Troutbeck, Zimbabwe, was the host of the third Continental Cup of the weekend. Whereas the dramatic affairs in Wanaka and La Guaira were won on the run, the Sprint distance African Cup saw both gold medals secured with exceptional performances on the bike.
Men’s race
Ayan Beisenbayev arrived in Zimbabwe locked in a tight race for the Asian New Flag slot at the Olympic Games. At this point, every win and medal will be vital on his quest to make it to Paris and he had the chance to start his 2024 in the perfect fashion.
His fellow New Flag hopefuls Felix Duchampt and Ivana Kuriackova (both the front-runners in the European races), won medals in La Guaira and so Beisenbayev was set on claiming one of his own.
In an early display on intent, Beisenbayev led the swim in 9:24. His compatriot Temirlan Temirov was only 2 seconds back but much of the small field had been put under a lot of pressure. Once out of T1, Beisenbayev did not look back. He ripped a 35:24 split on the bike, out-splitting the field by over 30 seconds, to arrive in T2 with a massive advantage.
From there, he cruised to the line and crossed exactly a minute ahead of 2nd place. As season starts go, Beisenbayev could hardly have asked for a smoother one.
After losing time in the swim, Noah Künz of Austria was the only man able to live with his Kazakhstan rival’s power. He propelled himself into 2nd place and held on during the run. A field-leading run split of 17:20 from Temirov was enough to then secure the bronze medal.
Women’s race
Minori Ikeno was the fastest athlete in the water in the women’s race. She logged a split of 10:08 over the 750m and only one woman was able to remain with 30 seconds of her.
That individual was Elizabeth Carr of Ireland and she soon made up the 8 second deficit from the water. Once she had caught Ikeno, though, she barely looked back as she blasted clear. As much as the Japanese athlete pushed, she was powerless against Carr’s strength and conceded over 2 minutes.
Indeed, no one came close to Carr for the rest of the race as her 40:38 split over 20km essentially decided the race. To top everything off, she added the fastest run of the day (19:31) and earned the first international win of her career.
Meanwhile Marit Van Den Berg and Antoanela Manac worked well together to overcome their deficit out of the water. Over the course of the bike, they reeled in Ikeno and then dropped her on the run.
Van Den Berg had the legs to see off Manac over the 5km run and took the silver medal. After a solid performance, Manac could enjoy the closing stages of the run as she held on for bronze.
View the full results here.
