When does a win become a statement?
In particular, at what point is a winning margin large enough to be considered a message to one’s rivals?
On their way to the wins at the European Junior Cup in Wels, both Thomas Hansmaennel and Margareta Vrablova made loud statements with their performances. Racing on the Junior scene now enters a crucial phase, with focus crystallised around the World Junior Championships in two and a half weeks.
Some athletes will have another opportunity to race before the gun goes off in Hamburg. Most won’t. As such, the final messages issued by Hansmaennel and Vrablova were unequivocal: stop us if you can.
Men’s race
The aspect that impressed most about Hansmaennel’s win was that, for much of it, he was arguably on the back foot. In a marvellous performance, Zalán Hóbor of Hungary crushed the swim. He dropped a 9:01 split and only one other man (Pao Millo of France) was able to get withing 15 seconds of him.
With a good lead, Hóbor did not rest of his laurels and hammered the opening laps of the bike.
Further back, Hansmaennel surfaced in the chase group having completed the swim in 9:30. A good T1 saw him gain a few seconds but he was very much on the back foot.
With only Millo for company, Hóbor had his work cut out at keeping away from the chase. Nevertheless, he stuck to his task until the fourteen man chase pack finally caught up.
Alexander Bozhilov used the moment to move to the front of the race but Hansmaennel was soon also at the head of the group. On paper, there is a chink in the Frenchman’s armour. If a big group can get away like Hóbor and Millo did then he could be put under immense pressure. Yet the way Hansmaennel shut the door on the leaders in Wels makes it hard to imagine that he would have no answer.
To offer a conclusive answer in Wels, Hansmaennel burst away from the lead group on the run. For good measure, he clocked a 14:55 split, the fastest by 35 seconds, to breeze to the win. His split would not have looked far out of place at the business end of the Senior men’s race in Wels.
Despite his huge exertions earlier in the race, Hóbor had enough left in the tank to out-kick Carol Popa for the silver medal. In turn Popa, beat Anton Serieys to the bronze.
Another notable part of the race came from Nathan Simionato; after missing the front pack, Simionato clocked a 15:04 5km to run through to 8th place. Similarly Kuba Gajda clocked a 15:19 split on his way to 11th.
When all was said and done, though, the gold belonged to Hansmaennel. His victory could sit beside his triumphs at the Quarteira European Junior Cup and the French Junior Championships. If Hóbor and the field are to beat the defending World Junior champion in Hamburg, they might just need to ride as if the run does not exist.
Women’s race
In contrast to Hansmaennel, Vrablova was among the best swimmers and established herself at the front from the start. Sophie Spencer of New Zealand was the quickest in the water and clocked 10:00. Vrablova was only a couple of places behind as she recorded a 10:07. Indeed, the Slovakian out-swam Tabea Huys, an exceptional swimmer in her own right.
Just recently, Huys led the field into T1 at the European Cup in Kitzbühel.
After a trail of women flowed through transition, the field broke up on the bike. Four women, including Spencer and Vrablova pulled away from the field to establish a solid lead. Jamie Harker of Canada and Adelaide Anna Badini Confalonieri also made the lead quartet. Indeed, four of the five fastest swimmers managed to make the breakaway. Sara Crociani lost touch with the group after a great swim and therefore had to chase from the pack behind.
The chase pack contained fast runners such as Anouk Rigaud and Ambre Grasset, although their chances of the win faded as the leaders extended their advantage. All four took their turns at the front and looked a far more cohesive unit that the chase.
As a result, by the time they arrived in T2, the leaders held an advantage of around 30 seconds.
In a similar manner to Hansmaennel in the men’s race, Vrablova stormed away from her fellow leaders to take the win by over 30 seconds. As she crossed the line, she claimed a fourth European Junior Cup gold of the season.
While Vrablova shut down the race for the gold early on, the remaining medals were very much alive. Harker slipped behind Spencer and Badini Confalonieri however Rigaud and Grasset were advancing through the field.
The New Zealand athlete, Spencer, was the first to crack after her impressive efforts in the first two disciplines and soon after the two French athletes swept past. Badini Confalonieri continued to battle however as the run reached its climax she too was overtaken. In the closing metres, Grasset launched a burst of speed to take the silver medal as Rigaud earned bronze.
Both virtually matched Vrablova’s run split and, being born in 2006 and 2007, they indicate the French production line of talent will not be slowing anytime soon.
View the full race results here.
