Javier Gomez of Spain and Alexandra Tondeur of Belgium won the elite titles of the ITU Long Distance World Championship Saturday in Pontevedra, Spain.
Men
Gomez ran away from the field at the ITU Long Distance Championship to accumulate his 9th World Championship title.
At 36 years of age, the Spaniard has won the ITU Olympic distance World Championship in 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2015. He won the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in 2014 and 2017. He won the XTERRA World Championship in 2012.
And now he has won the International Triathlon Union Long Distance World Championship over a 1.5 kilometer swim, 110 kilometer bike leg and 30 kilometer run in a time of 5:05:39 with a 5:42 margin of victory over fellow Spaniard and defending champion Pablo Dapena and 6:23 over 3rd place finisher Jaroslav Kovacic of Slovenia.
Gomez, who placed second at WTS Bermuda last weekend, led the swim with a 20:23 split which gave him 14 seconds lead on Dapena and a pack of four other men leading the way on to the 100-meter bike leg. After the first of three 35-kilometer laps, Gomez led a front group of four including Dapena, Miki Taaghoff of Denmark, and Sebastian Fraysse of France.
Terenzo Bozzone of New Zealand worked hard to close his 1 minute 7 second deficit after the swim and joined Gomez at the front halfway through the ride. At 60 kilometers of the bike leg, Lukas Kocar of the Czech Republic arrived at the front and for a time surged past Gomez.
Bozzone, who wrung every last ounce of effort to join the front pack, joined with Gomez and Dapena at the front, followed closely by Kristian Hogenhaug of Denmark, Alberto Moreno Morins of Spain, Antony Costes of France, Jaroslav Kovacic of Slovenia, Fraysse and Ruedi Wild of Switzerland.
Within two kilometers of transition, Bozzone surged to the front and led Gomez, Dapena, Molins, Hogenhaug, and Wild within 12 seconds into T2. On the first of four laps of the run course, Bozzone led Gomez, Dapena and Molins while Hogenhaug dropped back. But by the end of the first lap, Gomez fought back and took an 18-seconds lead over Dapena and Bozzone.
After a dominating 1:47:50 split for the 30-kilometer run, Gomez finished in 5:05:39 with a 5:42 margin of victory over Dapena (1:53:59 run).
“It was so hard, especially that last lap on the run and they pushed me all the way and I am so glad I got this one at home (in Spain),” Gomez told ITU media. “It was a tough day. it was a good bike course for me, really hard and I felt good. I had some energy for the run. Everyone started really fast out of transition and I knew we would blow up, lucky I am the last to do so. “
Dapena was overwhelmed by the fervor of his home country crowd. “For everybody supporting, for me I was crying because I never expected a crowd like this,” he told ITU media. “I stopped before the finish to walk and enjoy it. I’ll never forget it.”
Women
Camilla Pedersen of Denmark led the swim by 40 seconds, lost 35 seconds with a slow transition but led the field by a few seconds on to the first of three laps of the bike leg. At the end of the first lap, Pedersen led Manon Genet of France, Tondeur, Anna Noguero of Spain and Judith Corachan Vaquero of Spain.
On the second lap, Genet led a pack of three including Pedersen and Tondeur while Noguero and Vaquero dropped 1:45 off the pace and Emma Bilham of Switzerland and Maja Stage Nielsen of Denmark were 2 minutes further back.
Coming back into town on the final lap of the bike, Genet took the lead with Pedersen and Tondeur 30 seconds back in second and third.
Unfortunately, after the first lap of the run, Pedersen retired with physical ailments and Tondeur dominated the rest of the 30 kilometer run.
After a women’s third -best 2:05:36 run split, Tondeur finished in 5:05:39 with a 5:42 margin of victory over Judith Corachan Vaquero of Spain, who closed with a women’s best 2:04:30 run split. Anna Noguero of Spain closed with a 2:05:23 run to take 3rd place, 3:12 behind the winner.
ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championship
Pontevedra, Spain
May 4, 2019
S 1.5k / B 110k. R 30k
Results
Men
1. Javier Gomez (ESP) 5:05:39 S 20:23 T1 2:53 B 2:52:35 T2 2:00 R 1:47:50
2. Pablo Dapena Gonzalez (ESP) 5:11:21 S 20:37 T1 2:57 B 2:52:17 T2 1:53 R 1:53:39
3. Jaroslav Kovacic (SLO) 5:12:02 S 21:49 T1 2:59 B 2:51:00 T2 1:43 R 1:54:33
4. Kristian Hogenhaug (DEN) 5:12:09 S 21:47 T1 3:08 B 2:50:57 T2 2:04 R 1:54:16
5. Antony Costes (FRA) 5:14:18 S 22:14 T1 2:59 B 2:50:40 T2 1:54 R 1:56:33
6. Daniel Baekkegard (DEN) 5:15:04 S 20:34 B 2:54 B2:59:29 T2 2:29 R 1:49:40
7. Terenzo Bozzone (NZL) 5:15:22 S 21:19 T1 3:04 B 2:51:19 T2 1:29 R 1:58:14
8. Miki Taagholt (DEN) 5:15:29 S 21:02 T1 2:45 B 2:54:01 T2 1:55 R 1:55:48
9. Andrey Bryukhankov (RUS) 5:17:41 S 20:52 T12:50 B 2:56:34 T2 1:54 R 1:55:32
10. Sebastien Fraysse (FRA) 5:18:40 S 20:36 T1 20:36 T1 3:00 B 2:53:02 T2 2:02 R 2:00:02
Women
1. Alexandra Tondeur (BEL) 5:48:01 S 26:21 T1 2:58 B 3:10:27 T2 2:41 R 2:05:36
2. Judith Corachan Vaquero (ESP) 5:50:06 S 25:15 T1 3:23 B 3:15:18 T2 1:41 R 2:04:30
3. Anna Noguero (ESP) 5:51:33 S 25:09 T1 3:18 B 3:15:28 T2 2:17 R 2:05:23
4. Manon Genet (FRA) 5:54:16 S 26:17 T1 3:21 V 3:09:40 T2 2:01 R 2:13:00
5. Maja Stage Nielsen (DEN) 5:57:13 S 25:31 T1 3:06 B 3:20:33 T2 1:57 R 2:06:08
6. Emma Bilham (SUI) 5:57:51 S 25:00 T1 3:33 B 3:16:38 T2 1:48 R 2:10:54
7. Asa Lundstrom (SWE) 6:02:54 S 28:43 T1 3:11 B 3:21:08 T2 1:59 R 2:07:55
8. Gurutze Frades (ESP) 6:07:30 S 30:09 T1 4:33 B 3:25:49 T2 2:09 R 2:04:52
9. Saleta Castro (ESP) 6:08:23 S 25:12 T1 3:29 B 3:29:38 T2 2:11 R 2:07:54
10. Maki Nishioka (JPN) 6:11:23 S 26:14 T1 3:26 B 3:33:04 T2 2:04 R 2:06:36
