For
immediate release - Hamburg, Germany: A strong
field of the world's finest women triathletes had
a clean start to the Hamburg ITU Triathlon World Cup,
as an estimated 50,000 spectators gathered for the
event. The café terrasse around the Hamburg
city streets were packed with spectators, as were
the grandstands at the transition area and finishline.
3 rows of spectators lined the entire course.
Leanda
Cave of Britain exited the 1.5km swim first with hometown
favourite Joelle Franzmann in second, and the winner
of last week's Boston ITU International Triathlon,
Laura Reback of the USA in 3rd place.
Onto
the 40km, 8 lap bike section, Laura Reback and Leanda
Cave joined forces at the front and for the first
two laps increased their lead to almost 40 seconds
over the chase pack. However, Siri Lindley of the
USA, the current World Champion and a strong German
team of Anja Dittmer, Christiane Pilz, Joelle Franzmann,
Ines Estedt and Nina Fischer got themselves organized
and started to reel in the leaders.
By
the halfway point on the bike, Cave and Reback had
been swallowed up by the chase pack, and Germany's
Nina Fischer had taken the lead at the front of the
pack of 19 women. Olga Generalova of Russia went through
in 2nd, Christine Pilz of Germany was 3rd, followed
by Leanda Cave and Siri Lindley who was sitting comfortably
in 5th place
The
40km bike course, which featured 12 technical corners
on each lap, finished with 19 women charging through
transition onto the 10km run course. Leanda Cave was
first onto the run followed closely by Christian Pilz,
Carla Morena of Brazil, Laura Reback, Liz Blatchford
of Australia and Siri Lindley. Meanwhile, the event
organizers had given the estimated 50,000 spectators
"noise-makers", and the success of the German
athletes had stirred the crowd into a frenzy.
In
the early stages of the run, Siri Lindley took up
her traditional place at the front, but unlike previous
races, did not build up an insurmountable lead after
the first lap. By the 5km mark, a persistent Carla
Morena was still clinging to her shoulder, with Jill
Savege and Britain's Michelle Dillon a few metres
back. Leanda Cave and Christianne Pilz had dropped
back a further 20 seconds at this point, and the entire
group of 19 that exited the second transition together
was now spread out over the course.
In
the final lap of the run, the drama was building at
the front, as Siri Lindley and Jill Savege, who had
switched places with Carla Morena, ran shoulder to
shoulder. This is the way it stayed until the final
metres of the event, when even the race announcer
was welcoming Siri Lindley as the winner. In a spectacular
sprint finish, Jill Savege surprised everyone, and
especially Lindley as she powered by her to take the
win. It was the first World Cup victory for Savege,
originally an Ironman competitor from Penticton, Canada,
and an end to a 4 World Cup winning streak for Lindley.
Carla Morena of Brazil was third.
In
an interview following her 2nd place finish at the
Lausanne ITU World Cup, Jill Savege was quoted as
saying, "I guess it's time I started thinking
about coming first." Today she proved to herself
and everyone else that she can.
Triathletes
from 6 nations and 4 continents finished in the top
ten.
Top
10 results:
1. SAVEGE, Jill, CAN, 1:57.54
2. LINDLEY, Siri, USA, 1:57.56
3. MORENO, Carlo, BRA, 1:58.05
4. DILLON, Michelle, GBR, 1:58.39
5. CAVE, Leanda, GBR, 1:59.11
6. PILZ, Christiane, GER, 1:59.24
7. DITTMER, Anja, GER, 1:59.56
8. BLATCHFORD, Liz, AUS, 2:00.34
9. LISK, Ricarda, GER, 2:00.47
10. SUPINOVA, Anna, CZE, 2:00.53
For
more information, complete results, photos and race
video, see www.triathlon.org
High resolution photos are also available - please
contact ITU Headquarters at ituhdq@triathlon.org
