Les Berges du Lac – Tunis played host to the first of three African Cup races in November yesterday. With the event taking place over the Sprint distance, it proved a day for breakaways.
In both the men’s and women’s races, the podium consisted entirely of athletes that escaped off the front. Moreover, both winners were able to capture the gold medals after disrupted seasons, giving both a boost before the 2024.
Men’s race
In the men’s race, Igor Dupuis led out the swim in a time of 9:09, carrying forward the strong swimming form that he displayed during the French Grand Prix season. His compatriot Tom Lerno was the next man out, 12 seconds down, with Ben Dijkstra a few further seconds behind.
Together, the lead trio formed an early breakaway. Dupuis looked particularly eager to push the pace but Lerno and Dijkstra were equal to his efforts.
Dupuis, Lerno and Dijkstra were then joined by Eric Diener, Ian Pennekamp, Fabian Schönke and Peter Rojtas as the front pack swelled to seven. The German duo of Diener and Schönke worked well together however the French pair of Dupuis and Lerno came unstuck and did not finish the bike.
As a result, a pack of only five men would arrive in T2. Even with the loss of Dupuis and Lerno, though, the front pack hardly faltered. Indeed, they built a lead of around 2 minutes as they finished the bike and, such was their lead, the front quintet would not be caught by anyone on the run.
The medals, though, we still to be decided
Dijkstra and Pennekamp took an early grasp of the race out of transition but Diener and Schönke were quick to match their tempo. Dijkstra, the 2019 European U23 champion, was the oldest of the lead group (albeit born only in 1998) and used his experience to cruise through the opening stages of the 5km run.
He then pulled away to win by 17 seconds in emphatic fashion. Earlier in the year, he had experienced a four month absence on the international circuit as injuries (including a scaphoid fracture and torn soleus) chipped away at his season. Prior that that, he had won a silver medal at the European Cup in Caorle and so his win in Tunisia represented a welcome return to form for the Brit.
Pennekamp was the next man home as he claimed a well-earned silver silver while Diener out-gunned Schönke to take 3rd place.
Women’s race
In a small field of fourteen starters, Julia Bröcker stood as one of the favourites having recently claimed a first European Cup win in Alanya. Similarly, her teammate Céline Kaiser, a previous Continental Cup winner, lurked as a threat.
However, both were put on the back foot in the swim by a big effort from Roksana Slupek.
The Polish led the way in 10:21 with Alessia Orla right behind. Slupek had missed a large chunk of the 2023 season with injury and was hunting the form that made her such a consistent performer at the World Cup level in 2021 and 2022.
The lead pair had a slight gap into T1 with Carlotta Bonacina the next woman to exit the water. A front group of Slupek, Orla and Bonacina thus formed an initial breakaway out of transition.
They were soon joined by Adelaide Anna Badini Confalonieri, winner of the European Junior Cup in Zagreb two months prior, Franka Rust, Tjasa Vrtacic and Katharina Möller. With seven in the front pack, they made short work of the 20km bike course and gained over 2 minutes on the chasers.
As with the men’s race, no one from the chase pack would catch the leaders on the run, leaving the medals to be decided up front.
Having led the swim, Slupek then uncorked the fastest run split for good measure. Her time of 18:51 was the best of the field by over 30 seconds and handed her a comfortable 31 second victory.
Möller was able to get closest to Slupek but could not live with her speed over the 5km. She therefore settled for the silver medal while Orla came away with the bronze.
You can view the full results here.
