In the end, the men’s race at the Vina del Mar came down to a moment of breathtaking simplicity.
For all the action that preceded it, and in complete contrast to the uncertainty and drama that surrounded the end of the women’s event, the race was put to bed by an attack from Manoel Messias that was as straightforward as it was ruthless.
Messias had not enjoyed the best of starts, although it was better than his experience at the Pan American Games a week prior when an equipment mishap compromised his swim. He had chosen to line up on the left side of the beach, along with many of the top-ranked men, such as Henri Schoeman.
Aping the strategy of Mathilde Gautier in the women’s race, Messias’ compatriot Miguel Hidalgo opted for the middle of the pack. Hidalgo arrived on the back of wins at the Pan American Games and Brasilia World Cup. Any early confidence he showed, though, took a dent as his choice of position did not come to fruition.
Instead, Alessio Crociani seized the lead. Schoeman and Chase McQueen were right with the Italian athlete out of T1 while both Hidalgo and Messias lost time.
The front three were soon joined by Panagiotis Bitados before Seth Rider, Alberto Gonzalez Garcia, Gianluca Pozzatti and Diego Moya, the home favourite and silver medallist at the 2022 race, also made it to the front. The lead pack of eight men enjoyed a lead of around 10 seconds on the first of the three bike laps.
Embracing the incline, Bitados then showed his strength by riding off the front. On the note of bike strength, Samuel Dickinson rode up to leaders on the second lap in a big effort. After winning a recent bronze medal at the Tongyeong World Cup, the British athlete had reason to be confident and had a choice to make the most of joining the front pack.
However, shortly after the rest of the chase group caught the leaders. Messias headed up the chasers while Hidalgo also sat in the pack. With the Brazilian pair now in the large main group, attention turned to position into T2.
Amid the criterium-like race into transition, Gonzalez was the first out onto the run. After quickly running his hand through his hair to make sure everything was on point, he settled into a run that looked equally smooth.
With such a large pack behind him, though, it did not take long for Gonzalez to be joined at the front.
Aram Michell Peñaflor Moysen assumed the lead next. The Mexican athlete had won a medal at the Chengdu World Cup a month prior but now had Hidalgo on his shoulder. Messias, likewise, had recovered from an iffy T2 to move into contention.
Suddenly, from stage left, a new actor entered the fray. A local dog, perhaps taken by the action unfolded, bounded onto the course to join the leaders. Martin Sobey did well to avoid it before the dog was chased away by a fellow canine spectator that had embraced the women’s race earlier in the day.
Unbothered by their new friend, Messias, Crociani and Hidalgo set the pace. As Peñaflor pulled alongside them, the lead quartet began to cut the rest of the field loose. Soon after, Crociani started to fall behind before being definitively dropped before end of first lap.
The lead trio rotated their lead for a spell. But then, with less than a kilometre to go, Messias struck.
Hidalgo had tried in vain to launch a move of his own. When it came down to it, though, no one could respond to Messias’ sudden injection of pace. All the ups and downs of the race leading to that point faded away as Messias’ superiority became clear.
By the time he made it to the blue carpet he could afford to power down ahead of powering down afterwards in a long overdue off-season. His win thus ended a year that began with a WTCS bronze medal in Abu Dhabi back in March.
Hidalgo was the next man home to seal the silver medal and maintain his impressive run of form. Peñaflor made it home next to also seal another World Cup medal. In the manic brunch sprint behind, Gonzalez and Sobey triumphed to take 4th and 5th, respectively.
In many ways, the sprint for 4th offered a small insight into what might have been, just as the swim and bike offered possible alternative outcomes. The Vina del Mar World Cup brimmed with potential drama. Yet when the key moment of the race came, Manoel Messias stepped up. For all the huffing and puffing around him, he bided his time and then, like any good apex predator, he struck.
Not a lot of athletes can kill a race in an instant like that, not least when it teemed with such open possibility. It was a classy way to end 2023 and, maybe, a warning shot ahead of 2024.
You can view the full results here.
