Triathlon turns on brilliant display on an equally brilliant Auckland day

Auckland turned it on with a stunning late summer’s day and world class triathlon that matched the near 30 degree conditions in front of huge crowds lining the CBD streets and Queens Wharf as Javier Gomez and Jodie Stimpson won the day for Spain and Great Britain respectively at the Barfoot & Thompson ITU World Triathlon Auckland.

It was a day that the Kiwis featured in strongly though, with Kate McIlroy and Nicky Samuels racing at the front of the field along with Stimpson in a 3 rider breakaway while in the men’s Tom Davison rode like a man possessed with Ryan Sissons showing he was up for the fight too as the Kiwis rode the emotion of the home crowd to earn Sissons a likely nomination for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.



Tom Davison (centre) with Declan Wilson (AUS) and Ryan Sissons during the bike leg. Credit: Delly Carr/ITU.

Both Gomez and Stimpson carried top seeding in to the event and both lived up to their world championship reputations, with commanding performances to open their 2014 campaigns on the best possible note.

Stimpson was the only one brave enough in the lead group to follow the lead of McIlroy and Samuels as the trio broke away midway through the bike leg, eventually establishing a 35 second lead into transition 2 before the run. The British number one ran strongly to keep all challengers at bay, finishing 25 seconds clear of Anne Haug (GER) and compatriot Helen Jenkins (GBR).

Andrea Hewitt was the best of the Kiwis, running strongly to finish in 6th place less than a minute down on Stimpson. The Cantabrian had to make up too much ground on the bike after a swim that saw the world number 5 emerge from the water 23 seconds down on the leaders and in the chase group on the bike.

“I struggled from the start of the bike; I was in the second group but managed to catch up to some of the front girls except for Nicky, Kate and Jodie Stimpson who broke away. We were 35 seconds down and I just stayed with that group on the run, but I couldn’t stay for the finish, it was too much. It’s a good result, I only finished 6th because I lost that sprint finish. It was really tough out there. I’ve got other races that I can improve on and I know what I can improve on now.”

McIlroy was next of the Kiwis in 13th, another solid performance from the Wellington athlete given her late start to training this year on the back of heel surgery.

“I wanted to have a good swim and I did, and I wanted to be relatively aggressive on the bike and we managed to get a small gap. Obviously the gap to the small group was quite big which was worthwhile. When you’ve only been running 3-4 weeks it’s going to show towards the end of the 10k. I’m absolutely rapt; just being at the start line today was a small victory in itself so to be up right in the mix until halfway into the run is good. I can only run faster from here, so I’d like to think my swim and bike are up there and with a few months of running under my belt then I can hopefully be competitive and so hopefully (the Commonwealth Games selectors) will take that into consideration. My heel was a little bit sore, running in my training shoes I actually got a really big blister which was really bugging me in the last 3k, I just wanted to rip my shoes off.”

Samuels was philosophical after her race, one in which she was left ruing a little her decision to go on the bike as she came home in 16th place.

“After this race I feel like I’m getting further away from the high quality of running field. There’s plenty of work to do, and it probably wasn’t wise for me to go off the bike in hindsight, I should have backed my run. I’ve been running well in training so I wanted to put that into practice but I just didn’t have the legs. Even half way through the bike I felt that as well.

“It’s down to the selectors (Commonwealth Games) really; to come out in the top couple in the swim was a big thing for me, that can set up your race. I’ve got a lot of work to do and I’m a bit behind on schedule than what I normally am at this time of year. That might be a good thing for Glasgow, if you’re not peaking for this race then there’s more chance to peak for that race. Hopefully it’s for the best but it’s down to the selectors and what they decide.”

In the men’s race a group of 15 quickly established some dominance out of the water and with Gomez and Jonny Brownlee (GBR) leading the charge with no Kiwis in amongst them; it was looking grim for the home fans crowding the course and Queens Wharf venue.

Someone forgot to tell Tom Davison and Ryan Sissons that you aren’t meant to ride up to groups containing those two superstars though, as Davison set about a bike ride the likes of which the sport has not seen very often if ever before. What was a gap of over a minute slowly but surely and then quickly and amazingly came down as Davison, Sissons and Declan Wilson (AUS) incredibly caught the leaders.

Davison was a machine, Sissons and Wilson were right there with him on the testing 8 lap bike course, eating into a lead as two of the sport’s greatest were powerless to keep them at bay.

Once on to the run Sissons held his form superbly, running to 6th place and inside the required top 8 to earn that Games nomination. Davison was spent but his job was done, and the crowd let him know it every time he passed through on the blue carpet in front of the noisy home fans.

“I came into this race wanting to qualify by myself for the Commonwealth Games, and I did it,” said Sissons. “I didn’t have a great swim to be honest, but we rode really hard and I couldn’t have done it without Tom (Davison). Straight away Tom put the pace on, we had 2 minutes to the second group off the bike and that sealed the deal for me. I’m extremely happy and thankful.  I guess now the focus is training for the Commonwealth Games. This was a good test for me; I know what work I need to do.”

Davison eventually finished 36th but the value of his role in this race won’t be told in the history books simply by checking the results, his effort was incredible and he was hurting post race.

“Obviously the bike was pretty bloody hard. I got into my groove and knew I needed to get right up the front. That was a little bit of a tactic, and it paid off. I was hoping Ryan would make that top 8 and he did. Commonwealth Games is a focus, I came into this race trying to get a discretionary spot to help these boys. My race disintegrated throughout the run but that was expected the way I came into the race.”

While much of the attention was on the Kiwis, there was no doubting the class of Gomez as he and Brownlee ran side by side for much of the 10k, distancing the field before Gomez ran an imperious final kilometre to break the Brit and win by 20 seconds.

“It was pretty hard in the beginning; there were a lot of good swimmers. I worked pretty hard just to keep up with the second group. In the run I knew Jonathan was going to be hard to beat, I tried many times to drop him until the last lap when I had a bit more than him and ran as fast as I could without looking back. I hope to do this race many more times; the course is one of my favourites as that suits me very well. A victory at the start of the season, it’s good for the confidence and shows that things are going well."

Brownlee was all class in finishing second to his great rival.

“Javi killed me on the last bit. I haven’t been in warm weather that long and he’s been doing a lot of hard training. He was just better than me simply. First race of the season you always ask ‘have I trained right, too much, too little, have I not swum enough, biked enough?’ so all those questions are answered now.

“The swim was great, I was out 5th or 6th, the bike was pretty good, the first race on the bike is never that good because you can’t do a lot of swim-to-bike training at this time of year. I enjoyed the course, it was a tough race and I’m pleased to come second but obviously I want to win. I recognised Harvey’s shadow in the first 200m, I know when he’s hurting and I know when he’s running well and he was running well today."

The win was the third in a row in Auckland for the likeable Spaniard and confirms indeed that he is well suited to the tough and testing course, proving he can win in the rain as he did last year, and in the brilliant sunshine of today.

The Tri NZ Selectors will now commence their meetings post the Barfoot & Thompson race with a view to finalising their nominations to the New Zealand Olympic Committee, and with Sissons joining Hewitt in meeting the top 8 aspect of the selection criteria, they will look to use their discretion as they pore over recent form, results and the dynamic of the team for Glasgow, one that can include up to 6 athletes (nominated to the NZOC0) in the individual events but also with a view to the make up of the tag team relay, with 2 male and 2 female athletes in that team. And with New Zealand the silver medallists in this event from the 2013 World Championships, that will no doubt weigh heavily in the selectors thinking.

Full results can be found here.


Javier Gomez crosses the line to win. Credit: Marathon Photos


Jodie Stimpson celebrates her win in Auckland. Credit: Marathon Photos