The latest Continental Cup of the season took place at the weekend with Americas Cup in Vina del Mar. With the athletes competing over the Sprint distance, brisk conditions were on offer with both the air and water temperature under 15 degrees (Celsius). On a fast course, though, the winners certainly brought the heat on the run.
Men’s race
The Brazilian duo Victor Hugo Lopes Pereira Da Silva and Pedro Felipe Souza Fernandes Silva set the pace in the water and emerged together with the early lead. Tracking them were Ka’eo Kruse and Mathis Beaulieu. The American and Canadian athlete hovered behind and quick transitions saw them move to the front of the race.
Such was the early pace, the field split in half before the bike had fully gotten underway. At the head of the field, the likes of Mateo Mendoza Burgos and Pavlos Antoniades consolidated their positions in the front pack. Meanwhile, Kruse and Beaulieu rode smartly to stay out of trouble.
Beyond keeping the rest of the lead group in check, there was little for Kruse or Beaulieu to do as they bided their time. Once onto the run, their waiting game paid off.
The pair were clearly the better runners and broke away with apparent ease. While they matched one another for much of the 5km run, Kruse had the nous to down his younger rival in the late stages. He went on to win by 5 seconds. Beaulieu, the World Junior Championships bronze medallist from 2023, could nonetheless be satisfied with 2nd place.
Antoniades then arrived 50 seconds down on Kruse to take the bronze medal.
Women’s race
The women’s race in Vina del Mar was all about Leslie Amat Alvarez. The Cuban athlete led the swim in a time of 10:59 and from there barely looked back.
Such was her speed, she only had Rafaela Capo for company once through T1. Admittedly, the women’s field was not the largest although it was impressive how she cut her rivals loose.
Together, Amat and Capo extended their lead to over 40 seconds on the bike. For her efforts, Capo earned the fastest split on two wheels of the women’s field in 38:20. From there, though, there was no stopping Amat.
She ran clear early on in the run and produced the second fastest run of the race (16:13) to seal a dominant victory. The fastest split went to Rosa Elena Martinez Melchor (in 16:00) as she overhauled Capo to take silver. Romina Biagioli also staged a late comeback as she pushed through to take the bronze medal.
View the full results here.
