When it works, it works. Tilda Månsson served a reminder of her class as she won the Wollongong World Cup. As had been the case with her previous World Cup victories, she left it late and relied upon her near-patented sprint finish.
In the early part of the race, the field had seemed on the verge of breaking apart. Sophie Howell and Emma Jeffcoat had led the 750m sea swim in 8:37. Tara Sosinski and Sian Rainsley, the winner of the Hong Kong World Cup, then followed a few seconds back.
After her brilliant exploits in Hong Kong, it was not quite Rainsley’s day and she slipped back on the bike. An initial pack of seven came together at the front and, in an early test of the leaders, Tereza Zimovjanova briefly tried to pull away. Howell, though, was on hand to reel her in.
The leaders were then promptly swallowed up as the field came together during a mostly uneventful bike. There were fewer than 30 finishers in what was a small field. This seemed like it could encourage the race to break up however the slick course discouraged risks. As a result, the front pack was 26 strong with most of the contenders safely locked in.
Månsson, Rachel Klamer and Ainsley Thorpe all made up time from the swim early on during the bike. On the home front, Ellie Hoitink, the winner of the Oceania Championships over the Olympic distance, was also ideally positioned.
The large pack arrived into T2 and Romana Gajdošová struck out first. Clearly brimming with confidence, Hoitink then took over. Having claimed her first international win the weekend prior, she was clearly in form to do something special and looked the strongest of the Australian team.
Hoitink had Thorpe with her and a big pack of contenders behind. After a slightly leisurely T2, Månsson began to progress towards the front. At both of her prior World Cup wins, in Bergen and Tiszaujvaros, the young Swedish athlete had built into the 5km run before unleashing a devastating final sprint and she appeared to be doing the same in Wollongong. Erica Hawley was also having a great race and hovered on the leaders’ shoulders.
Soon after, Klamer hit the front and her surge of pace fractured the field. Månsson hovered at the back of the remaining eight-woman lead group as Roksana Slupek made the jump to the leaders. Maria Carolina Velasquez Soto was also present with the leaders and bided her time.
Hawley then moved alongside Klamer to try to take over pace-setting duties. In the ongoing absence of the former world champion Flora Duffy, Hawley was flying the flag for Bermuda and was on the hunt for a second World Cup medal.
Throughout the second lap, the lead constantly shifted. Hoitink went from provisional 1st to 7th and then back to 1st. Klamer upped the tempo again and Månsson continued to yo-yo. Throughout it all, Thorpe and Velasquez held their nerve.
In the final kilometre, Klamer tried to make the decisive move but it was checked by Månsson. No one could break clear and the race came down to a thrilling sprint. It was then that Månsson’s strategy came into effect.
The Swedish athlete made it a third World Cup win in three years (and from a third sprint finish) as she flew to gold. Although she does not turn 20 until May, Månsson may have essentially locked up Olympic qualification with her win (considering her anticipated jump in the rankings) which is a phenomenal achievement for a triathlete so young.
In an incredible dash for silver, Velasquez managed to come out on top, 1 second behind the winner. Thorpe held on for bronze while Klamer was the next woman home, earning the same time as the silver and bronze medallists. Hawley then rounded out the top-5 in a breathless finale.
You can view the full results here.
