Marianne
Vlasveld and Marc Ruhe Conquer the Rockies and the
2002 Series
Canmore,
Canada, 16 March, 2002: Race conditions in Canmore,
Alberta were picture perfect for the final event of
the 2002 ITU Winter Triathlon World Cup series. With
air temperature hovering around -12oC, and a stiff
wind of 10kph out of the northwest, the massive Three
Sisters Rocky Mountain peaks were spectacular in the
morning sunshine.
The
race start featured all of the top ranked athletes
as well as many North American elite athletes who
were testing their talent against their European competitors
for the first time.
World
Champion Marianne Vlasveld of the Netherlands had
a slow start through the first run leg, finishing
second on the run, 50 seconds behind Ana Carares of
Spain who led the run and was first onto the 10km
mountain bike course. Ana Serra of Spain was the third
athlete on to the bike.
Marianne
took charge of the race during the bike, posting the
fastest time of 35:13. Gabi Pauli had the second fastest
bike split with 39:28, but had given Marianne an insurmountable
lead.
On
the final 4 lap-10.8 cross-country ski leg, Marianne
flew over the skate-ski course putting extra distance
on her competitors on each lap. In the end, she won
by an impressive 11 minutes, while Gabi Pauli finished
second. To the delight of the Canadian crowd, Shayla
Swanson, from the Canadian Junior Cross Country team
was third, also wining the first ever Canadian Triathlon
title.
In
the men's event, it appeared as if the 2002 World
Champion, Marc Ruhe of Liechtenstein, might be faltering
when faced by an impressive run by Juan Carlos Apilluelo
of Spain and he found himself back by 40 seconds at
the first transition. Phil Villeneuve of Canada had
a great start to the run to exit the first transition
to bike in second place. Third out of transition were
Swiss team-mates Iwan Schuwey and Christoph Mauch.
Once
onto his mountain bike, Marc Ruhe dazzled everyone
with his talent, moving from 7th place off the bike
to having a 45 second lead as he moved from the bike
to the skis. Benjamin Sonntag of Germany, who was
11th after the run, also moved through the field on
his bike to start the ski in 2nd place.
During
the final cross-country ski leg, Iwan Schuway put
on a valiant effort to catch Marc Ruhe, as he put
in the second fastest ski split, but the win was all
Marc's, who continued his domination of the sport
to finish 27 seconds ahead of Iwan and clinch the
overall series title.
Phil
Villeneuve of Canada put in the fastest ski split
of the day to clinch the Canadian title
Michel
Gignoux, ITU Technical Director of the Winter Triathlon
series when asked for his thoughts about the success
of series finale stated, "Winter Triathlon started
to take off at the beginning of the year, and continued
to climb to a cruising altitude all year. We will
focus on maintaining this altitude for a few years
before landing at our final destination which is a
place on the Olympic Winter programme.
ITU
President Les McDonald stated "The final race
in the ITU Winter series was an outstanding success,
with the best organisation yet thanks to the Olympic
Venue in Canmore and the work of the Organising Committee
led by Bill Murray and the by now expert advice of
Michel Gignoux. The weather played a big role and
the cross country tracks were of Olympic standard.
This is one sport that needs to be in the Olympic
Games."
Cameron
Wallace of the United Community Group of Calgary,
one of the major sponsors of the event stated "I
am amazed by the enthusiasm and energy of the athletes.
The sport fits in very well with the philosophy of
our organisation that is "Health before Wealth".
It
was the unanimous conclusion of everyone that the
Winter Triathlon specialists from Liechtenstein, Germany,
Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Canada are
of the highest quality and ITU is very proud of them.
The
social event, which followed the race at "The
Drake Inn", celebrated the success of the event
and the eve of Saint Patrick's Day. For many of the
European competitors this was their first experience
with green beer.
For
more information contact ITU Headquarters at ituhdq@telus.net
