The Olympic distance action did not stop today. In addition to the races in Samarkand and Lianyungang, there was a European Cup in Rzeszów, Poland.
In Poland, though, two very different races were on display. Whereas the women’s race had a kind of structure to it, the men’s was all over the show. For those that have ever tried herding cats (or children, for the parents out there), the array of different things happening at once in the men’s event would have felt reassuringly familiar.
In both cases, though, the races were won in commanding fashion.
Women’s race
In the non-wetsuit 1500m, Iona Miller led the way with a time of 19:32. Last year’s Spanish champion, Sara Guerrero Manso, cruised right behind with Barbara De Koning, a winner of multiple African Cups already this year.
A string of women pursued Miller, Guerrero and De Koning into T1, including Laura Holánszky, Candice Denizot and Michaela Sterbova. However two Brits, Ellie White and Hollie Elliot, were stranded in no man’s land between the leaders and the chase group some 50 seconds back. Such was Miller’s pace, the rest of the field had been placed under real strain and the races of several were effectively over already.
Once onto the bike, Guerrero and De Koning did not let up and continued to push the pace. After a big surge, White made it to the front. Elliot unfortunately could not quite make the same jump and languished behind.
With Sterbova on hand to also take her turn, the front pack set about trying to extend their lead. At the same time, Elliot’s one-woman chase pack was quickly bolstered as Katrin Maes and Pia Wolf bridged from behind to add some firepower.
Over the course of the bike, Denizot pulled out and Miller and Holánszky eventually lost contact with the leaders after a crash. However, the chase behind had organised themselves. Elliot’s group thus absorbed the two dropped riders and continued their pursuit.
Miller also gained a second wind from joining the chase pack and diligently worked at the front of the pack.
Still the lead group held firm. Guerrero marshalled the pack and as much as the Elliot group pressed harder they could not quite bring the gap under 20 seconds.
Perhaps Guerrero knew how close the chase were, for she was rapid through T2. None of De Koning, White and Sterbova could keep up and, their legs knackered, they were swallowed up by the chase on the run.
Anouk Sterkers of France and Elliot led the charge after the lone leader, Guerrero. Yet if they though they would catch her too, they had another thing coming.
Guerrero was in spectacular form as she blitzed the opening lap of the run. By the time she reached the 5km marker, it was fairly clear that the second half of the run would be an extended victory lap.
Since winning her Spanish crown in 2022, Guerrero has had a handful of near-misses internationally. She finished 4th at the Tangier African Cup last autumn. Then she opened her 2023 season with finishes of 7th and 6th at the Oceania Cups in Wanaka and Taupo, respectively. A first international triathlon medal, however, has eluded her.
With a spirited performance in Rzeszów, she changed that. She crossed the line to take the win by well over 90 seconds. While Guerrero could celebrate, the race for silver was still on.
Over the final lap, Sterkers surged ahead of Elliot to seal the silver medal. Moreover, after a difficult swim, Marta Lagownik of Poland had made up time on the bike and was now powering through the run. By the final lap, she was the fastest woman on the course and closing on Sterkers and Elliot fast.
Elliot, though, had enough to get over the line and a bronze medal was a worthy consolation for the Brit after her efforts.
Men’s race
The first cue for the strangeness of the men’s race should have come with the start. From the in-water start, the field split into two discernible packs as they readied for the starter’s signal. They then had to be called back by the officials as one by one they crept beyond the starting line.
Eventually, they got underway and the two packs splintered into half a dozen groups. For a brief moment, it looked like a pack of six would get away but the field came back together.
Two Brits, Jimmy Lund and Marcus Dey, led round the first lap and had stretched the field. Over the course of the second lap, they piled on the pressure and a group of nine pulled clear.
The second group to emerge from the water was almost twice as big and so it seemed the leaders had a fight on their hands. In actuality, the fight was not with the chase pack as expected. Rather, it was amongst themselves.
Dey, Lund and Gergő Dobi hammered on the bike to force a small gap. As the remnants of the front pack tried to catch them, the chase pack started to close.
Further back, the field had split into multiple small packs and exchanged members as quickly as couples on Love Island.
It was at this point that the race revealed its hand. Amid the madness, the protagonist emerged. From the main chase group, Simon Henseleit and Janne Büttel attacked.
Over the subsequent laps, the front trio were caught and Henseleit and Büttel made it to the front. Several others also materialised in the front group with Tjebbe Kaindl appearing from nowhere.
As the front of the race took a moment to catch its breath, Henseleit gave Büttel a knowing nod. He knew what was about to come.
However, if Henseleit thought he was in pole position, he had not fully read the script. Kaindl set off another round of attacks and briefly gained a lead with three others off the front. Although that move did not stick, it succeeded in forcing the others to chase him down.
The front pack eventually made it into T2, with Henseleit, Dey and Neilan Kempmann crossing the dismount line in unison. At that point, Henseleit remembered his lines. While the rest of the field arrived in transition in bits and pieces, the German took control of the race.
And yet, there was Kaindl again.
Determined to spoil Henseleit’s day, Kaindl ran furiously over the first lap to hold on. In comparison, Henseleit floated along. Nevertheless, the Austrian would not cave.
Further back, Lund and Büttel had looked in position to fight for bronze. But then a swarm of French athletes zoomed around them. Nathan Lessmann and Briac Tence had been in the front pack but then Aurelien Jem and Antoine Duval joined the party.
Towards the end of the run, Lund and Büttel slipped back, leaving the French quartet to fight for bronze.
On the final lap, Henseleit finally overcame Kaindl’s obdurate resistance. Victory was in sight and as the German turned back towards the home straight he shared a high five with the Austrian.
In the end, Henseleit cruised to the win by 14 seconds. Kaindl earned silver in what was probably his best performance of the year so far.
The race, though, had not finished with its madcap antics as Lessmann and Tence ignited a sprint finish. The older of the two, Lessmann, managed to pull clear to win bronze in style.
View the full results here.
