If there were any doubts about Paula Findlay's status as triathlon's leading lady, the Canadian star officially smashed them in Kitzbühel when she became the most successful woman in the history of the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series. In yet another thrilling finish Findlay beat Helen Jenkins (GBR) for the gold, a repeat of Madrid just two weeks ago, while Sarah Groff (USA) claimed a breakthrough bronze medal - the first for an American woman in the Dextro Energy Triathlon Series.
But the day belonged to Findlay who now has five series wins to put her ahead of
Emma Moffatt's (AUS) four - and incredibly, those five wins have come from her
last six series races, and she is three from three in 2011.
Findlay's record breaking win in Kitzbühel was also her toughest so far in 2011.
As well as cold temperatures, rain and even hail, Findlay had to make up ground
from the start. She was a full minute down on the leaders after the swim and was
then part of a chase group that caught the breakaway leaders, Jenkins and Sarah
Haskins (USA), at the end of the fourth bike lap.
A total of 21 athletes then hit T2 together and at stages, it looked like Groff, Moffatt and Barbara Riveros Diaz (CHI) would all test the Canadian but then just like in Madrid, it came down to a head-to-head with Jenkins. The 2008 World Champion, who led at almost all stages through the race just couldn't hold on, but Findlay revealed she had pushed her.
"I'm just thrilled again, that was a really hard race, I have so much respect for Helen, I really didn't think I could stay with her, I was running at maximum the
whole way," Findlay said.
Jenkins said it had been a tactic to try and push Findlay earlier than she did in
Madrid and it had almost paid off.
"After Madrid, I knew I wasn't going to beat her over the last 400m and over the
last 2.5km I was just really trying to push on and break her, and I could see she
was working, but in the last few hundred metres I just couldn't catch her," Jenkins
said.
"I'm happy with second, I wish I hadn't waited now, but it's racing you had to give
it a go. Sarah (Haskins) is so strong and I thought we could get there. I'm just
happy with the run, I felt awful on the first lap, but came good."
Early in the race Haskins, who won her first career ITU World Cup title last month
in Monterrey, started aggressively with the swim and built a 20-second lead out
of the water. Jenkins was next out and worked hard to catch the American on the
first lap. Together, they evoked memories of the 2008 Vancouver ITU World Championships,
when they made a break on the bike and Jenkins (nee Tucker) out-sprinted Haskins
to win a world title. It wasn't to be in Kitzbühel though as a chase pack of 19,
led by Andrea Hewitt (NZL), Svenja Bazlen (GER) and Annabel Luxford (AUS), consistently
cut the gap. After it started at 40 seconds in the first, they cut the time each
lap and caught Haskins and Jenkins at the end of the fourth.
That group of 21 then hit T2 together, with Findlay, Haskins, Groff, Riveros Diaz,
Laura Bennett, Melanie Annaheim (SUI) and Erin Densham (AUS) moving to the front
quickly in the run. Moffatt then caught that group and as others dropped - it came
down to Moffatt, Groff, Findlay and Jenkins in the final lap. Groff held off theothers to win bronze, her first ever Dextro Energy Triathlon Series podium, and
was thrilled.
"I think it was just a matter of having fun today," Groff said. "Last year I had
a really rough year with injury, I'm just having fun with the sport, I don't know
how much longer I'm going to be able to do it...I'm not a youngster like Paula (Findlay),
so I'm just trying to have fun. It's not going to work every day, but it's fantastic
just to be in there with some really, really strong runners."
GB's Jodie Stimpson came home in a creditable 19th following a DNF last year through bad luck with not one but two punctures. She paid the price for working hard to try and pull the second group back to catch the lead pack in the bike. check out Jodies frank refelctions on the race here Jodies’s blog
In other notable results, Japan's Ai Ueda ran through a large portion of the field
to finish seveth, while Moffatt had her best Dextro Energy Triathlon Series result
so far in 2011 with fourth.
Moffatt's grip on the ITU World Championship looks to be slipping though as Findlay's
win gives her a perfect 2400 series rankings points from the opening three races.
Riveros Diaz is closest in the second with 1912 points, then Hewitt with 1685. Bennett
is in fourth, and Jenkins close behind in sixth.
The next round in the 2011 Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship series
is in Hamburg, on July 16 and 17. The series then moves on to London and Lausanne
before the Grand Final in Beijing.
all images courtesy Delly Carr/ITC media
Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World ChampionshipKitzbühel- June 19, 2011
Final Results - Elite Women - Official
1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run
Gold - Paula
Findlay (CAN) - 2:05:52 Silver - Helen
Jenkins (GBR) - 2:05:56 Bronze - Sarah
Groff (USA) - 2:06:27 4th - Emma Moffatt
(AUS) - 2:06:31 5th - Barbara Riveros
Diaz (CHI) - 2:06:41 6th - Laura Bennett
(USA) - 2:06:44 7th - Ai Ueda (JPN)
- 2:07:00 8th - Erin Densham
(AUS) - 2:07:03 9th - Svenja Baslen
(GER) - 2:07:10 10th - Nicky Samuels
(NZL) - 2:07:11
Click here for full field results
Click here for updated 2011 Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series rankings
