Sissons the Best of the Kiwis in Sydney

World champion Javier Gomez has mastered horrible conditions to take out the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship in Sydney while Ryan Sissons was the best of the Kiwis, the 23 year old coming home an impressive 11th in a class field.

The two-time world champion Gomez overcame a nasty fall on the bike leg to power away in the final stages of the run leg to post a comfortable victory over Great Britain’s Jonathan Brownlee in a time of 1:50.22, with Swiss star Sven Riederer taking the final place on the podium.

Sissons was the over achiever in the New Zealand contingent, the Oceania U23 Champion putting together an impressive race in difficult conditions to set up his season nicely, knowing he is in a race to establish himself amongst the very best New Zealanders, if not in the world. With a maximum three spots available at the London Olympic Games, the Aucklander knows he has to show his ability to foot it with the best in the sport.

Of the other Kiwis Bevan Docherty was 18th, Martin Van Barneveld 35th, James Elvery 39th and Kris Gemmell 40th while Clark Ellice didn’t make the finish line.

If the women’s event began in picture perfect Sydney conditions, the men’s event was the complete opposite, with heavy rain falling throughout the entire race.

The bike leg in particular became a case of staying upright rather than charging through the field, as rider after rider came to grief in the treacherous conditions.

While it made racing incredibly difficult for the elite performers, those spectators who braved the heavy rain were greeted to some spectacular, if not very painful crashes that even extended to the run leg.

That leg provided a bitter-sweet moment for second placed Brownlee who watched his brother Alistair slip and crash to the bitumen while at the front of the lead group in the run. Casting aside the anguish of seeing his brother not only out of contention but clearly injured as well, Jonathan did a remarkable job to regain his composure to finish second.

Despite his gallant attempt, Alistair could not regain his place in the lead group and faded to finish 29th.

Even though the eventual winning margin was a comfortable seven seconds, Gomez had such a bad tumble while on the bike he thought he’d have to retire from the race.

“My hips were a bit sore and I had to push through two laps by myself but when I got to the run leg I realised I was running faster than the leaders so I just kept going until I caught them,” he said.

Gomez believes the conditions faced in Sydney were some of the toughest he had encountered, making his victory even more special.

“It was not too cold but it was really very slippery, and I had the wrong tyres on my bike so I nearly crashed many times. It was quite hard and dangerous,” he added.

And in an ominous warning to those nipping at his heels, the Spanish superstar believes he will only get better as the year progresses.

“Today showed me that I am fitter than what I thought coming in. I felt I should give up after the crash, the pack was a bit far ahead but then I realized I was very strong.

“It was a strong field so to win here is very special,” he said.

The next round of the Dextro Energy ITU World Triathlon Series is in Japan on 8 May.