Overcast conditions awaited the athletes in New Plymouth as they walked out to the start line in the women’s race. The volcanic ash beach was perhaps appropriate given how Nicole Van Der Kaay’s form has erupted this season. After three consecutive wins, the question remained as to whether anyone could slow her inexorable run.
In a wholly expected plot twist, it was Emma Jeffcoat that led out swim. Jeffcoat has been in sublime swimming form of late and looked in total control. The waves of the sea made it hard to tell whether she did in fact lead for every stroke. Such has been her class in the water, it would make complete sense if she did.
Hannah Knighton emerged on Jeffcoat’s feet with Sophie Linn close behind.
Then came a long line of athletes with a small split in the midfield but nothing significant. With the field mostly intact after the first discipline, the decisive moment came out of T1 on the early stages of the bike.
Van Der Kaay and Ainsley Thorpe latched onto the lead trio into T1 after good swims. As a small front pack formed, they were quickly joined by Mexican athlete Rosa Maria Tapia Vidal.
Tapia Vidal came into New Plymouth off the back of her best ever WTCS finish in Abu Dhabi earlier this month. In the early stages of the bike she looked strong and a potential challenger to Van Der Kaay.
Meanwhile, Maria Tomé and Solveig Løvseth pushed hard to bridge up to the leaders. Once she made up the gap, Løvseth quickly hit the front and began to put the power down.
The strength of Claire Michel on the bike also told as she recovered a deficit of 31 seconds to Jeffcoat to ride up to the front group. The Italian duo of Beatrice Mallozzi and Constanza Arpinelli were able to go with Michel but their American counterparts, Gwen Jorgensen and Gina Sereno remained stranded in the chase.
A healthy group therefore formed at the front of the race during the bike. Over the course of four laps, the riders had to navigate a challenging course. Earlier rain had left the roads slick and treacherous around some of the corners. “Suzuki corner”, as perfectly named by the commentary, in particular slowed the athletes to a crawl as they navigated the 180 degree turn.
Moreover, with a hill on each lap that peaked at a gradient of 11%, there would be no real moment in which to catch one’s breath. Løvseth took up the pace going up the hill and then on the downhill the front group began to stretch.
In the chase, Jorgensen, Marta Pintanel Raymundo and Márta Kropkó took some turns but the gap continued to grow. By the midpoint of the bike the front group led by almost 50 seconds.
On the next down hill, Van Der Kaay made an attack and Løvseth was the first athlete to go with her. The front pack quickly coalesced around the duo although Knighton slipped off the pace.
Indeed, Van Der Kaay’s insertion of pace told as the front group slimmed to sixteen athletes. Over the rest of the bike, there was no real further movement and the lead ahead of the chase remained stable as the athletes returned to transition.
Erika Ackerlund was first into T2 and was quickly out on to the run. Linn, Thorpe and Van Der Kaay were the first athletes in pursuit of the American.
Over the course of the first run lap, Van Der Kaay and Thorpe set the tempo with Løvseth and Tapia Vidal just behind. Tomé, Linn, Ackerlund and Michel were all close, but the front four gradually added seconds to their advantage.
Further back, Jorgensen quickly drifted ahead of the rest of the chasers on the run while, behind the chase pack, Sandra Dodet and Anahi Alvarez Corral dusted off their running shoes and began to drop fast splits.
At the front, Van Der Kaay set the pace and the challengers had been whittled down to only Thorpe, Løvseth and Tapia Vidal.
Tapia Vidal was the first to lose contact as the others inched away.
At no point did Van Der Kaay look troubled and as she headed into the closing straight she wound up the speed. Thorpe tried to react but the injection of pace was too great. With no one able to match her at the crunch, Van Der Kaay cruised to victory by 9 seconds.
For good measure, she recorded the fastest run split of the day in 16:12 on her way to win number four. This year, Van Der Kaay is a woman on a mission and it will be fascinating to see how she gets on at the WTCS level. After a WTCS silver in Hamburg in 2021, her sparkling form suggests she could add to that this season.
Thorpe held on for 2nd while Løvseth earned bronze. After running a fast half marathon in Barcelona recently, Løvseth’s running speed should not have been a surprise. A first World Cup medal was just desserts for the Norwegian athlete after racing so hard on the bike.
Tapia Vidal was next home in 4th with Linn close behind in 5th.
View the full results here.
