Swim
Mathilde Gautier was the quickest of the women in the water as she logged a time of 10:03. Therese Feuersinger was right on her feet as she emerged in 10:04 while Zsanett Kuttor-Bragmayer, the last of the women to make the initial three-woman break, hit a time of 10:08.
Leading the chasers was Jolien Vermeylen. The Belgian athlete clocked 10:12 to put herself 1 second ahead of Kira Hedgeland (10:13).
Lisa Tertsch, Hollie Elliott and Anna Godoy Contreras then followed in 10:19 to complete the top-8 splits.
In an indication of how the conditions in the sea grew increasingly difficult throughout the afternoon, the leading men’s swim almost matched the fastest woman’s.
Jamie Riddle was the first man out of the water as he logged a time of 9:59, a mere 4 seconds faster than Gautier. Of course, the waves played a large part in the proximity of the two times.
Angel Sanchez Carreras was the next fastest man in 10:08 and Valentin Morlec and Ricardo Batista followed in 10:09. Jonas Schomburg recorded a time of 10:13 as he sought to close the gap to the front. Louis Vitiello likewise was close behind in 10:14.
More known for his running, David Cantero del Campo impressed in the water as he made it inside the top-8 splits in Tangier. His time of 10:15 was matched by the World U23 bronze medallist Mitch Kolkman and put them both among the eight fastest swimmers.
Bike
Lotte Miller was a machine on the bike and dropped the fastest split of the day with a pulsating 29:51. In doing so, she rode up to the lead trio and helped them to maximise their advantage heading into T2. Her time made her the only woman under 30 minutes and was the fastest by a considerable margin.
Having been the fastest swimmer, Gautier was the second fastest cyclist. The European Super Sprint champion clocked 30:16 for the 20km. Right behind her were her breakaway partners, Feuersinger and Kuttor-Bragmayer, as they logged 30:17.
Fast bike splits from Noelia Juan, Claire Michel and Tilda Månsson helped to vault them into medal contention. Juan had the best split of the trio as she hit 30:21 with Michel next in 30:27. Månsson then followed in 30:28.
Completing the top-8 splits was Anabel Knoll. The German athlete produced a time of 30:29.
If the men’s swim had been slowed by the conditions, the bike was altogether a speedier experience. Moreover, whereas the women’s top bike splits had a fairly large range thanks to Miller’s wattage, the men’s splits were quite clustered.
Casper Stornes, another Norwegian powerhouse, led the way in 27:37. Tom Richard was close behind with his split of 27:39 and the race winner Pierre Le Corre followed in 27:42.
Martin Demuth matched Le Corre’s split while Panagiotis Bitados was 1 second slower in 27:43. Luis Miguel Velasquez Ramos and Brock Hoel were the next men in 27:46. Thereafter Nicola Azzano ensured the top-8 men were separated by only 10 seconds as he clocked 27:47.
Run
Lisa Tertsch stayed in complete control throughout the run as she bided her time to launch her final move. It was therefore no surprise that she came away with the fastest run split on her way to victory. Her final time was 16:32 and was 8 seconds quicker than the next best showing.
Tilda Månsson’s 16:40 made her the second fastest woman and propelled her onto the podium for her second World Cup medal of the year. In the closing metres, she almost drew within striking distance of Noelia Juan and a repeat of their showdown on Tiszaujvaros could have been on the cards.
As it was, Juan logged the third fastest split in 16:44 to hold Månsson at arm’s length.
Jolien Vermeylen, another recent foe of Månsson, stopped the watch at 16:46 as she earned 4th place. Rachel Klamer’s 16:50 then made her the next fastest runner while Claire Michel logged a time of 16:52.
Natalia Casas was the only woman from outside the top-20 with a top-8 split. Her 16:54 was one of the best of the field but only helped her to 21st place.
Finally, on her post-maternity break comeback, Vicky Holland showed minimal signs of rust as she swept to a split of 16:57. Her run went a long way into putting her in the top-8 overall as well as being a top-8 split. With her first race back under her belt, she will be one to watch at her upcoming events.
In contrast to the women’s race, the men’s winner did not have the fastest run split.
Instead, Hugo Milner came away with that accolade. Like Casas, Milner finished down the field (in 18th). However, his split of 14:18 showed that he has plenty of potential to scare those currently at the front of the race.
Le Corre was the next best runner. His time of 14:33 secured the gold medal and was in many respects a textbook 5km. Cantero, the silver medallist, then followed in 14:41.
Richard Murray and Callum McClusky managed times of 14:42 and 14:47, respectively. Like Milner, though, they were a little too far down the field out of T2 to make a big dent. In the end, they came away with 10th and 12th place.
Vetle Bergsvik Thorn used a 14:51 split to earn the bronze medal and Harry Leleu’s time of 14:58 made him the last man to break the 15 minute barrier. Riddle then closed out the top-8 splits in 15:02.
