NEWS

Weekend race roundup - July 1, 2013

By Erin Greene | 01 Jul, 2013

While the much-anticipated World Triathlon Kitzbuehel will be showcased in just a few short days, athletes around the world kept the triathlon action heated last weekend with events in Brazil and the Netherlands. The Americas welcomed competitors to the PATCO Pan American Championships, while the city of Holten hosted the ITU Sprint Premium European Cup. Here’s how it all played out.

2013 Vila Velha PATCO Triathlon Pan American Championships
Pamela Oliveira continued her strong season with a win in the women’s race at the Pan American Championships. After exiting the water in front with over a minute advantage, Oliveira executed a solid bike and run to maintain the lead, which was good enough for gold in front of a home crowd. Although Sarah-anne Brault (CAN) made up massive ground on the run, she just ran out of room on the course to reel in the Brazilian, leaving Brault with silver. Flavia Fernandes hung strong for third, giving Brazil two spots on the podium.

Rodrigo Gonzalez
(MEX) ransacked the men’s competition, claiming the continental title by over a minute with a monster run. Gonzalez swam on the hip of the leaders to put himself in strong position on the bike. The Mexican went to work straight away on the bike, putting himself in front of the field with the fastest bike split of the day. He carried that momentum out on the run, where he locked down gold with another swift split. Gonzalez crossed over in 1:50:58, leaving Brazil’s own Reinaldo Colucci, Bruno Matheus and Diogo Sclebin to battle for the two remaining podium places. Although Sclebin secured the second fastest run of the day, it was Colucci who collected silver, with Matheus making it over the line for third.

2013 Holten ITU Sprint Triathlon Premium European Cup
Danne Boterenbrood dazzled on home soil to win the women’s Sprint Premium European Cup. Boterenbrood had an incredible bike leg that couldn’t be run down, giving the crowd something to cheer for as the Netherlands native sprinted down the finish chute for gold. Poland’s Agnieszka Jerzyk smoked the run in the race to chase down Boterenbrood, but it just wasn’t enough, forcing Jerzyk to settle for silver. Tamsyn Moana-veale (AUS) dominated the swim, but dropped back to bike with the pack. Although she fought Jerzyk hard for second, her efforts weren’t enough to take the runner-up positing, giving the Aussie bronze.

Non-Europeans dominated the men’s race in the Netherlands. The quick sprint race saw a close finish between several men, with the top five all having finished under 57 minutes. But it came down to who could run the fastest, which was Declan Wilson (AUS). Compatriot Brendan Sexton, who like Wilson clocked a sub-16 minute run, sailed in next for second while the USA’s Ben Kanute held on for bronze after losing the lead he had on the swim and bike.