In the first World Cup to be held in Morocco, the racing was an up and down affair from the start. Quite literally, in fact, as the waves bounced athletes around throughout the swim.
Being only 750m for the Sprint distance, the swim mercifully ended sooner rather than later for those suffering in the sea, although not before Mathilde Gautier had forged a slight advantage along with Therese Feuersinger and Zsanett Kuttor-Bragmayer. Barely 10 seconds behind Gautier, Jolien Vermeylen headed up a small chase group.
The Belgian former swimmer had long since proven her speed in the pool and in relatively flat conditions. As much as the waves in Tangier presented a new challenge, it was one she came through in comfort.
Close behind Vermeylen were Kira Hedgeland and Lisa Tertsch. The lead trio, however, were already skating through T1 to press home their advantage.
Further behind, the chase pack of Vermeylen, Hedgeland and Tertsch was soon bolstered by the arriving of plenty of support. Whereas the field had been stretched into a long line in the sea, the bike saw a much tighter formation emerge.
Making her return to international racing after giving birth in the spring, the former world champion Vicky Holland was one of the faces to join, and then feature prominently, in the chase pack. Lotte Miller, regarded as one of the strongest cyclists on the women’s circuit, likewise moved to the front of the chase to lend her power.
Yet the slim gap to the leaders held. Feuersinger, Gautier and Kuttor-Bragmayer worked brilliantly together and flew through the streets to defend their advantage.
By the midpoint of the bike, Miller’s strength became all too apparent as she darted ahead of the chase to close the gap on her own. Before long, she caught the leaders and in an instant her allegiances flipped. Having worked hard to help the chasers, now she sought to bury them.
Miller rallied the leaders for the final push of the bike and helped add a few valuable seconds to the margin.
With the likes of Tertsch lining up a big run split behind – Tertsch had been one of the fastest runners at WTCS Pontevedra – the leaders needed as many seconds as they could get their hands on.
Gautier had the best transition of the front pack although Kuttor-Bragmayer and Feuersinger were a tad more sluggish. In the chase, Tertsch, Noelia Juan and Vermeylen were swift through T2 and instantly sliced a handful of seconds from their lead.
Tertsch and Juan stuck together as they bolted towards the front. Vermeylen followed but so too did Holland, Tilda Månsson, Rachel Klamer and Claire Michel. With a swarm of runners lining up behind, Gautier and the leaders faced an almighty task to stay clear.
Miller was caught and dispatched, as was Feuersinger. Gautier and Kuttor-Bragmayer lasted a litte longer but they soon were left behind as Tertsch and Juan swept into the lead.
The two leaders held an advantage of over 10 seconds and one of them would win the race. All that mattered was the timing of their final kick.
In the chase group, Klamer was unloading yet another fast split after her antics at the Karlovy Vary World Cup and in Pontevedra. However, it was Månsson that found an extra gear in the final kilometre. As had been the case at the Tiszaujvaros World Cup, she pulled away from Vermeylen and the chasers and zeroed in on the leaders. All she had to do was pip Juan at the line for history to repeat itself.
Instead, it was Tertsch that would have the final say. At the blue carpet, she launched a devastating sprint and ended the race in the space of about six strides. By the time she made it to the line, her lead stood at 12 seconds.
Even with Månsson flying after her, this time Juan held her off and sealed the silver medal, her second of the season, by 4 seconds. Månsson claimed the bronze medal by fighting off Vermeylen.
Behind Vermeylen, Klamer rounded out the top-5 in 5th place.
You can view the full results here.
