After the excitement of the Quarteira European Cup yesterday, the European Junior Cup at the same venue took place today.
A full strength French Junior contingent started off the back of their test weekend in Cannes. Although, Ilona Hadhoum was a late withdrawal. Her much anticipated showdown with Margareta Vrablova will have to wait for now.
In both the men’s and women’s races, tight finishes were the order of the day. For much of the run, it was almost impossible to call the winner in either Sprint distance event.
Women’s race
With the sea a little more cooperative in comparison to the Senior race, Manon Laporte led the athletes out after the 750m.
Tabea Huys of Switzerland and Lily Scott of Britain were next out although Vrablova and Léa Houart were next out and used the run into T1 to move right behind Laporte.
Huys and Laporte led the women through the first kilometre as athletes pushed hard to join them at the front. Manon Pomme and Gwen Northum put in big turns to try to regain time from the swim.
As Belgian athlete Hasse Fleerackers made it into the front pack, she began to inject extra impetus into the group. Two Brits, Milly Breese and Isla Heldey, also rode with aplomb but as the pace rose Vrablova and Houart rode side by side. Fleerackers ended up with the fastest bike split of the day and took control of the group in the closing lap of the bike.
It was clear, though, that the attention of most had already turned to the run.
Houart was through T2 before anyone had a chance to catch their breath and tore onto the first lap of the run. Such was her speed, she seemed to look behind her almost in confusion that no one had gone with her.
For much of the first lap, Houart looked brilliant and it seemed as if she would solo the run to victory.
Behind Houart, Laporte was the next athlete on the road and kept her team mate in view. Having out-ran Hoaurt at the French test, Laporte could be quietly confident of reeling her in.
A few seconds behind Laporte, Vrablova moved clear of Hedley. However, neither she nor Laporte could quite wipe away the gaps ahead on the first lap and Houart continued to press the pace.
On the second lap, the gaps appeared to shrink with Houart barely 5 seconds ahead of Laporte who in turn was only a few strides clear of Vrablova. Slowly, Vrablova eased into a higher gear and drew alongside Laporte.
Laporte tried to react but Vrablova was not there for long. Instead, she accelerated and began the hunt of Houart.
The French leader, though, would not yield without a fight. Vrablova continued to push but as the remaining kilometres dwindled Houart gritted her teeth and held the gap.
That made the Slovakian athlete go even harder and as the lead pair approached the final kilometre Vrablova was practically sprinting in her pursuit. Inch by inch, she chipped away at the gap until she finally pulled alongside Houart.
Houart, though, was in no mood to back down and seemed to try to raise the pace even further.
With neither woman ceding anything, Vrablova found another gear and moved in front of Houart. Although she led, she looked at top speed and fully extended. Houart still hung on behind. Yet having led for all of the run until then, surely she did not have another gear.
As they rounded a 180 turn at the end of the promenade, Hoaurt allowed herself a cheeky glance back to check where Laporte was, perhaps signalling that she was close to cracking. Nevertheless, as she exited the turn she drew back alongside Vrablova.
It was only in the last few hundred metres that Vrablova managed to distance Houart. A 2 second gap doubled and Houart could not respond having expended everything in her valiant effort.
In the end Vrablova finished 6 seconds clear to take yet another Junior Cup win. Houart took a debut Junior Cup silver while Laporte hung on for third.
Hedley was next home in 4th and Pomme finished in 5th.
Men’s race
If the women’s race had been a close finish, the men’s was even closer still.
João Nuno Batista was fantastic in the water and led the way into T1. Thomas Hattee was the next man with the Spanish duo Jesús Vela Vela and Pelayo González Turrez in pursuit.
After his win in Melilla last week, González would need to be watched closely by his rivals.
On the bike, two distinct groups formed less than 30 seconds apart.
Vela and González pushed the pace in the lead group while defending Junior world champion Thomas Hansmaennel pulled some big turns in the chase. Towards the end of the bike, the lead group hared towards T2 as if they were approaching a sprint finish in a criterium.
Not to be out-done, the chase similarly attacked every metre of the bike course, ensuring the athletes were not too spread out going into the run.
French duo Milan Lariviere and Nils Serre Gehri were the first to strike out on the run after expertly navigating the bike in the lead pack.
Over the course of the first lap, though, they were caught by a small group of athletes. Gradually, a select group of seven men formed at the head of the race, any of whom looked like a potential winner.
Fresh off a silver medal in Melilla, Hector Tolsa García was the next man to attack. With an elegant running style, Tolsa managed to muster a gap of around 5 seconds but he could not quite break the elastic connecting the six men behind to him. Towards the end of the first lap, the group swallowed Tolsa back up and Lariviere returned to the front.
Serre and González were the next men on the road, while Hansmaennel and Batista also floated in the mix. Another Spanish attack came off the front but again, over the course of the second lap, the front group pulled it back.
As the finish line drew into line, Hansmaennel stepped up to the plate. Having conserved his energy throughout the run, his move was quick and it was decisive.
He powered ahead in the last 500m, taking Serre and Batista with him. Flying at full tilt, the leaders attacked the blue carpet with everything they had. Neither Serre nor Batista could bring down Hansmaennel, though, and the Frenchman claimed the gold.
Serre was only 2 seconds back in 2nd. Batista was another 2 seconds back in 3rd.
González was next home, while Lariviere rounded out the top-5.
View the full results here.
