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 early challenges was Miguel Tiago Silva. The Portuguese athlete led the swim in a time of 9:27 with Andres Prieto Villar and Michele Bortolamedi in close pursuit.
Tiago was fast through T1 and was a mainstay at the head of the lead pack. Close behind was his teammate. The World Junior and European Junior champion, Joao Nuno Batista, was well-placed in the front group after a fast swim and transition.
In total, nineteen men made it into the front pack. The chasers hovered a little over 20 seconds behind. Further down the field, Leo Fernandez, the 2022 European Junior champion, found himself in the chase and was not quite enjoying as good a day as Batista. His fortunes, however, would change on the run.
At the front, several of Fernandez’s compatriots looked in fine fettle.
Antoine Duval was in a strong position and arrived in form after logging an impressive finish to the French Grand Prix season. Similarly, Nathan Grayel was racing having been instrumental to his team’s French Grand Prix title. Batista and Tiago remained safely tucked into the group, as did several Spanish athletes.
It was another French athlete, though, that moved up.
Boris Pierre was fast through T2 and put himself in the mix in the early stages of the run. Over the course of the 5km, Pierre, Duval and Batista burned away their rivals. Gradually, Duval wound up the pace and dropped Pierre. However, he could not quite shake the World Junior champion.
From the chase groups, Nan Oliveras and Fernandez were flying. Although Duval, Batista and Pierre had separated themselves, Oliveras and Fernandez were closing.
In the final kilometre, Duval managed to buy some breathing room from Batista and had the composure to see the job through. He held on to defeat the young Portuguese athlete by 2 seconds. A silver medal was also a fantastic way to end Batista’s season.
Pierre then clung on to 3rd place after withstanding a charging Oliveras by 3 seconds. Oliveras was one of the fastest runners of the day and split 14:45 to Pierre’s 15:12 on the run.
Women’s race
Once the bulk of the field came together on the bike a running race was on the cards in the women’s event.
Hollie Elliott had led the swim and emerged in 10:21. She had Erin McConnell a couple of seconds behind but otherwise had earned a noteworthy gap to the main group. As a result, Elliott was able to move through the relatively cramped T1 unencumbered by those arriving 10 seconds later.
A big surge early on in the bike by Cecilia Santamaria Surroca helped to close down the lead of Elliott and McConnell. Maria Casals Mojica was likewise a presence at the front as several Spanish women took their turns before the home crowd.
From a little further back, Beatrice Mallozzi also rode up to the front pack. A former World Junior champion, Mallozzi had not raced internationally since March. Once onto the run, though, she showed no signs of rust.
Alongside Santamaria, she broke away from the field early on. The lead pair quickly settled into a rhythm and went stride for stride on the run. Over the course of the 5km, Santamaria and Mallozzi were the only women to run under 17 minutes and built a lead of almost 30 seconds.
Santamaria tried to lift the pace with a kilometre to go but Mallozzi was able to deal with the shift in tempo. The Italian athlete then launched an attack of her own. Although she could not get away from Santamaria, she earned a precious half-metre.
As they careered to the finish line, Mallozzi battled to hold onto her lead and was just about able to do so, taking the win by a solitary second.
Santamaria had to settle for 2nd place in what had otherwise been a fantastic display.
Rounding out the podium was Elliott. The Brit was the best of the rest and took a well-earned bronze medal.
You can view the full results here.
