Vicky Holland led a British domination of the sprint distance WTS Edmonton women’s event, taking her second WTS win of the season in a time of 56:51, followed by countrywomen in 3rd, 4th and 5th places.
Holland was strong from start to finish, coming out of the swim in 4th place just 13 second behind the leader, riding in the front pack throughout the hilly 20 kilometer bike leg and then jetting away from all rivals with a race-best 16:41 run split that was 12 seconds faster than her nearest rival
Ashleigh Gentle of Australia took second place in her first WTS podium of the season, 11 seconds behind Holland while Brits Georgia Taylor-Brown, Jessica Learmonth and Jodie Stimpson followed in 3rd, 4th and 5th places - 17, 21 and 23 seconds behind the winner.
“I was really riding high after winning Leeds, and I put in a really good block of training,” Holland told ITU media. “It was unfortunate I had a crash in Hamburg [last week] and I felt very angry and frustrated.”
“My season started with a crash in Abu Dhabi and then a fourth-place finish in Yokohama,” said Gentle, a 2016 Olympian. “I am thrilled to be here in second place. Before the race, I recognized that this course is one that might suit me, that hill is really tough.”
With a 6th place finish, U.S. star Katie Zaferes maintained her points lead in the 2018 WTS series which counts toward the World Championship. Zaferes has accumulated 4170 points, 593 ahead of Holland who vaulted up to second place in the standings after wins at WTS Leeds and Edmonton. Zaferes has finished within the top six of the five WTS races she has completed this year, giving her 4,170 points in the series with two races to go in 2018.
“I try not to think about leading the series too much,” said Holland. “Katie has had such a strong season - she hasn’t messed up any races.”
Two-time WTS defending World Champion Flora Duffy did not race and thus fell to 7th in the points standings. Duffy withdrew before the start at WTS Leeds with a lingering foot injury. After a few weeks rest, Duffy was optimistic she could return to form at WTS Hamburg, but a 10th place finish there showed she needed more recovery if she was to regain her dominating form of the last two years. Last year she won WTS Edmonton in a duel swim-bike duel with U.S. newcomer Taylor Knibb.
Georgia Taylor-Brown was thrilled with a breakthrough finish. ““It’s amazing to be up here (on the podium),” she told ITU media. “It was scary heading into transition first, I wanted to get out of there and go hard. There was a point where a break started happening and I thought, ‘I need to go and bridge back up to the leading two’.”
World Triathlon Series Edmonton
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
July 27, 2018
S 750m / B 20k / R 5k
Results
Elite Women
1. Vicky Holland (GBR) 56:51
2. Ashleigh Gentle (AUS) 57:02
3. Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR) 57:08
4. Jessica Learmonth (GBR) 57:12
5. Jodie Stimpson (GBR) 57:14
6. Katie Zaferes (USA) 57:30
7. Andrea Hewitt (NZL) 57:38
8. Summer Cook (USA) 57:38
9. Verena Steinhauser (ITA) 57:44
10. Taylor Spivey (USA) 57:50
13. Kirsten Kasper (USA) 58:05
16. Taylor Knibb (USA) 58:24
2018 World Triathlon Series Women’s Rankings
1. Katie Zaferes (USA) 4170 – 5 events
2. Vicky Holland (GBR) 3579 – 5 events
3. Rachel Klamer (NED) 3098 – 5 events
4. Kirsten Kasper (USA) 2972 – 5 events
5. Jessica Learmonth (GBR) 2658 – 4 events
6. Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR) 2603 – 4 events
7. Flora Duffy (BER) 2496 – 3 events
8. Taylor Spivey (USA) 2440 – 5 events
9. Laura Lindemann (GER) 2434 – 4 events
10. Jodie Stimpson (GBR) 2361 – 4 events
