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 • Walton, Lindley take Tiszaujvaros • Lindley, Krnavek survive heat in Hungary • Triathlon snowbirds heading south • Tiszaujvaros draws a more competitive World Cup • Swallow gets world uni title in third triathlon ever • Tiszaufvaros races feature new swims |
Walton, Lindley take Tiszaujvaros ITU World Cup August 3, Tiszaujvaros, Hungary (www.slowtwitch.com): Aussie Craig Walton, fresh off of a strong performance at the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon last week, took out a wire-to-wire win at the Tiszaujvaros ITU World Cup on Sunday. He built a strong lead on the swim and bike and held off late charges from runners who began their 10k more than two minutes behind him, reports on the ITU website say. Walton finished nearly 30 seconds clear of the Ukraine’s Vladimir Polikarpenko, with defending champion Martin Krnavek of the Czech Republic in third less than 20 seconds behind that. In the women’s race, American Siri Lindley defended the title she won last year, turning a hat trick to make it three in a row in Tiszaujvaros. She stayed in contact with the leaders on the swim, exiting the wa ter 14 seconds after the lead pack. She joined Christiane Pilz of Germany and Pilar Hidalgo of Spain in leading a pack of about 26 cyclists on the twisty, technical, multi-loop bike course. Pilz was first onto the four-lap run course, but Lindley was well on her way to victory by the finish of the first lap, when she’d put 10 seconds into Pilz. She added time on each lap while a tight race formed behind her for the remaining podium places. The Czech Republic’s Lenka Radova took second 11 seconds behind Lindley, while Tracy Hargreaves-Looze of Australia ran through the field to grab third. For more details, visit the ITU website at http://www.triathlon.org. (RESULTS) ----- Lindley, Krnavek survive heat in Hungary August 20, 2001, Tiszaujvaros, Hungary Six different national flags were raised in victory at the medal ceremony for the ITU World Cup Triathlon, Tiszaujvaros. It was the first time in the history of ITU World Cup racing that the medals have been so widely shared. Since triathlon made its debut at the Olympic Games in 2000, racing has become closer, faster and far less predictable than in previous years and the result has been more success for emerging national teams. There were many other firsts today, including some of the fastest split times of the season on the flat and fast course. The racing was the hottest of the season, as the temperature reached a maximum of 97 degrees (36C). The women dove into the 78-degree water at 12.30pm. Loretta Harrop stroked to the front, and would have created an even bigger lead from the 1500m swim if she had not misjudged her navigation on the first of the two-lap swim. Her sprint through transition was reminiscent of her previous races on this course, and an indication of Harrop"s intentions of a solo race, start to finish. The strategy has been the key to her success before and Harrop was chasing a fourth consecutive victory at this popular leg of the ITU World Cup. At T1 the big question was, where is World Champion Siri Lindley? Her consistent swim leg has given Lindley the advantage of Harrop's feet in recent races, however today the crowd waited 1:16 before the recently crowned world champ arrived. "Sometimes it is a matter of luck," said Lindley after the race. "If you get caught up behind athletes, that can slow you down. It wasn't until the second lap of the swim that I was able to find clear water and build up my speed." Swimming with Lindley was Wieke Hoogzaad (NED), the recent bronze medallist in ITU World Cup Corner Brook, Anje Dittmer (GER), and thirteen others. The early lead was enough to inspire Harrop to surge ahead. During the 6km stretch from Lake Tisza to the Tiszaujvaros town centre, where the athletes would race a twisty six lap criterium-style 40km bike Harrop gained twenty seconds. Behind a large chase pack formed as the formidable Christiane Pilz (GER) took control to chase Harrop. However the group didn't seem to be particularly organized in their pursuit and Harrop began to build a significant gap. By transition two she had powered to a 2:14 lead in her characteristic solo effort. With the speed of Lindley, Hoogzaad and Hargreaves behind, it soon became apparent that Harrop's efforts might be overwhelmed. Approaching the final of four laps of the 10 kilometre run, Lindley passed Harrop, with Hoogzaad around ten seconds later. The surprise of the day came from Dittmer, who ran brilliantly to claim the final podium position. Harrop was swallowed up by the relative fresh legs of the field, placing 10th. "Loretta swam and rode so well today and I realised that if she was able to gain one and a half minutes in the first part of the race, then she would easily have a lead of more than two minutes," said Lindley. "I didn't feel that flash today and I didn't have the strength on the bike to try to break away. My plan was just to get off the bike and hammer out the first lap to get as much of a gap on Wieke. I felt like that was the hardest race in a long time." When the men hit the water at 4.15pm, the tight swimming was also a feature of the first discipline of the race. As expected the French duo of Stephan Bignet and Stephane Poulat exited the water first, however Courtney Atkinson (AUS) trailed them in his first race of the ITU World Cup season, Richard Stannard (GBR), and Hungarian hometown favourites, Szabolcs Agoston and Gabor Buru. There was no significant gap, as the entire field seemed to be joined in one line. Closer to the lead of that line was pre race favourite Martin Krnavek (CZE) in seventh and further adrift were notable runners Dimitry Gaag (KAZ) in 23rd and Bevan Docherty in 26th. Krnavek soon joined a leading pack of thirteen men, but their pace was erratic. While the group sometimes co-ordinated well to extend its lead, it lost its momentum and was swallowed up by a large group with just five kilometres remaining on the bike. The efforts of Docherty and Australians Bryce Quirk and Levi Maxwell on the bike paid off as the second group were suddenly in contention. The first two kilometres off the bike were lightning fast as Gaag, Krnavek and Docherty jostled for the lead. Poulat stayed in touch, around 10 metres behind the group. It was a race of attrition in which Krnavek finally pulled away, in only the final kilometre of the race. Gaag held on for second place, and the patient Poulat overpowered Docherty to pick up third. "The pace for the first lap was so fast," said Krnavek. "Then we realised how hot it was and the pace slowed quite a lot. I was just holding on, trying to keep my pace and rhythm. It was a very tough run and it was only in the last kilometre that I knew that I could win.". ----- Triathlon snowbirds heading south January 5, 2001, Oroshaza, Hungary, (www.slowtwitch.com): "This year we do the warm weather training in wintry Hungary," says Joe Budai, coach of Aniko Gog. "But we’d be happier to train in Phoenix, Arizona." Gog was the third woman home in the European Junior Triathlon Championships in 2000, and then went on to represent Hungary in the Olympics. It seems all the rest of the triathlon world is flying south for the winter, but not Gog. The funds aren’t there. "This year we're going to stay and train in Hungary," Budai said. "We aren't going to any camp. Nevertheless, the idea of warm-weather training is lingering around like a dream fairy." It’s the time of year when professional triathletes often head to sunnier climates to lay down some base miles, often training in small groups, and sometimes with professional cyclists also doing their base work. The migration begins around January and continues through the early spring—and several Europeans have schedules that sound like a slice of paradise to North Americans caught in snow and freezing temperatures. For some, the warm-weather training will culminate with races meant to gauge their progress. Like Gog, Olympic champ Simon Whitfield also hails from a snowy country—Canada—but he’s basking in the Aussie Gold Coast sunshine right now along with his coach, Lance Watson, and a dozen or so fellow Canadians. Several Americans also are in Australia. Other Yanks plan to hang out in San Diego this winter, or even make the trip to Latin America. Favorite spots there are Brazil or Chile, and Victor Plata will spend his winter weeks in Merida, Venezuela. Many Europeans attend several-week training camps in the Canary Islands. The favorite spot is Club La Santa, where the Ironman Lanzarote is held. This resort has cornered the market as an off-season triathlon destination for Euro pros. But not all Europeans go there. A fair number favor the training in Mallorca, a Balearic Island in the Mediterranean. Others, like Czech long-distance ace Petr Vabrousek, will go all the way to South Africa: Stellenbosch is where he’ll head. This is a spot favored by many Czech triathletes, and they’re not alone. The British elite squad has wintered there for the past three years. Even San Diegans aren’t content to stay put. North County resident Spencer Smith is in Tucson, Arizona, riding with Jimmy Riccitello. It isn’t just Tucson’s weather that draws the three-time former world champ. The Mercury pro cycling team is there right now, and certain of the U.S. Posties are reportedly due in next week. Riccitello is well-known in Tucson bike racing circles, and he and Smith will use the roadies to advance their already superlative cycling skills. Perhaps Swiss racer Christoph Mauch has the most eclectic training resort schedule. This pre-season he’ll spend two weeks on Cyprus, two weeks on the Pula Peninsula in Croatia, and two weeks on Lanzarote. Meanwhile, Gog is staying in Hungary, in a small town called Oroshaza. "It's winter here," says Budai, "… cold and snowy and icy. The swimming pool is 23 kilometers away. It's 33 meters long, and an open pool. The water is dark, no swim-line can be seen on the bottom of the pool, but that's the best we've got. We've been training in Oroshza a little over two months. But just in a few days we're going to Budapest, where Erika Molnar's been training. We'll be there to train for about two months, maybe a little longer. Unfortunately, there's winter in Budapest, too. Next year we want to warm-weather-train in Phoenix, Arizona." ------ Tiszaujvaros draws a more competitive World Cup August 3, Tiszaujvaros, Hungary (www.slowtwitch.com): Seven men and 11 women who will race in the Olympic triathlon will first be racing on Sunday at the ITU World Cup-Tiszaujvaros. They highlight a field so far comprised of 53 men -- 15 of them from the host-country Hungary -- and 34 women. The ITU has emphasized that the starting field, listed below, is tentative. The women's race includes Michellie Jones, Loretta Harrop and Nicole Hackett -- the three Australians originally named to the Olympic team. But now only Jones is confirmed for that, as Harrop and Hackett both await a revisited decision by Triathlon Australia's selectors. That was forced by a successful appeal by two others who were named only as alternates, Emma Carney and Jackie Gallagher. Here is who is racing on Sunday: - Men from Australia (7): Courtney Atkinson, Tom Barr, Ryan Carter, Trent Chapman, Chris Hill, Chris McCormack, Simon Thompson - Men from Austria (2): Norbert Domnik, Bernhard Hiebl - Men from Bulgaria (1): Boris Tanev - Men from Czech Republic (3): Martin Krnavek, Martin Matula, Filip Ospaly - Men from Finland (1): Jarmo Hast - Men from France (2): Benjamin Sanson, Jerome Sanson - Men from Great Britain (1): Richard Stannard - Men from Hong Kong (1): Brian Bozarth - Men from Hungary (15): Szabolcs Agoston, Peter Bajai, Ferenc Bartos, Gabor Buru, Andreas Heczey, Peter Hobor, Szabolcs Kaldau, Gyula Kis, Csaba Kuttor, Tamas Liptak, Laszlo Marta, Balzs Pancsity, Ede Rutkovszki, Szilard Szabo, Egon Szilagyi - Men from Japan (2): Jiro Kikuchi, Seiya Nagata - Men from Kazakhstan (1): Dimitry Gaag - Men from Netherlands (2): Sander Berk, Raymond Lotz - Men from New Zealand (6): Paul Amey, Kris Gemmell, Jamie Hunt, Matthew Reed, Shane Reed, Bryan Rhodes - Men from Russia (1): Alexander Bagazeev - Men from South Africa (1): Lieuw Boonstra - Men from Spain (2): Jose Barbany, Eneko Llanos - Men from Sweden (2): Bjorn Andersson, Jonas Djurback - Men from Ukraine (3): Andriy Glushchenko, Maksim Mazur, Volodymyr Polikarpenko - Women from Australia (5): Jane Fardell, Nicole Hackett, Loretta Harrop, Michellie Jones, Rebekah Keat - Women from Austria (2): Eva Bramboeck, Jasmine Haemmerle - Women from Czech Republic (1): Renata Berkova - Women from France (4): Cornelia Bourgadel, Beatrice Mouthon, Isabelle Mouthon, Delphine Py - Women from Germany (1): Christiane Pilz - Women from Great Britain (5): Sian Brice, Michelle Dillon, Steph Forrester, Anneliese Heard, Heather Williams - Women from Hungary (7): Olga Danka, Nora Edosceny, Aniko Gog, Aletta Gulyas, Petra Harangi, Erika Molnar, Andrea Walko - Women from Japan (3): Chitose Higashi, Machiko Nakanishi, Misa Nonaka - Women from Luxembourg (1): Nancy Kemp-Arendt - Women from Netherlands (1): Silvia Pepels - Women from Russia (3): Maria Alikina, Nina Anisimova, Olga Generalova - Women from Spain (1): Pilar Hidalgo ----- Swallow gets world uni title in third triathlon ever July 30, Tiszaujvaros, Hungary (www.slowtwitch.com): Not only did Jodie Swallow, a student at England's Loughborough University and a new name among European's top triathletes this summer, beat a world-class field on Sunday: She won a world title. It came in just her third triathlon ever, in the World University Triathlon Championships. It follows the European Juniors title she won on July 7 in Stein, Netherlands, which followed her first-ever triathlon, the Windsor Triathlon in England on June 18. The men's winner, Czech Republic's Filip Ospaly, was both better-known and more predictable. He beat a pair of Hungarians, Szabolcs Agoston and Andras Heczey, who helped Hungary to the team title. (RESULTS) ----- New swims for Tiszaufvaros races
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