Taylor’s Time Trial
At the weekend, Taylor Knibb won Ironman 70.3 Boulder. Perhaps the bigger news about the multiple WTCS medallist, though, came from beyond the race.
It was confirmed that Knibb will race at the USA National Time Trial later this month. She will be competing under the colours of Trek Segafredo Pro Team.
The news throws up several possible implications. It has long been established that Knibb is one of the best cyclists in the women’s short distance circuit. Maybe she is even the best, although Flora Duffy and a couple of other names would like quibble with such a claim. Now, she will have a chance to test her mettle against some of the best American cyclists.
Would it really be possible for Knibb to make an international team in the time trial? It is hard to say how well her dominant cycling would convert. Given her long distance triathlon success, in which the bike leg correlates with time-trialling, it would be a fair guess to expect her to do well.
We asked back in December if any athlete could compete internationally in triathlon and another sport. Triathlon and running was the biggest choice, inspired largely by the speed (and history) of Alex Yee and Hayden Wilde. Knibb, though, could have a shot at making international teams in both triathlon and cycling.
Whatever happens, it will be fascinating to see how she compares.
Jansone and Räppo claim Baltic crowns
Racing over the Super Sprint distance, Henry Räppo of Estonia won the Baltic Triathlon Championships on Sunday.
A small pack of men escaped in the swim; the pack then became four-strong on the bike. Also with Räppo were his compatriot Gregor Rasva and the Latvian duo Artūrs Liepa and Artjoms Gajevskis. The race ultimately came down to Räppo and Liepa over the 2.5km run and the Estonian man had the final kick to take the win.
In the women’s race, Beate Jansone earned a brilliant victory. She logged the joint-fastest swim with Beāte Bula and Mirtel-Madlen Siimar to gain a 14 second gap over the field. Although the lead trio were caught on the bike, they had at least forced the chase pack to work in their pursuit.
While she was only born in 2008, no one could touch Jansone on the run. She crushed the field by over a minute to take a comprehensive victory.
Although the event did not double as a European Cup, it nonetheless offered a chance to win some regional pride. Moreover, with victories under their belts, look for Jansone and Räppo to continue their form through their next races.
You can view the full race results here.
Most WTCS medals without a win
One final insight to come out of the weekend was the athletes with the most WTCS medals to have not yet claimed a WTCS win. The athletes were considered if they had won at least three WTCS medals. Manoel Messias, for example, currently has two bronze medals so was not included in the post.
Jessica Learmonth leads the way with nine medals in total. While she is currently on a maternity break from the sport, if Learmonth decides to return she will no doubt aim to make sure that her tenth medal also happens to be a first win.
On the men’s side, Sven Riederer lead the way with seven medals without a win. Riederer was also the only athlete on either list to have won an individual Olympic medal.
