The final Americas Cup races of the year took place in Manta, Ecuador, at the weekend. Several home favourites started for Ecuador however the local fans could only celebrate one win from the two races.
Juan Jose Andrade Figueroa Breaks Clear
44 men took to the start line in Manta to compete over the Sprint distance. The winner of the last Americas Cup in Viña del Mar, Ramon Armando Matute, was first out of the water with a substantial lead over the field. Next out were Andrade Figueroa and Gabriel Teran Carvajal.
One of the pre-race favourites, Rodrigo Gonzalez of Mexico, had a difficult swim and lost time to the pack.
Over the course of the bike, a small group formed. However Andrade Figueroa and Teran Carvajal worked together to generate a small gap. Teran Carvajal logged the best bike split of the day in a 28:26 while Andrade Figueroa was close behind with a 28:30. By the time the duo entered T2, they had built a lead of a little over 20 seconds over the chasers.
Both men suffered a little on the run after their exertions on the bike, but Andrade Figueroa managed to push ahead. Gaspar Riveros of Chile managed to haul in Teran Carvajal to take silver and continued in pursuit of Andrade Figueroa however, despite his efforts, Riveros could not close the gap and Andrade Figueroa held on for the win.
Riveros’ run split of 15:35 was only 9 seconds faster than Andrade Figueroa in the end. The fastest run of the day, though, went to Rodrigo Gonzalez as he recorded a blistering 15:01.
Velasquez Soto Sprints to Win
A smaller field of 33 women started in Manta. Two Canadian athletes, Desirae Ridenour and Sarah-Lee Hevey, forced the pace on the swim, however the pack remained relatively bunched behind them. Once onto the bike, both Ridenour and Hevey lost time as a lead pack of five athletes took control.
Leading the front pack was Maria Carolina Velasquez Soto of Colombia, fresh off her first World Cup medal in Viña del Mar. Also pushing the pace were Elizabeth Bravo of Ecuador and Mexican Cecilia Perez.
By the end of the bike, the front five had a half-minute advantage over the field and the race rapidly became a battle between Bravo and Velasquez Soto. A difficult T2 saw Bravo lose 7 seconds to Velasquez Soto and she spent much of the opening stages of the run trying to claw back that deficit.
As much as she tried, though, Bravo could not overhaul her rival. Although Bravo had the fastest run of the day in a 17:43, Velasquez Soto sprinted to victory. Velasquez Soto’s run split was 17:50, 7 seconds slower than Bravo’s and the same gap that she had gained over Bravo in T2.
Perez rounded out the podium with a solid run split. All three medallists earned valuable points towards their world rankings that could make the difference on their roads to the Paris Olympic Games.
View the full results here.
