| ITU Media Release: 21 September 2003 – For immediate release |
|
Madrid,
Spain: Race Synopsis: Vanessa
Fernandez of Portugal, and Hunter Kemper of the USA both posted dramatic
wins in the Madrid ITU World Cup today with spectacular sprint finishes. Fernandez gave Portugal her first World Cup
victory in Triathlon’s history by surging ahead of Mariana Ohata of
Brazil within metres of the finish.
Spain’s Pilar Hidalgo delighted her home-country fans by taking
third. Hunter Kemper’s finish in the men’s event was
even more dramatic as 6 men’s sprinted for the line as thousands of
Madridian cheered on their hero and current Triathlon World Champion
Ivan Rana. Ukraine’s Vladimir
Polikarpenko was 2nd – a repeat of last week’s performance
in the Nice ITU World Cup with (believe it or not) exactly the same
finish time. New Zealand’s Craig Watson continued his climb
up the World Rankings by finishing 3rd.
The story in detail: In preparation for the Athens Olympic Games Triathlon, athletes are looking for “hot and hilly” events to test their metal, and that is exactly what the Madrid ITU World Cup delivered. In the women’s event Sheila Taormina of the USA led through
the 2 lap 1500m swim in Lago de Casa de Campo with team-mate Becky
Gibbs-Lavelle and Italy’s Sylvia Gemignani on her toes. By the swim to bike transition Taormina had
a 23 second lead, with the eventual winner Vanessa Fernandez 43 seconds
back at this point. Once on the bike, Taormina waited for some support and was
soon joined by teammates Susan Williams and Gibbs-Lavelle, Fernandez,
Jodie Swallow (GBR) and Gemignani.
The chase pack of 13 was led by Pilar Hidalgo and was a mere
14 seconds back after the 1st of 5 laps.
Kelly Handel of the USA led the second chase pack that also
included Olympic Champion Bridgette McMahon – a further 1:30 back. By the end of the 2nd lap, Hidalgo had led the
chase pack up to the leaders to form a group of 19 at the front. Austria’s Kate Allen now became the leader
of the chase group that was 3:16 back by the half way point and well
out of contention. Hidalgo pulled the leaders through most of the remaining
2 laps and was the first one through the second transition and onto
the 4 lap, 10km run course. Taormina
took over at the front for the first lap, with Fernandez and Williams
on her shoulder. The lead settled down by the 5km mark, with
Fernandez and Hidalgo being joined at the front by Brazil’s Mariana
Ohata and Germany’s Joelle Franzmann.
The troika of Ohata, Fernandez and Hidalgo slowly pulled away
from the others, setting things up for a dramatic finish.
It was the young Portuguese’s day, adding her first World Cup title to this year’s credits that include European Junior Triathlon Champion and World Junior Duathlon Champion. She managed to out-sprint Mariana Ohata in the finish straight for the win, with Hidalgo a few second back. Joelle Franzmann continued her strong season by finishing 4th with Jodie Swallow 5th. A jubilant Vanessa Fernandez said in the post-race interview, “I prepared for those hills on the bike, and they came very easy for me. I just can’t believe that I’ve won my first World Cup!” A very tearful Mariana Ohata told the press after the race
that she was so sad about her performance in last weekend’s Nice ITU
World Cup that she phoned her parents in Brazil and told them she
wanted to come home! “Fortunately
they convinced me not to give-up, so now I have a silver medal to
take home to them.” In the men’s event, Spain’s World Champion and hero Ivan
Rana led through the 2 lap swim and was first into the swim to bike
transition, sending a wave of enthusiasm through the huge crowd that
had gathered under the shade of the 250 year old Tamarix Gallica trees
which have made Casa de Campo an internationally famous botanic reserve.
It was the transition-savvy Simon Thompson of Australia who
scampered through the mélange first followed by Rana and Vladimir
Polykarpenko of the Ukraine. The lead pack was almost 40 riders with the Spanish team
of Rana, Xavier Llobet, Jose Merchan, brothers Hektor and Eneko Llanos
working their magic at the front.
Stefan Vukovic of Germany, Andrea D’Quino of Italy and Levi
Maxwell of Australia were also taking their turn at the front of the
huge pack. Newcomer Reinaldo Colucci of Brazil and Dimitri Gaag of Kazakhstan
where leading the charge of the chase pack, but by the half way point
had fallen out of contention almost 2 minutes back. With 2 laps to go D’Quino and Merchan joined forces to attempt
a get-away, with Xavier Llobet and Hektor Llanos controlling the chase
pack. The leaders managed
to build up a 36 second lead before being pulled back in before the
end of the bike. Ivan Rana was the first off the bike with Germany’s Maik
Petzold and Switzerland’s Sven Riederer on his heels. Again, the speedy Simon Thompson was first through the bike to run
transition, with Rana, Unger, Reto Hug of Switzerland, and American
team-mates Hunter Kemper and Michael Smedley close behind. Craig Watson of New Zealand soon moved forward
to take the lead, and by the 5km point 13 athletes were still running
together at the front. Rasmus
Henning of Denmark took over at the front at the 7km mark along with
Cedric Fleureton of France, as Filip Ospaly dropped off the back to
make it 12 still in contention for the podium. On the final lap, Richard Stannard of Britain and Eneko Llanos fell off the back as Rana, Kemper, Polykarpenko, Watson and Unger continued shoulder to shoulder at the front. In the final metres Hunter Kemper found that extra gear and snatched his first World Cup title of the season from the others. Vladimir Polykarpenko continued to play bridesmaid by racking up another 2nd place finish, while Craig Watson managed to fend off Ivan Rana for the final step on the podium. A disappointed Ivan Rana said, “My head just wasn’t there today. 4th is fine – I learned a lot!”
Top 10
Elite men
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