May 22, 2008

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

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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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May 20, 2008

USA Swimming hopes for quick settlement to swimsuit case

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from the AP…

A top USA Swimming official said Friday he hopes a lawsuit accusing the governing body of being in cahoots with Speedo will be resolved quickly so athletes can focus on the Beijing Olympics.

Chuck Wielgus, executive director of the national governing body, also disputed claims by California-based TYR Sport that USA Swimming and its head coach, Mark Schubert, were trying to persuade American swimmers to switch to Speedo’s revolutionary “LZR Racer” suit even if they have sponsorship deals with other companies.

“While we cannot comment on pending litigation, it is important to note that USA Swimming does not dictate which brand of personal competitive gear our national team athletes wear,” Wielgus said in a statement. “Rather, U.S. athletes are free to wear their preferred brand of suit, cap and goggles.”

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May 19, 2008

Battle over swimsuits moves to the courtroom

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from the AP….

By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP Sports

With the Beijing Olympics less than three months away, the battle over swimsuits has turned into a lawsuit.

In a case sure to rock the swimming world, California-based TYR Sport went to federal court this week alleging that rival Speedo, manufacturer of the record-breaking “LZR Racer,” has conspired with USA Swimming to stifle competition and lure top U.S. athletes away from other companies.

The main issue: Speedo’s financial relationship with the sport’s American governing body and the head coach of the U.S. team, Mark Schubert.

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May 12, 2008

Race Results: Men’s 2008 Lisbon European Champs

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Frederic Belaubre, the champion from 2006 and 2005, led a French gold-silver sweep at today’s Lisbon ETU Triathlon European Championships. Tony Moulai took the silver while Swiss Olivier Marceau grabbed the bronze in an exciting photo finish. Surprisingly, defending champion Javier Gomez finished in seventh place, more than a minute and a half behind the champion Belaubre. Today’s race marked the first since the world championships in 2006 that Gomez failed to make the podium, an impressive streak that stretched 16 races.

Brit Richard Stannard was first out of the water with Belaubre and Stephane Poulat on his heels. Not far back was Gomez who was 14 seconds behind Stannard.

Out onto the flat 40-kilometer bike course, 47 men made up the lead group until Marceau broke off the front and held a 5-second lead after the first lap. After being joined by Slovak Pavel Simko, another five men broke away to join them by the end of lap three, which proved to be the turning point in the race. That group included a strong cycling trio from France with Belaubre, Moulai and Poulat. The lead pack of seven powered away from the field and created much needed separation from a host of great runners including Gomez, Czech Filip Ospaly, Brit Will Clarke and Ivan Rana of Spain.

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May 12, 2008

Race Results: Women’s 2008 Lisbon European Champs

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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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May 9, 2008

US Cyclists can punch tickets to Beijing in Giro d’Italia

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from USAtoday…

 

The Giro d’Italia begins on Sunday in Palermo, but for American riders, the real impact of the world’s second-biggest stage race will be felt in Beijing.

That’s because the Giro — the Tour of Italy — is a qualifying event for the U.S. Olympic Road Cycling Team. A win in any of the race’s three individual time-trial stages or a top five overall finish is an automatic ticket to China.

Astana’s Levi Leipheimer already qualified through his third-place finish in the 2007 Tour de France when he was with the now-defunct Discovery Channel team. Leipheimer will be in the Giro, but is riding in support of Spaniard Alberto Contador, winner of the 2007 Tour de France and another former Discovery rider now riding for Johan Bruyneel’s new team.

Other former Discovery/U.S. Postal riders are in contention. David Zabriskie, formerly of Discovery and Team CSC, is now with Slipsteam-Chipotle, as is former Postie Christian Vande Velde.

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May 8, 2008

Race Preview: 2008 Lisbon European Champs

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from Triathlon.org…

For the first time since 1999, the 24th edition of the ETU Triathlon European Championships head to Portugal to welcome Europe’s finest triathletes. With world class calibre fields comparable to most world cups, this Saturday’s event is one of the most coveted titles of the year. It will be the final ITU Continental Championship of 2008 and the men’s and women’s winner will earn their countries automatic spots at the Beijing Olympic Games. With such high stakes on the line, the best will be at the top of their games.

The home crowds will no doubt be vocal in its support of world champion Vanessa Fernandes, one of Portugal’s biggest sports stars who’s quickly becoming one of the greatest triathletes of all time. No woman has tasted European glory for the past four years as Fernandes won every year since 2004. In fact, every year she has taken the start line at an elite European championships, she has won gold. In 2003 Fernandes won the junior women’s title. This weekend she races for a record-breaking fifth consecutive European crown. Only the Netherlands’ Rob Barel has won four straight European titles from 1985 to 1988.

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May 4, 2008

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

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from Triathlon.org…

Her previous world cup best was an eighth place finish in 2005 but none of that mattered as the elite women took to the start line in South Africa today. Carolyn Murray of Canada pulled off quite an upset, winning today’s Richards Bay BG Triathlon World Cup, the first world cup title of her career. Aussie Felicity Abram took the silver while last year’s silver medalist Magali Di Marco of Switzerland made the podium for the second straight year, holding on for bronze.

American Olympic hopeful Sarah Groff emerged from the water first and was up 22 seconds over the rest of the field. Riding alone on the 40-kilometer bike course, Groff had to work hard to build a 35-second lead. A large chase pack was in hot pursuit and cut the lead to just 13 seconds by the midway point of the bike segment. In the fourth lap, Groff was swallowed up by the chase group that included all the major pre-race favorites including German Ricarda Lisk, South African Mari Rabie, Nicky Samuels of New Zealand, Abram and Di Marco, the 2000 Olympic bronze medalist.

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May 4, 2008

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

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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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April 30, 2008

Race Preview: Richards Bay - BG Triathlon World Cup race #5

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from Triathlon.org…

After back-to-back world cups in Asia, the series shifts to Richards Bay, South Africa this weekend for the third consecutive year. The Richards Bay BG Triathlon World Cup on May 4 marks the 199th world cup event in ITU’s history.

Last year a historic milestone took place as Hendrik DeVilliers became the first African triathlete to ever win a world cup and he did it in his home country, thrilling the locals. He’s back this year to defend his title while teammate Erhard Wolfaardt, the runner-up to DeVilliers at this year’s African Championships looks for his best world cup performance on home soil. Fellow South Africans Kate Roberts and Mari Rabie, this year’s African champion, look for similar success in the women’s field.

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