For immediate release, Funchal, Madeira: A beautiful morning on the island of Madeira for round 12 of the ITU World Cup Series, with weather slightly overcast and air temperature hovering around 24oC - perfect conditions for triathlon. The water temperature was 22oC, and the Atlantic was perfectly still as the women dove from the pontoon to start the first World Cup to be staged on Madeira Island.

As predicted, the American Susie Garllucci led through the 2-lap 1500 metre swim, followed closely by her teammate Amanda Stevens, Lucie Zelenkova of the Czech Republic, Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal, Sylvia Gemignani of Italy and Jessica Harrison of Britain. This group managed to stay together through the first transition and onto the 8-lap 40 km bike course. Each lap of the bike featured two flat sections along the promenade and through the main avenue of Funchal, as well as two steep climbs, the longest 400 metres at 12% grade.

The chase group out of the water was led by two young French athletes, Delphine Pelletier and Carole Peon, as well as pre-race favourite, Kathleen Smet of Belgium, and Andrea Whitcombe of Britain.

Susie Garllucci continued to control the pack at the front on the bike, but Smet and Pelletier were soon able to pull the chase group up to the leaders as the group at the front grew to 18. The third group out of the water, led by Sandra Soldan of Brazil and Tracy Hargreaves-Loose of Australia, now found themselves in the position of being the chase pack. Canadian team-mates Samantha McClone and Natasha Filliol were also in that group.

On the 4th lap, Olga Generalova of Russia moved bravely to the front and broke away from the lead pack. By the time they reached the big hill, the chase pack, still being led by Garllucci and Smet, started to reel Generalova in, but she was able to stay well ahead of them. She continued her lead through the 5th and 6th lap, but the chase group had moved to within metres of her. Czech teammates Renata Berkova and Lucie Zelenkova, and British teammates Jessica Harrison and Andrea Whitcombe were also working hard with Garllucci and Smet to catch the Russian. Meanwhile, Tracy Hargreaves-Looze of Australia, had teamed up with Ana Burgos of Spain and Beatrice Lanza of Italy and the group was working well in an attempt to bridge the gap to the front

By the final lap of the bike, Generalova was caught, and the large group of 18 swept through transition and onto the 4-lap 10km run course. Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal exited the second transition with the leaders, much to the delight of the thousands of local fans and tourist that lined the course. Once onto the run course, Andrea Whitcombe moved straight to the front and took control of the race. Through the first lap, Lenka Radova of the Czech Republic and Delphine Pelletier and Marion Lorblanchet of France were able to run with her, but the young Brit steadily pulled away from all challengers. Olga Generalova, who worked so hard on the bike paid the price on the run and dropped out of contention.

Andrea Whitcombe's long, relaxed stride impressed the watchful eye of many veteran coaches and triathlon experts on the sidelines in Funchal. She literally glided to victory through the final laps as she laid claim to her first World Cup title. Lenka Radova also posted an impressive run to place second, with Marion Lorblanchet rounding out the podium.

A great crowd of approximately 14,000 came out to cheer on the women, most of them tourists unfamiliar with the sport of Triathlon prior to the event in Funchal. Ignited by the infectious charisma of the sport and the athletes, they became ardent supporters.

Top 10 results:
Name Country Time
1. WHITCOMBE, Andrea GBR 1:59:16
2. RADOVA, Lenka CZE 1:59:34
3. LORBLANCHET, Marian FRA 1:59:43
4. PELLETIER, Delphine FRA 2:00:05
5. BERKOVA, Renata CZE 2:00:14
6. CHENEVIER, Giunia ITA 2:00:36
7. BURGOS, Ana ESP 2:00:38
8. SMET, Kathleen BEL 2:00:47
9. PEON, Carole FRA 2:01:29
10. HARRISON, Jessica GBR 2:01:35

For more information, complete results, photos and race video, see www.triathlon.org
For more information, please contact ITU Headquarters at ituhdq@triathlon.org
The 52 minute television show of the Funchal ITU World Cup will be distributed for broadcast into many millions of homes around the world within 10 days.