Month: November 2020

British hopes ended on the tarmac in Hamburg as Australian Jake Birtwhistle defeated France’s Vincent Luis for his second World Triathlon Series win of 2019. Advertisement Jonathan Brownlee, Tom Bishop and Alex Yee were all caught up in crashes during the 20km bike leg of the sprint distance contest leading to Bishop finishing 38th, Yee, 43rd and Brownlee being unable to continue. None of the trio were seriously injured in the collisions, for which Yee…

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France retained the mixed relay world title in Hamburg, beating the host nation into second place as British hopes were dashed after a disastrous opening leg from Jess Learmonth. Advertisement Commonwealth champions Australia edged New Zealand for the final podium spot, with the highly-fancied USA team struggling in ninth and the Brits a distant 2min 29sec back, cut adrift in 10th. Vincent Luis, runner-up in the men’s individual competition the previous afternoon, anchored the winning…

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In contrast to the soaring temperatures of Ironman Frankfurt last weekend, it was a rather cooler affair in Roth today for one of the world’s greatest triathlons, with clouds and rain. The rain eased as the day progressed and it might not have been perfect weather for sun worshippers but, given the recent hot weather in Germany, this was very welcome, and provided almost perfect racing conditions for the triathletes. Advertisement Challenge Roth is set…

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The day may have been overcast with clouds and drops of rain, but the home crowds were anything but when it became clear a home victory was likely, as local boy Andi Dreitz powered his way round. Advertisement Jesper Svensson from Sweden was first out of the 3.8km swim in 49:46mins, with Kiwi Braden Currie 30secs behind in a time of 50:16, followed by Andy Potts from the USA in 50:20. Fourth out was David McNamee…

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1. When wet ‘n wild, anything can happen: Sodden roads on a twisting city centre course were always going to lead to an incident-packed bike leg and so it proved. Normally the prudent tactic to stay out of trouble and mitigate risks would be to gain a position towards the head of the race. Unfortunately, when the leader goes down – as was the case with Denmark’s Andreas Schilling – even that approach comes unstuck.…

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Based on course statistics, we once named the Croyde Ocean Triathlon the fifth-hardest Olympic-distance triathlon in the world. Advertisement Having done 2019’s event this weekend in North Devon (and finished in 323rd place), we can confirm this is one tough cookie of a challenge, with a sea swim, relentlessly-rolling 40km bike and a mixed terrain 12km run along coastal paths where, for us at least, the only option was a rueful smile and to walk…

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Australian Emma Jackson took advantage of the absence of the top-ranked contenders to register her first triumph in the World Triathlon Series. Advertisement The 27-year-old, who hadn’t been on a WTS podium since 2014, out-sprinted the USA’s Summer Rappaport with fellow Aussie Ashleigh Gentle in third. Scotland’s Beth Potter, the reigning European champion, who was making her first World Series start, ran through the field to finish 13th, with fellow Brit Sophie Coldwell in 15th.…

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Double Olympic medallist Jonny Brownlee took victory in Edmonton to show he’s still a force to be reckoned with at the top level of the sport. Advertisement Brownlee hadn’t been on a World Triathlon Series podium since winning in Stockholm in 2017 and has had a miserable 2019 season, finishing an uncharacteristic 11th in Bermuda, 35th in Leeds and being unable to finish in Hamburg after a bike crash But he looked in imperious form…

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A young New Zealand team defeated Great Britain in the mixed relay in Edmonton to give the Kiwis their first victory in this format in the World Triathlon Series. Advertisement All aged under 23, the quartet was anchored by Hayden Wilde who burst away from 2016 Rio Olympian Gordon Benson on the run to win by 9sec, with the USA third and the Australians fourth after serving a time penalty after a botched handover. The…

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1. 5, 4, 3, 2 and No 1 is the countdown for Katie: USA’s top triathlete Katie Zafares missed Edmonton knowing only victory could have improved her best five-race total ahead of the Grand Final. Such has been her form and results in 2019, she really only needs to stay uninjured and upright on the bike in Lausanne for the race to be little more than a coronation. The reality is that she will go there…

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