World Champions Vlasveld and Sonntag win Panticosa World Cup Final

The 2003 Winter World Cup Series came to an end at the Panticosa Resort, Spain. All the top athletes gathered here to inaugurate this event that will be a classic in the forthcoming years. The top 7 world ranked men and women were all on the start line. All three segments of the Winter Triathlon World Cup circled the hotels, the bath zones, the lake, the forest and the prairies of this corner of the central Pyrenees. The spring, the hard snow, the mountains, the sun and the Triathletes combined to offer the spectators a huge spectacle of speed and technique.From the start of the women's race, the pace was fast and furious.

The Netherlands' Marianne Vlasveld took an early lead on the 3 lap, 5km run leg, with Stefania Bonazzi of Italy on her shoulder, Sigrid Lang of Germany, Karin Moebs of Switzerland and Sarka Grabmullerova of the Czech Republic formed the chase group, with Anna Serra of Spain back about one minute by the end of the run. Germany's Jutta Schubert, a familiar face on the podium of Winter World Cup events this season, unfortunately abandoned the race at the 1st transition.

Marianne Vlasveld danced through the 4-lap, 10km bike course, as she has done in every race this year. And as in other events, she sealed her victory during this segment. Early on she escaped from Bonazzi, who was also passed by Karin Moebs just before the 2nd transition.

The 4-lap, 10km skate-ski segment produced several changes, but not in the lead. The only one to post a faster cross-country ski time was Sigrid Lang, who moved onto the final step of the podium. Sarka Grabmullerova also passed Stefania Bonazzi during the final segment to complete top 5.

In the men's event 60 competitors toed the line, and at the starter's gun, it was Juan Carlos Apilluelo who moved to the front and set a blistering pace. Within one kilometre he had escaped the pack and had opened a 30metre gap. The chase pack consisted of Marc Ruhe of Liechtenstein, Nicolas Lebrun of France, Othmar Bruger of Switzerland, Benjamin Sonntag, the current World Champion from Germany, Patrik Kuril from Slovakia and Thomas Schrenk from Germany.

Once on the bike, Juan Carlos Apilluelo lost his lead on the first lap of the four-lap course. Othmar Bruger, Benjamin Sonntag and Marc Ruhe quickly formed the lead trio and stayed together until the 2nd transition. Christoph Mauch of Switzerland was the solo chaser 30 seconds back.

Othmar Brugger was not able to stay the pace at the front once onto the final cross-country ski segment, as Marc Ruhe and Benjamin Sonntag destroyed the rest of the field and set the stage for the closest finish of the season. The finish was not determined until the final kilometre when Benjamin Sonntag pushed the pace up, and Marc Ruhe was not able to respond. A mean 4 seconds separated the two champions at the finish line.

Othmar Brugger was not able to hold off Christoph Mauch who moved into 3rd and earned enough World Ranking points to finish the season ranked #2 behind Benjamin Sonntag.

VIP in attendance for the event and for the awards podium included Marisol Casado, President of the European Triathlon Union and ITU Executive Board member, Luis Guillen, Mayor of Panticosa and Felix Escudero, representative of the Panticosa Resort.

A certain euphoria lingered over the athletes as the best season ever for Winter Triathlon drew to a close. Everyone did their part in creating the success of the 2003 Winter Triathlon World Cup - the event organisers and the athletes. A very special thanks to Michel Gignoux of France, the mastermind behind the Winter Triathlon and his very able assistant Enrique Quesada of Spain.

For more information, please contact Lisa Ogilvie, ITU Marketing and Media Manager at lisa@triathlon.org