Category: Races

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…

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In addition to the African titles over the Olympic distance, which were claimed by Vicky Van Der Merwe and Jamie Riddle, the African Junior Championships were contested in Hurghada, Egypt. Coming away with the win in the women’s race was Maja Jeanne Brinkmann. Born in 2007, Brinkmann was the youngest athlete in the field. Some of her rivals were up to three years older than her and some, such as Nora Nouri of Morocco, had experience of racing in the French Grand Prix to call upon. However, Brinkmann proved unfazed…

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The final Olympic distance Continental Championship of 2023 took place in Hurghada, Egypt, yesterday as the African title was contested. Having won the Sprint distance titles in Blue Bay in September, Vicky Van Der Merwe and Jawad Abdelmoula arrived as the favourites. Yet in small fields, the races were ripe for an upset. Women’s race Only seven women lined up to contest the race and the swim soon reduced the contenders to three. Van Der Merwe got away to a good start but it was her compatriot Shanae Williams that…

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Lightning did indeed strike twice. At the Weihai World Cup in August, Bianca Seregni had stormed to a maiden World Cup win. She had dominated the swim, carving out a big lead over the field, and then run away to victory with the quickest split of the day. To go with it, her teammate Ilaria Zane had hauled herself onto the podium with a bold late surge on the run. In many ways, the first of the two Chinese World Cup races of 2023 would have been hard to top.…

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Olympic qualification. Another WTCS medal. A spot in the overall top-8 of the WTCS. Tim Hellwig had checked all three boxes with his recent form. Having won back to back African Cup races earlier in the season, as well as having been part of the triumphant German team in the Mixed Team Relays in Hamburg and Paris, it had been a near-perfect year for the German athlete. As he lined up to start the Chengdu World Cup with the number 1 tattooed on his arm, all that was really left…

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The men’s race at the Brasilia World Cup will see a major clash between two of Brazil’s best triathletes. In one corner, Manoel Messias will line up, seeking to add another World Cup win to his ledger. He won the Valencia World Cup in 2022 with a stylish late attack on the bike and since then has become a triple WTCS medallist. In 2023, he won medals at both WTCS Abu Dhabi and WTCS Montreal. Although both were over the Sprint distance, his Olympic distance credentials should not be doubted.…

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Whereas just under thirty-five women will be racing at the World Cup in Chengdu this weekend, the Brasilia World Cup has attracted a couple more athletes. Together, the two events could form a near-pefect start list. Wearing number 1 in Brasilia will be Miriam Casillas Garcia. By most standards, the Spanish athlete has enjoyed a strong season. She has routinely placed inside the top-20 at WTCS races in 2023 and finished 5th at the European Championships in Madrid. On the other hand, Casillas was fantastic throughout 2022, earning several top-8…

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In football, there are some players you know precisely what they are going to do before they do it. A classic example is Arjen Robben, a Dutch player formerly of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Chelsea. To all intents and purposes, Robben could only do anything with his left foot. At every opportunity, then, he would cut inside to shoot on his left foot. All any defender had to do was force Robben onto his right and the threat was (in exaggerated terms) neutralised. The problem was that even though…

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A double header of World Cups awaits this weekend with events taking place in Chengdu, China, and Brasilia, Brazil. In the former, the men’s race is shaping up to be a battle between the German and Japanese squads. Although Chengdu has attracted plenty of talent, the German quartet might just be the pick of the bunch. Leading the way will be Tim Hellwig. In his last outing, he won the silver medal at WTCS Pontevedra. In addition, he impressed on his way to Olympic qualification at the Paris Test Event.…

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The triathlon season may be drawing to its close but the athletes are showing few signs of slowing down. At the European Cup in Ceuta, Spain, the Sprint distance affair saw some rapid performances. The event doubled as the Mediterranean Championships and, with local bragging rights on the line, several athletes elevated themselves to new levels. Men’s race With a sea swim followed by a winding route through the town with several tight sections, the course was technical at points. One athlete that had little problem in dealing with the…

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Redemption was not the right word. Vasco Vilaca came to Rome looking for something but redemption was not quite it. After a breakthrough season, in which he claimed four WTCS medals and finished 4th overall in the world, there was precious little for him to bounce back from. Illness had meant he did not have the WTCS Final he had hoped for and that he lost his place on the overall podium. All things considered, though, it had been a marvellous year. In a parallel universe, maybe Vilaca would have…

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Close to an hour of cat-and-mouse racing delivered the athletes to the final hurrah in the women’s event at the Rome World Cup. Over a high-paced Sprint distance race, several athletes rose through the field and new faces looked like candidates for the win at different stages. From the off, a small group broke away from the field. Another virtuoso performance in the water by Bianca Seregni saw her splinter the field. A select group of Jolien Vermeylen, Olivia Mathias, Mathilde Gautier and Alice Betto. Once Betto exited, some 5…

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One notable aspect of the women’s start list for the Rome World Cup is how short it is. The men’s race is close to full yet the women’s has fewer than 45 women starting. With Olympic points available in an iconic city, something has gone amiss in the entry procedure. Whether athletes turning down the opportunity to race or national federations not allowing athletes to participate (there have been confirmed instances of the latter), the cause of the short start lists may be worth further investigation. While the size of…

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On the single most tumultuous day of the 2023 triathlon season, Vasco Vilaca’s hopes came crashing down before him. An illness prior to the race combined with the sensational performances of others saw him slip from a place on the final podium to 4th overall. Despite the late disappointment, the brilliance of Vilaca’s season should not be overlooked. He was one of three men to win four WTCS medals in 2023 and has established himself as one of the very best triathletes in the world. This weekend, at the Rome…

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At the Tangier World Cup, the women’s sea swim had provided several bumps. The waves, however, paled to the surf that followed in the men’s race. With several athletes being dragged left and right, others were left in the invidious position of thrashing at the water only to be carried backwards at points. Jamie Riddle coped best with the conditions and opened an early 9 second lead out of the water after looking for those behind using the waves to carry him to the end. A trio of Angel Sanchez…

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