Alice Betto’s comeback to elite triathlon is truly gathering steam.
In the summer, she made her first international start in nearly two years at the European Games, finishing 9th. Having gotten her return off to a good start, she has scarcely put a foot wrong since.
A WTCS appearance in Sunderland followed, before she finished 13th at the Paris Test Event and 10th at the WTCS Final in Pontevedra. Then she added an 8th place at the Rome World Cup last week.
At the Brasilia World Cup, though, Betto soared to a new level altogether.
In the long single lap of 1500m in the water, Vittoria Lopes set a crushing tempo and broke clear of the field. A pack of half a dozen athletes gathered behind her yet the Brazilian athlete continued to gain time. When she eventually emerged in 19:33, she held a lead of 15 seconds.
Right in the chase pack, though, nestled between Valerie Barthelemy, Katie Zaferes and Rosa Maria Tapia Vidal, was Betto. Betto also had her compatriot, Verena Steinhauser, for company. With plenty of firepower, the group set about chasing the lone leader.
Lopes tried to power ahead on the first lap of the group but was soon caught, putting ten women at the head of the race. The group seemed more than capable of staying clear but the next chase group on the road lurked within striking distance.
With only 20 seconds to overcome, Miriam Casillas Garcia pounded away at the front of the chase.
An early attack from Barthelemy on the first lap added new vigour to the leaders. The move, however, did not stick. Instead, the Casillas chase group soon made it up to the leaders having gradually worn down the deficit over the multiple laps.
Many athletes played it safe on the bike, although Melanie Santos punctured, putting an end to her day. Little separated the front group over the final kilometres and the pack arrived into T2 intact.
Tapia led out of transition with Steinhauser next. Zaferes was a little slower than her rivals yet soon made up the time lost. On the first of the three run laps, a front pack of six crystallised with Casillas, Petra Kurikova and Betto also joining the action.
On the uphill stretches Tapia seemed to have the upper hand. As soon as the road turned up, the group became strung into a line behind the Mexican athlete. Having won the Americas Championships only a month prior, Tapia seemed set to add another international win to an already impressive season.
After another injection of pace, she dropped Casillas from the leading group.
However, when the road turned downwards, Zaferes took over the pace-setting duties. Steinhauser also lost contact with the leaders as Zaferes added her own rise of pace. Although Tapia reclaimed the lead on the next uphill section, Zaferes was not done.
She broke clear with Betto on the subsequent downhill, with Kurikova scrabbling to hang on. From there, Zaferes tried to pull clear, evoking memories of her string of wins on the way to her 2019 world title.
Yet Betto hung on.
On several occasions, Betto tried to pass Zaferes but the American athlete kept nudging ahead, reticent to cede her momentum. Meanwhile, Tapia closed the gap to Kurikova to reignite the battle for bronze.
As strong as Zaferes had been on the descents, it was as the road turned down once more that Betto struck.
On the last lap, the Italian athlete launched her final surge for the line. With over a kilometre to go, it was a risky move. Nevertheless, it was a well-calculated one as Betto eked out a lead of 10 seconds. Unable to respond, Zaferes could only look on from 2nd place.
At the same point on the road, Tapia broke free of Kurikova to put one hand on the bronze medal.
The winner, though, was all but determined. Both Betto and Zaferes have made post-partum comebacks to triathlon this year and as they crossed the line in 1st and 2nd place, they offered perfect exemplars to their fellow athletes of what having a life alongside the sport could look like.
As sterling as their showings were on the race course, the message they sent beyond it was even more profound. Moreover, Betto’s win capped a sweet weekend of success for Italy after Bianca Seregni won the World Cup in Chengdu.
Taking bronze was Tapia. In doing so, she earned her first ever World Cup medal. Kurikova held on for 4th while Casillas out-sprinted Elizabeth Bravo for 5th.
More than anything, the women’s race in Brasilia gave final confirmation that Alice Betto is back on the world stage. Not only was it her first international medal since 2019 (individually), it was her first ever international win. As comebacks go, that isn’t too shabby.
You can view the full results here.
