Continuing in her formidable form Bermudan triathlete Flora Duffy has collected the first WTS win in the official Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifying period, and her second straight WTS victory of the 2018 WTS season.
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First out of the swim, she remained in the lead bike pack and then stole the race away in her run, which ultimately landed her at the top of the Series leaderboard in the WTS rankings.
USA’s Katie Zaferes claimed silver medal and her second-straight WTS podium of the season. Then finishing off with the bronze was Non Stanford (GBR) whose third place landed her on her first WTS podium since 2016.
Starting with one of her best swims, Stanford was helped by Jodie Stimpson to bridge the gap to the leaders, Duffy and Katie Zaferes (USA) on the bike. Duffy took off at the start of the run, followed by Zaferes and Stimpson. Stanford ran through nicely to claim the bronze whilst Stimpson finished 12th.
Stanford said: “In all honestly I spent last night Googling job applications and I was reading this morning what I have to do for this particular job, I just didn’t expect that today. It has been a really tough two years, I have gone through a lot of up and downs. This sport can be super cruel and super tough, but it has just taught me that if you stay patient and just keep plugging away you can get back up there really.”
British Triathlon Performance Director, Brendan Purcell commented on Stanford’s performance: “There’s a bit more there but it’s really exciting. That was a quality field, the only women who were missing really were the other Brits.”
With this his final World Series event in charge before he moves to British Rowing, he added: “It’s been great to see Non get back on the podium, and the sport can feel positive that the next two years are going to be really exciting as we build up to Tokyo.”
WTS Yokohama: The men’s race
Spaniard Mario Mola delivered a three-peat victory at the 2018 ITU World Triathlon Yokohama. After putting up one of his best swims of his career, he survived a massive bike pack to break away after T2 in what would be a dominating run. Mola became the first man in WTS history to ever win in Yokohama for three consecutive years.
The Yokohama win also was his first WTS gold of the 2018 season, which meant that he will remain as the current frontrunner in the Series rankings.
The silver and bronze medal went to two men eager to get back on the WTS podium. Aussie Jacob Birtwhistle outsprinted Spaniard Fernando Alarza in the final moments to finish second, his first WTS podium since July 2017. The bronze for Alarza was also his first since June of 2017.
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Grant Sheldon was Britain’s highest finisher in the men’s race in 18th place. Tom Bishop was 24th and Marc Austin 47th.
2012 Ironman World Champ Leanda Cave has announced her retirement from triathlon.
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That day every professional athlete must face – saying goodbye to a career of racing:https://t.co/fiCUaXUlbW https://t.co/fiCUaXUlbW
— Leanda Cave (@leandacave) May 17, 2018
One of GB’s finest triathletes has called time on her illustrious multisporting career. Leanda Cave, now 40, started out in Bath in the 90s, taking the U23 world title in Carlsbad in 2001 before embarking on a breakthrough 2002 season. Second at the ETU Euro Champs in Hungary preceded the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, where Cave beat the fancied Australian ITU World Champions, Michellie Jones and Nicole Hackett, to take silver 19secs behind the Canadian veteran Carol Montgomery. 2002 would culminate with Cave becoming the ITU World Champion in Cancun, Mexico, edging a stellar field that included Jones again, Loretta Harrop and Cave’s future coach Siri Lindley.
An injury-disrupted 2003 followed before one of the lowest points of Cave’s storied career arrived, namely being controversially overlooked for the Athens Olympic Games in favour of an injured Jodie Swallow. Cave moved to middle-distance racing in 2006 before 2007 saw wins at Escape from Alcatraz and the ITU LD Worlds, bronze at the 70.3 Worlds and a top-10 at her maiden Ironman in Hawaii. But it would take another four years before she would attain the dizzy heights of mounting the podium in Kona, finishing third behind Chrissie Wellington and Mirinda Carfrae. Just one month later, she took her first full Ironman win at Arizona.
A decade on from her breakthrough season, Cave (now known as Superbird) produced another defining year by doing the double – the title at the 2012 Ironman 70.3 Worlds in Vegas in September came a month before victory on the lava fields of Kona, passing Caroline Steffen with three miles of the run remaining to take the crown by 62secs.
Since then she has consistently collected more podiums, including a second at the Ironman North American Championships in 2015, and two thirds at Ironman 70.3 Miami and Ironman France in 2016.
As with the majority of former pros, Cave remains firmly rooted to the sport but now in a coaching capacity, providing various packages for all levels and abilities out of Miami Beach, Florida. For more info check out, leandacave.com
The eighth edition of the Slateman Triathlon in Llanberis, North Wales, was a record-breaking race, with an eight-year high for water temperatures, weather and race times.
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220 were amongst the 1,200+ triathletes taking part across the two days the Pedalcover Slateman opened Always Aim High’s ‘2018 SUUNTO Adventure Triathlon Series’, a trio of Adventure Triathlons based in North Wales.
SPRINT SATURDAY
Slateman Saturday consists of the shorter races of the weekend. With the first day of the two-day Savage Race and the Sprint Triathlon. A sprint duathlon was added this year alongside the Sprint which added to the racing and delivered both in terms of challenging terrain and competitive racing.
As sprint races go, the Slateman course is one of the tougher on the calendar. With the swim in the chilly waters of Llyn Padarn and a bike taking in the steep ascent and descent of Pen y Pass, a shin-splittingly savage climb into the forests of Elidir Fach finishes the race. The women’s race saw a tight finish with Rebecca Lodge taking the win by 31 seconds to Ruth Purbrook in a time of 1.19.14 and third going to Hannah Bruce of Manchester Tri.
In the men’s race the battle for first was fought hard in the forest, with Scott Hill of RAF Triathlon emerging victorious in 1.13.12, followed by Dan Elliot in 1.14.53 and Jon Reilly in third in a time of 1.15.38. This was the first time the podium has been taken by three Savage Athletes.
The all-new Duathlon saw Stephen Abbott win the men’s race with a time of 1:22:05, while Rhian Roxborough of GOG Tri took first place in the women’s race with a time of 1:23:17.
THE CLASSIC SUNDAY
With north wales waking to another warm and sunny day, the warm waters of Llyn Padarn welcomed over 900 ‘Classic’ Distance athletes to Day 2 of the Pedalcover Slateman.
In the Classic Race, Under 23 Jack Hindle took the best part of 4mins of the course record to finish first in 2.24.45 a head Pete Dyson and Beau Smith.
The women’s Classic saw the strong return of Aim High Champion, Suzie Richards, who took the win in 2.45.44 and knocked 7mins off the course record. The Savage titles were won by Scott Hill of RAF Triathlon and Ruth Purbrook of Full On Tri.
We’ll have a major seven-page Slateman Savage race report in issue 353 of 220, out on 14 June.
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For more information on Always Aim High’s 2018 & 2019 race calendar, visit www.alwaysaimhighevents.com.
Fancy racing in the beautiful and historic city of Dubrovnik at the the city’s first-ever international triathlon on Saturday the 13th of October 2018?
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There are two separate competitive distances available, a sprint and an Olympic. The course includes a swim in the beautiful clear waters of Gruz harbour, some 2km from the Old Town; a flat fast bike ride on closed roads, and finally a flat the run loop within the harbour. Event distances include:
* The sprint 750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run
* The Olympic 1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run
Both these distances will be available as relays where 3 people can take part in the individual disciplines.
There will also be lots of fun activities on offer, including a pre-race party on the 12th October, a Friday morning warm-up swim by the Old Town walls at Banje Beach, a post awards party on Saturday evening and a spectacular ocean Boat Trip for all competitors and their partners on Sunday morning.
Designed with all ages and fitness levels in mind, these activities will provide holidaymakers with a taste of the overall triathlon event, offering families, couples and single people the opportunity to take part as well.
Mato Frankovic, Mayor of Dubrovnik says: “On behalf of the City of Dubrovnik it is a great pleasure to welcome triathletes from all over the world to our beautiful City.
The city of Dubrovnik is systematically investing in sporting events and we are especially interested in promoting sport in the unique setting that is Dubrovnik, Croatia’s prime destination and UNESCO World Heritage Site. We do hope all the participants will enjoy our city as we are delighted to welcome them”.
Dubrovnik Triathlon is being organised by Brighton and Hove triathlon Event director, Human Race founder and London 2012 Olympic Triathlon competition manager, John Lunt.
“This event is a fantastic end of season treat for those triathletes and their partners who have raced hard all season, Lunt said. “The weather is always great in Dubrovnik and it will be a fantastic race in an amazing location. The World Heritage site provides an incredible back drop and you will be guaranteed a very warm and friendly welcome in Croatia. We are limiting numbers in year one as the city welcomes a new sport to the city”.
A brand new website has been launched www.Dubrovniktriathlon.com which has all the details. Accommodation packages, Airport transfers and bike carriage details are also available on the website.
The late Bank Holiday proved prosperous for Britain’s elite paratriathletes, who collected nine gold medals at the first-ever Dorney Lake-hosted ITU World Cup event. International athletes were welcomed to West London, where temperatures topped 25°C at the London 2012 Olympic rowing venue.
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Gold medal-winning performances were achieved by Commonwealth Champions, Joe Townsend and Jade Jones, while Rio Paralympic champions Andy Lewis and Martin Shultz (GER) also won their respective categories.
It was also a big day for the nation’s emerging talent, including Britain’s Hannah Moore, who won PTS4 gold just a year after trying her first paratriathlon, and a group of potential new guides for the visually-impaired athletes.
After winning the PTWC race, Townsendsaid: “The sport just keeps moving on; you can see the fields are stacked and it’s close, hard racing. With a lot of guys coming across from different sports to paratriathlon, it means I’ve got to keep on pushing the boundaries and training hard.”
He added: “To have my family here today and see me come across the finish line, and for me to see smiles on their faces too is phenomenal.”
His fellow PTWC Commonwealth champ, Jade Jones-Hall, also continued her winning streak to take gold at the Dorney Lake race. Jones, who has been working through her law degree finals, couldn’t apply much power on the bike after a mechanical issue meant she had to cover the whole 20km flat course in her easiest gear. But she demonstrated her supreme class to claim the win from teammate Lizzie Tench.
Rio Paralympic champion, Andy Lewis, enjoyed every moment of racing at home. He claimed PTS2 gold ahead of Maurits Morsink (NED) having missed some training this year due to injury. He said: “My little boy and my little girl are here today, and hearing them today has really helped me, because I found that tough today, and probably one of the toughest races I’ve done ever, just because I’ve not raced for a long time.”
The visually impaired events (PTVI) proved valuable opportunity to not only witness some world-class racing but also trial some new guides. Paralympic silver medal winner, Alison Patrick won gold with Hannah Drewitt while world champion Dave Ellis was a winner with Mark Buckingham.
Patrick said: “I haven’t raced since the European’s last year so it’s good to back out there. Me and Hannah have only worked together this week, but she did really well.”
“Mark’s just got so much experience,” enthused Ellis at the line. “I felt really comfortable on the bike with him.”
Buckingham, who guided at short notice after Carl Shaw broke his collarbone, added: “It was a good race. There’s still a bit of learning to be done though; my shoes came off the pedals as we were mounting the bike and my saddle came loose. It’s nothing we can’t work on for next time, though!”
Britain’s other golds came from Paralympians Lauren Steadman and Ryan Taylor, and Steve Crowley. George Peasgood had another fine race to claim silver behind superstar Martin Schulz.
British gold medals:
PTWC: Jade Jones, Joe Townsend PTS2: Andy Lewis PTS3: Ryan Taylor PTS4: Hannah Moore, Steve Crowley PTS5: Lauren Steadman PTVI: Alison Patrick, Dave Ellis
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Full results available via www.triathlon.org/results/result/2018_eton_dorney_itu_paratriathlon_world_cup
1. Visit the 220 Triathlon stand and subscribe Situated in the heart of the expo at Roundhay Park, your favourite tri mag will be offering a great subs gift – Save 30% on the shop price, plus get a 2ZU Active tri-suit worth £85!
2. Pick up a 220 goody bag
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3. Watch GB’s finest race live
Credit: Dave Pearce / British Triathlon
Get up close and personal with the sport’s top athletes, as they pound the streets of Leeds. Sadly Ali Brownlee has had to pull out so all British eyes will be on Jonny in the men’s race – can a Brownlee top the podium for a third year running?
You can also buy grandstand tickets, which will allow you to see the elites race past seven times on the bike and four times on the run, as well as the exciting race finale. Can the Brits deliver on home soil?
A big screen will also be located opposite the grandstand, so grandstand ticket holders can watch live coverage and commentary as the race unfolds, ensuring they don’t miss a single moment.
4. Take part in a race Don’t just watch, take part! Age-group events are taking place over the weekend, including Go Tri Leeds which, with its shorter supersprint distances, is perfect for newbies. We rated it 6th best shortie in the UK for beginners, for more info visit: https://leeds.triathlon.org/event_info/schedule/
…And get some crucial race tips here;
ITU World Triathlon Leeds race tips
5. Be inspired Never been to a tri event before? Go along to spectate, for free, and get ready to be inspired to tri! Watch the route unfold below and plan your perfect spot.
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6. Pick up new kit Take a wander round the expo stands in Roundhay Park’s event village and treat yourself to some new kit for the rest of your tri season. Nothing motivates quite like some shiny new gear!
Double Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee has announced on Twitter that he has had to pull out of WTS Leeds.
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Unfortunately I’ve had to pull out of @WorldTriLeeds next weekend. I’ve had a few niggles and won’t be able to compete to the best of my ability. I’ll be cheering hard on the sidelines
— Alistair Brownlee (@AliBrownleetri) 4 June 2018
The Brownlee brothers have dominated WTS Leeds since its inception in 2016, with Ali taking the victory in both 2016 and 2017, from brother Jonny, and the odds were on that it would be a third successive victory for the Yorkshireman.
However Ali has been troubled by injury and underwent hip surgery last year, which ruled him out of the 70.3 worlds. However all looked good for this year with two 70.3 victories; Ironman 70.3 Liuzhou and Ironman 70.3 Dubai, but it seems he is still not back to the form he wants to be in.
As well as Ali’s brother Jonny the WTS Leeds start list for the men include Spaniard Mario Mola, Commonwealth champion Henri Schoeman from South Africa and fellow South African Richard Murray. Can Jonny beat them and continue the Brownlee dominance in Leeds, their favourite race on the WTS circuit?
Earlier this month Tim spoke exclusively to 220 about his plans for the future and revealed his remarkable mindset that saw him rehab from his near-fatal accident, to complete the Boston Marathon in 02:49:22 – a time close to his Ironman run time.
Nottingham hosted its debut ITU Mixed Relay World Series event today in the East Midlands, with the four-strong American team victorious after a fast and frenetic race.
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The Brits – featuring a crack team of 2013 ITU World Champ Non Stanford, Derby’s ITU podium athlete Tom Bishop, Olympic Games bronze medallist Vicky Holland and two-time Olympic medallist Jonny Brownlee – had to settle for silver, but it did little to dampen the lively East Midlands atmosphere.
18 women are in the water and the debut #WTSNottingham#TriMixedRelay race has officially begun! Head on over to https://t.co/1kfqlhUSgA to catch this action for the next 1.5 hours! pic.twitter.com/0LsuzSU0Bf
— TriathlonLIVE (@triathlonlive) June 7, 2018
After its breakthrough event at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014, Mixed Relay has since been added to the Olympic Games schedule for 2020 and has witnessed the ITU create the Mixed Relay World Series, with the first 2018 leg taking place in Nottingham before heading to Hamburg and Edmonton in Canada.
BROWNLEE BATTLES
The first women’s leg began with a 300m swim in the River Trent, before a 6.6km bike and 1.5km run along the Victoria Embankment. Team France would end the first leg in first, with Stanford in fifth, before Derbyshire’s Bishop moved up to fourth on leg two.
The American Katie Zafares seized the initiative from the French on leg three, and had created a sizeable 35-second lead for the final U.S. athlete, Matthew McElroy, by the final swim in the Trent.
If local legend Brian Clough was said to walk on the River Trent, Jonny Brownlee would need to run on it to cut into the American lead and the Brit started in relentless fashion, already shaving that lead down to 23secs after the swim.
Onto the bike and Jonny Brownlee was flying in front of the partisan crowds, cutting into the American lead once more. But with just a 6km bike leg, would he have enough time to catch Matthew McElroy?
USA have a healthy lead but @jonny_brownlee will go on the hunt in second #WTSNottingham pic.twitter.com/U6P4yzP1oI
— British Triathlon (@BritTri) June 7, 2018
The frenetic pace perhaps inevitably dropped late onto the bike and the American entered T2 with their 30-second margin reestablished.
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With rain beginning to fall, the 1.5km run proved just too short for the younger Brownlee to step into the lead, and the American team added the gold to go with their Mixed Relay world champs silver from 2017. Brownlee would cement the silver for GB before the French took bronze.
The Leeds-based sports nutrition company OTE Sports have become Alistair and Jonny’s official sports nutrition partner, helping them to hydrate, fuel, perform and recover with OTE’s range of energy gels, bars and drinks.
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OTE Sports have revealed the partnership on the eve of the AJ Bell World Triathlon Series event in Leeds which the Brownlee brothers where instrumental in bringing to their home city for the first time in 2016.
Alistair, who retained the Olympic triathlon title at Rio 2016 following his Gold at London 2012 said: “I’m excited to be teaming up with OTE at a time when I’m taking part in some longer distance triathlons and fuelling strategies become even more important.”
Jonny Brownlee added “I’ve been using OTE products for some time now and I’m a big fan of the gels, drinks and Duo Bars in particular. Hydration will be a key focus for me as I start to build towards Tokyo 2020 so I’m looking forward to working closely with the OTE team.”
Alistair added: “It’s also great to be involved with another Yorkshire company who pride themselves on using natural ingredients and creating sports nutrition products that are super effective but also tastes great and are gentle on the stomach.”
Matt Harrison, managing director at OTE Sports said: “We’re extremely proud to reveal this exciting partnership with Alistair and Jonny and are looking forward to supporting them both with OTE’s natural sports nutrition products so they can compete at their best.”
Pete Slater, technical director at OTE Sports added: “I’ve been a triathlete for over 30 years now and worked in the sports nutrition industry for 25 years. We’re really looking forward to working closely with both Alistair and Jonny on further product innovation and also on nutritional strategies for longer distance racing.”
Jonny is aiming for another strong performance at the 2018 ITU Leeds race in front of a 50,000 strong home crowd following his second place finishes behind Alistair in 2016 and 2017.
5,000 people will take part in the amateur events across the weekend, from juniors and novices, to leading amateur athletes competing on the same course as the elites in the British Standard Distance Age-Group Triathlon Championships. OTE Sports will have an exhibition stand at Roundhay Park over the weekend to provide attendees with product samples, nutrition advice and exclusive promotions including the chance to get your hands on an OTE bottle signed by Alistair and Jonny.
Keen observers may also have noticed the OTE Sports logo on Jonny’s tri suit for the first time at the relay event in Nottingham on Thursday evening.
The partnership will see OTE Sports become Alistair and Jonny’s official sports nutrition partner, helping them to hydrate, fuel, perform and recover using our full range of award winning energy gels, bars and drinks.
To celebrate their partnership with the Brownlees OTE are giving 20% OFF their products this weekend!* Just enter the code OTEXBROWNLEE at the checkout to get your discount.