer loop that includes a pair of hills. Off the bike, it’s onto a flat 10-kilometer run course.