PTWC
Florian Brungraber kicked off his season in style with a comprehensive win in the men’s PTWC category. Last time out, Brungraber won the silver medal at the World Championships in November. The silver medallist today, Jose Cristobal Ramos Jimenez, had the novelty of logging identical swim and run times. For both disciplines, he produced splits of 13:13.
This time round, Eva Maria Moral Pedrero was the only woman competing in the PTWC category. She put together a very balanced race to finish in 1:14:09. Moreover she narrowly missed matching Ramos Jimenez’s identical splits on the swim and run. Her times were 14:59 and 15:00, respectively, for the two disciplines.
Moral Pedrero will be racing again in two weeks at the World Para Series event in Devonport, Australia. Look for her to continue to improve as the season develops.
PTVI
Donnacha McCarthy of Ireland stormed to victory in the men’s visually impaired race.
He found himself behind after the swim, however a blistering bike split of 27:37 saw him leapfrog his rivals and take the lead into T2. Lukasz Wietecki of Poland produced a brilliant run to close much of the gap. This time, though, it was not enough and McCarthy held on to earn the win.
Rafael Cabello Sanchez of Spain rounded out the podium.
In the women’s race, Gulnaz Zhuzbaeva prevailed in a two-woman showdown against her compatriot Aitunuk Zhoomart Kyzy.
Zhuzbaeva was actually over 4 minutes behind after the swim but produced a 37:53 bike split to nudge ahead of Zhoomart Kyzy. However, Zhuzbaeva had the slower T2 and lost the advantage. Over the course of the run, though, she was able to regain the lead and ultimately won by 24 seconds.
PTS3
Kini Carrasco won the men’s race in the PTS3 category. The experienced Spaniard (born in 1965) had far too much for his German rival, Bjorn Maas in the end.
Maas, though, actually took the lead into T1 after recording a swim split of 18:13, some 24 seconds faster than Carrasco. Over the bike and run, Carrasco’s class shone through and he ended up winning by almost 13 minutes.
No women took part in the PTS3 event.
PTS4
Nil Riudavets Victory was as brilliant as expected on his way to taking the win. While his Spanish team mate Alejandro Sánchez Palomero took the lead on the swim and battled to remain in contact on the bike, there was no stopping Riudavets on the run. He out-split Sánchez by 3 minutes 3 seconds to win in style. Sánchez took silver as Indian athlete Krushna Babasaheb Tanpure completed the podium.
In the women’s race Carmen Gonzalez Sanchez was the only athlete and made it a double Spanish triumph in the PTS4 class.
PTS5
The PTS5 category was the most contested race of the Para World Cup.
Joao Ruiz Lopes of Spain took an early lead on the swim, out-splitting Frenchman Antoine Besse by 1 minute 20 seconds. Besse then came storming back on the bike to out-split Ruiz by over a minute. As Ruiz entered T2, he did so with Besse breathing down his neck.
Meanwhile, after swimming together, Andreas Doulappas and Ernestas Cesonis were locked in a battle for bronze. Doulappas, though, broke clear on the bike and began to hunt down Ruiz and Besse.
In the end, though, Doulappas could not close the gap and had to settle for bronze.
At the front, the gold was still in play. With every stride, Ruiz gained on Besse yet he could not fully shake the Frenchman. Ultimately, though, Besse’s resistance crumbled and Ruiz extended his lead.
After a difficult couple of seasons, the win was the perfect way for Ruiz to re-assert himself at the front of the field. He will no doubt be a challenge for any rival this year.
There were no women racing in the PTS5 category.
You can view the full results here.
