Amid a hectic weekend of racing in which events took place on four continents, a mix of athletes took on the Sprint distance in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.
For some younger athletes, it represented an opportunity to test themselves against those ranked higher while several experienced WTCS operators were also on the start line.
Women’s race
For Katie Zaferes, where she raced at the weekend was a last minute choice. On the one hand she could have travelled to Yokohama on the slim chance of receiving a spot on the WTCS start list due to a last minute withdrawal. The greater chance was that she would not race and would lose training time to the travel. However if she did race the points would be invaluable.
Alternatively, she could travel to Punta Cana. She knew she was on the start list and so points were likelier, albeit lower than what could have been on offer in Yokohama.
As it transpired, she chose wisely. She would not have made the Yokohama start list and her performance in Punta Cana vindicated her decision to start.
Much as she had been at the St. Peters Americas Cup, Zaferes was dominant in the swim. She clocked a time of 9:08 over the 750m to lead the way. Desirae Ridenour managed to restrict her lead to 5 seconds and actually closed the gap in T1.
In another repeat of St. Peters, Zaferes then stormed away from Ridenour and the gathering chase on the bike. Sophia Howell and Leslie Amat Alvarez had both drawn close after strong swims and swift transitions. However they simply had no answer for Zaferes’ power.
A 5 second lead became a 50 second lead. Then it became bigger still.
Anahi Alvarez Corral clocked the second fastest bike split of the day as she rode up to the chase pack having lost time in the water. Dominika Jamnicky, too, rode well in the chase with Mercedes Romero Orozco also chipping in.
Yet they did not have an answer to Zaferes. By the time the former world champion arrived in T2, her lead was comfortably over a minute and the race seemed all but over.
On the run, Zaferes settled into her familiar running stride and showed no signs of faltering. Over the second half of the 5km, she began to lose a bit of time. Such was her lead, though, it did not matter and she crossed the line to take a second consecutive win.
Further behind, Alvarez and Jamnicky quickly separated themselves from the chase as they went after Zaferes. Although they managed to cut the gap to 16 seconds, there was not enough space on the run for them to make the catch. Both women went stride for stride down the closing straight and had to be separated on the finish line. Alvarez was awarded 2nd place with Jamnicky taking 3rd after both received the same finishing time.
Men’s race
Led by Aiden Longcroft-Harris, a group of four men escaped off the front in the swim. With Brock Hoel, Brodie Marshall and Kyotaro Yoshikawa for company, Longcroft-Harris pushed the pace to gain over 10 seconds over the field into T1.
Despite making an early push on the bike, the quartet were unable to establish any firm control over the race and a front pack of sixteen slowly came together.
Among those to ride into the front group were Brent Demarest, Ka’eo Kruse and Filip Mainville. Yoshikawa made several attempts to force the issue on the bike but the pack was equal to his surges. The race therefore came down to the 5km run.
Demarest, Kruse and Mainvile were the first to move ahead out of T2. After a difficult end to his 2022 season (including two WTCS DNFs), Demarest had not yet raced this year. On paper, he was probably the best runner of the field but there was still a chance of rustiness. By contrast, Kruse had shown his running chops at across a series of Americas Cup races already this season.
A relative newcomer to the sport, Kruse had impressed with back-to-back medals in La Habana and Sarasota. At both of those events, his run had proven to be his biggest strength.
When Mainvile gradually began to fall behind, the race therefore narrowed to the two Americans. Would the more experienced Demarest hold on? Or would the younger challenger take the win?
In the end, Demarest’s experience saw him home. A well-timed injection of speed saw him nudge clear and take the win by 8 seconds. Kruse settled for silver with Mainvile coming home in 3rd.
One of the most notable aspects of the results was that Kruse’s silver medal saw him jump 38 places in the World Triathlon rankings to 138th. At his current rate, he can expect to break into the top-100 this summer. It will take time and a lot of work, but he evidently has plenty of talent and he could end up racing in World Cups this year and maybe even the WTCS as early as next year.
View the full results here.
