Just a few triathlons this weekend augmented by some triathlon-related items from France, New Zealand and the Big Island, including a stirring battle at Cyclocross Worlds, a sprint in New Zealand, women gain a day at the Tour de France, coach Cliff English’s new athlete, a snowman atop Mauna Kea and more.
Stybar, Vos win UCI Cyclocross World Championship elite titles
Zdenek Stybar of the Czech Republic won his third men’s world title and Marianne Vos of the Netherlands won her seventh UCI Cyclocross World Championship Sunday at Hoogerheide in the Netherlands.
U.S. Cyclocross National Champion Katie Compton, a pre-race top contender after securing the women’s World Cup overall title in January, slipped a pedal and tangled with the Czech Republic’s Pavla Havlikova on the first lap and lost considerable time before recovering.
Stybar won his third cyclocross world title after a fierce battle with defending champion Sven Nys of Belgium, making his final pass on the last lap, breaking through after Nys made a series of mistakes.
Francis Mourey of France took off first, while Martin Bina of the Czech Republic crashed while in second place as Lars Van der Haar of the Netherlands leaped over the fallen rider to stay in the lead pack. Stybar, primarily a road rider who lacked a front row start due to little recent cross racing, worked hard to slice through the field. As the leaders settled in behind Mourey, Rob Peeters of Belgium and Nys and Stybar separated themselves from the field with Van der Haar and Thijs van Amerongen in close pursuit.
By lap 2, the Nys-Stybar battle left the rest behind. With two Laps to go, Stybar fell on an off-camber right corner while Nys dismounted and leaped over his rival to take a brief lead before Stybar recovered and erased the gap. Shortly thereafter, Nys fell on a u-turn and Stybar attacked. Fighting back, Nys instantly closed the gap once again. On the final lap, Stybar made his decisive move in a muddy pit, powering away as Nys could not counter. The Czech Republic star held on to win by 12 seconds as Kevin Pauwels of Belgium held on for 3rd place, 40 seconds behind the winner.
Marianne Vos of the Netherlands broke clear of the field on the first lap and held at bay late race charges by Eva Lechner of Italy and Helen Wyman of Great Britain to win her 7th UCI World Cyclocross women’s title. Vos finished in 39:25 with a 1:07 margin over runner-up Lechner and 1:17 over 3rd place finisher Wyman.
On the first lap, after pre-race co-favorite Katie Compton of the U.S. slipped and crashed, Wyman took an early lead with Lechner and Vos in hot pursuit. When Wyman slipped and wobbled, Lechner and Vos took over, with Belgians Sanne Cant and Ellen Van Loy leading the chase.
Near the end of the busy first lap, Vos surged ahead of Lechner on an off camber corner. At the start of the second lap, Vos had 5 seconds on Lechner, with Wyman and Cant 19 seconds down and Compton 36 seconds back in 10th. Compton moved up and, near the end of the 3rd lap, the American champion passed Wyman and Cant into the podium position. But soon after that heroic surge, Compton ran out of gas and started to fade.
At the start of the final lap, Vos had a 53 seconds lead on Lechner, with Cant and Wyman 1:09 back and Compton at minus 1:27. Obviously tiring after her comeback struggle, Compton began a frustrated fade to 9th.
On the final lap, Vos held her margin while Wyman briefly passed Lechner before the Italian recovered to retake second place at the finish.
UCI Cyclocross World Championship
Hoogerheide, Netherlands
February 2, 2014
Results
Elite men
1. Zdenek Stybar (CZE) 1:05:29
2. Sven Nys (BEL) 1:05:41
3. Kevin Pauwels (BEL) 1:06:09
4. Klaas Vantornout (BEL) 1:06:28
5. Tom Meeusen (BEL) 1:06:36
18. Jonathan Page (USA) 1:08:24
Elite women
1. Marianne Vos (NED) 39:25
2. Eva Lechner (ITA) 40:32
3. Helen Wyman (GBR) 40:42
4. Sanne Cant (BEL) 40:45
5. Nikki Harris (GBR) 41:58
9. Katherine Compton (USA) 42:23
Chrissie Wellington helps push for one-day women’s stage at Tour de France
The campaign to have a one day women’s stage at the 100th anniversary of the Tour de France succeeded as tour organizers confirmed that a one-day women’s event will take place on the final stage on the Champs Elyseés.
"Back in the autumn a delegation of champion women cyclists came to see us and requested that we create something that would give their sport a real push forward, and that is what will happen on 27 July," Tour de France organizer Christian Prudhomme told the London Observer.
"A giant step forward for women's cycling and one that athletes, teams and the public will undoubtedly support," said retired 4-time Ironman World Champion triathlete Chrissie Wellington, one of the founders of the Le Tour Entier pressure group which has been behind the campaign.
This will be the first time since 1989 that women cyclists have raced alongside their male counterparts at cycling’s most prestigious finish.
Contacts between Tour's parent company Amaury Sports Organisation and Le Tour Entier began in August not long after a petition was launched by the British former world time-trial champion Emma Pooley, Wellington and the veteran pro cyclist and writer Kathryn Bertine to coincide with the 100th running of the men's Tour. The petition drew more than 80,000 signatures within a few months.
Sissons, Pennock win Kinloch OTU Sprint Triathlon Oceania Championships
Ryan Sissons of New Zealand and Ellen Pennock of Canada won the men’s and women’s elite titles at the Kinloch OTU Sprint Triathlon - Oceania Championship Sunday near Taupo.
Sissons combined a tied for 6th- best 8:32 swim, tied for 2nd-best 37:20 bike split and a race-fastest 14:59 5k run to finish in 1:02:02 with a 6 seconds margin of victory over fellow Kiwi Tony Dodds and 27 seconds over 3rd place finisher Brendan Sexton of Australia.
Dodds emerged from the swim in a race-best 8:13 split, which was 5 seconds better than Tyler Mislawchuk of Canada, 8 seconds better than Kenji Nener of Australia, 19 seconds better than Sissons, 21 seconds better than Sexton and 26 seconds better than Tom Davison of New Zealand.
Davison charged to the front with a race-best 36:01 bike split, while Sissons and Sexton’s 37:20 bike splits and Dodds’ 37:39 propelled the trio to arrive in T2 simultaneously, 1 minute back of Davison. While Davison fell out of podium, contention with a 16:46 run, Sissons and Dodds hammered to the front, trailed 25 second slater by Sexton. Sissons’ race best 14:59 split outpaced Dodds’ 15:00 by one second and gave him a 6 seconds margin at the tape.
Pennock combined a 3rd-best 9:08 swim, a race-best 43:52 bike split and a 2nd-fastest 17:26 run to finish in 1:11:55 with a 47 seconds margin of victory over runner-up Fiona Crombie of New Zealand and 3:34 over 3rd-place finisher and fellow Kiwi Rebecca Clarke.
Pennock started her day 8 seconds behind the race-best swim of Clarke and 5 seconds arrears of Maddison Allen of Australia. Pennock took control of the race with a 43:52 bike split which was 31 seconds better than Crombie, 34 seconds better than Samantha Kingsford of New Zealand and 41 seconds better than Clarke. Starting the run, Pennock had a 25 seconds lead on Clarke, 1:31 on Crombie and 1:47 on Kingsford. Pennock then shut the door on her chasers with a 2nd best run that gave back just 5 seconds to the race-best 5k run of runner-up Crombie and added 3:06 to her margin on Clarke, whose 20:32 run brought her the final spot on the podium.
Sophie Corbridge of New Zealand won the Under 23 women's title in a time of 1:11:51 - 4 seconds faster than elite women's winner Pennock.
Kinloch OTU Sprint Triathlon Oceania Championships
Kinloch, New Zealand
February 2, 2014
S 750m / B 20k / R 5k
Results
Elite Men
1. Ryan Sissons (NZL) 1:02:02
2. Tony Dodds (NZL) 1:02:08
3. Brendan Sexton (AUS) 1:02:29
4. Tom Davison (NZL) 1:02:40
5. Etienne Diemunsch (FRA) 1:03:06
Elite Women
1. Ellen Pennock (CAN) 1:11:55
2. Fiona Crombie (NZL) 1:12:42
3. Rebecca Clarke (NZL) 1:15:29
4. Samantha Kingsford (NZL) 1:15:53
5. Sarah Lester (AUS) 1:16:40
The Big Island’s famed triathlete Bree Wee enjoys a rare snow day on Mauna Kea
While Atlanta was paralyzed with an unexpected 2 inches of the white stuff and the Rocky Mountain ski areas enjoyed up to 25 inches of powder, the Big Island of Hawaii welcomed enough snow on top of the 13,700 foot summit of Mauna Kea to offer a rugged snowy playground to its most adventurous citizens. Among them was pro Ironman veteran Bree Wee, who created an impressive snowman this past week. For those not familiar with Mauna Kea, this was a typical winter in which the mountain has been covered with snow three times. Typically, the snowline begins at 9,000 feet of altitude in Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.
Leanda Cave signs on with coach Cliff English
Cliff English, who oversaw former wife Samantha McGlone’s many career highlights, took a turn as coach of Peter Reid and currently coaches Tim O’Donnell, Hunter Kemper, Heather Jackson and T.J. Tollakson, announced that he will be coaching four-time World Champion Leanda Cave this year.
Cave, who won the 2002 ITU Olympic distance World Championship, the 2007 ITU long course World Championship and the 2012 Ironman and Ironman 70.3 World Championships, is coming off a difficult year spent fighting injuries which left her unable to defend her Ironman crowns.
In a post on her blog, Cave explained how hard it was to leave coach Siri Lindley, who remains a very good friend. “Siri has been the most amazing coach for me over the past 4 years and what we were able to achieve was beyond my wildest dreams,” Cave wrote. “Siri believed I could do it and convinced me to believe the same. The journey has taken us through huge ups and downs, which not only made us a stronger team, but tight friends. So, to say goodbye to Siri as a coach was one of the hardest things I have ever had to tell someone in my life.”
This is the second time Cave and English have worked together. English served as her coach in 2005 and 2006.
A 21-year-old man dies after finishing the Hell of the West Triathlon in Australia
Moments after finishing the Hell of the West Triathlon in Goondiwindi, Australia, a 21-year-old man from nearby Nobby, Queensland collapsed and died Sunday.
Hell of the West Triathlon committee member Peter Crothers told the Toowoomba Chronicle that the man finished the 2 kilometer swim, 80 kilometer bike ride and 20 kilometer run and was on his way to the recovery area when he collapsed.
Crothers said a fellow competitor and medical staff rushed to the man's aid. "The first or second competitor behind him was a doctor himself,” said Crothers.
The man was taken to Goondiwindi Hospital but could not be revived.
“It’s the first incident we have had like this in 25 years,” said Crothers.
Goondiwindi Police told the Toowoomba Chronicle that the cause of death was under investigation.
