Sometimes, it takes one athlete to light up a race.
At the opening race of the WTCS season, Sophie Coldwell took it upon herself to be that one athlete. From the start, it was like someone had set off a firework. She was lightning quick off the pontoon and emerged noticeably ahead in the water.
If something looks too good to be true, though, it often is. Such was the case with Coldwell. As she dominated the early portion of the swim, it was confirmed that she had indeed started early and would serve a 10 second penalty in T1.
Such was her speed in the water, she drove her pack from the right hand side of the pontoon to the first buoy in the lead as the rest of the field scrambled across the find whatever feet they could.
At first, Vittoria Lopes was the only woman able to live with Coldwell’s pace, although Summer Rappaport soon made up the gap.
At the swim exit, a group of seven women had formed ahead of the main pack. That group consisted of Coldwell, Lopes, Rappaport, Lena Meißner, Beth Potter, Taylor Spivey and Zsanett Bragmayer. As Coldwell served her penalty in T1, the others made their way past her. However, such was the lead she had helped build, Coldwell was able to get onto the bike before the main group made it into T1.
Bragmayer was dropped early on, leaving a group of six at the head of the race. By the end of the first lap, their lead was 25 seconds.
That lead grew by a few seconds over the second lap, down in no small part to Coldwell. Coldwell was in brilliant form on the bike. Over her winter training camp in Australia, she has been racing in criteriums on the Gold Coast and they certainly seemed to have paid off.
That being said, Beth Potter appeared the early favourite given her running ability. It must also be said, Potter’s swim is now a bona fide threat and she has quietly become one of the most complete athletes in the field.
Further back, Cassandre Beaugrand, Georgia Taylor-Brown and Leonie Periault were stranded in the chase. Taylor-Brown took several turns on the front to try to bring the group back. Her efforts were in vain, though.
Verena Steinhauser and Anabel Knoll also took some useful turns. However, the lead grew nonetheless, reaching 47 seconds ahead of the last lap.
The German duo Lisa Tertsch and Nina Eim jumped onto the front of the chase pack. And yet, that did little for the pace. Much of the main pack was stretched across the road with several athletes towards the back free-wheeling.
Solveig Løvseth made a dig as the lead reached 50 seconds and tried to break off the front. At that moment, what was telling was the contrast in Løvseth’s intensity and that of the women behind. There were more than a dozen riders that seemed to be treating the bike like they were still on their course familiarization.
Løvseth inspired the pack to chase, though, and the lead was cut down to 44 seconds into T2.
Coldwell and Meißner were the first athletes onto the run. As with everything else she had done up until that point, Coldwell’s technical skills in transition were flawless.
As Steinhauser jumped out of T2 ahead of the main pack, Rappaport took control of the run. Potter slotted into second while Coldwell and Meißner hung at the back of the group, letting the others set the pace. Lopes was dropped during the first of the two run laps.
Further behind, Emma Lombardi, Eim and Steinhauser pushed clear of the chase. Beaugrand, too, began to rouse herself.
The key moment came as three of the leading five women deviated from Potter’s feet to grab drinks. Potter was already up on her toes and upped the ante.
In one swoop, the lead group fragmented and Potter looked to have the race won.
Coldwell, though, kept Potter in her sights.
Slowly but surely, Coldwell reeled in her compatriot and as they entered the final lap the two Brits were side by side.
Spivey overhauled Rappaport to move into the bronze medal position. Meanwhile, Meißner battled on 16 seconds down and 22 seconds clear of Lombardi in 6th.
Over the course of the final lap, there was hint of daylight between Coldwell and Potter. Indeed, Potter had a couple of glances behind to check where Spivey lurked.
Soon after, though, Potter pulled alongside Coldwell. As the two women matched one another stride for stride, it was hard to pick a winner. Any question soon evaporated as Potter attacked on a slight rise and a small gap became a large one within seconds.
Further down the field, Beaugrand moved into 7th. Meanwhile, Taylor-Brown was outside the top-10 and over a minute down.
In the end, Potter’s lead grew to a substantial margin and she could afford to savour the moment as she crossed the line. After winning her first WTCS medal last season, she could now celebrate her first ever win with a mature and consummate performance.
Coldwell was the next woman to finish with Spivey taking bronze. For Spivey, it represented a long overdue return to the podium. After several 4th place finishes last season, it seemed that karma had become her friend.
Rappaport held on for 4th ahead of Meißner. Both women made a real statement, with Rappaport justifying her coaching change while Meißner backed up her brilliant performance at last year’s WTCS Final.
With Eim in 7th and Tertsch taking 10th, Meißner will have some serious competition from her German team mates this year.
Beaugrand managed to run through to take 6th. Her split of 16:38 was the fastest run of the day.
The star of the day, though, was Coldwell. At every stage, she enlivened the race with her bold approach. A win would have been well-earned but she can be more than satisfied with a first medal since WTCS Leeds last June.
View the full race results here.
