Australia’s London Olympian Emma Jackson has climbed her way back to her best form with a courageous silver medal in the ITU’s toughest World Triathlon Series race in Kitzbuehel today.

 

The 21-year-old Queenslander tackled the un-forgiving 11.5km hill climb to the notorious Kitzbuehel Horn on the bike and 2.5km run with a ferocious tenacity after a 750m swim in the picturesque Austrian Alpine resort town.

It was a huge confidence booster for Jackson and a reward for her persistence, belief and hard work after an indifferent post Olympic year.

As hard as she tried, Jackson who has been based in Aix Les Bains in France under QAS coach Stephen Moss, couldn’t catch winner Great Britain’s Jodie Stimpson but held off Germany’s world number two Anne Haug, to post her best result of the year.

“I tried as hard as I could but just couldn’t go with Jodie,” said Jackson, who said she gained inspiration from watching Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee (GBR) take out the men’s race.

“I’m very, very happy with that result – my third silver medal in a WTS race and it’s great to be back on the podium. I haven't started the season so well.

“My goal was to stay with the leaders and if I could attack I'd attack, but when Jodie went I couldn't go with her so I wanted to stay with Anne (Haug) and Nicki (Samuels) and see what I could do on the run."

Before the race Moss was confident Jackson was on the verge of a return to the kind of form that has saw her win the ITU World Under 23 title and make last year’s Olympic team after a break through year in 2011.

“Emma has been training well and has her sights set on certain goals for this year and I feel we are on track to achieving those goals,” said Moss.

“We are settled in our base in France and she loves training there – it’s a real home away from home. Her first real race back was in French Grand Prix and that was a positive start for her.”

Australia’s Ashleigh Gentle, who prepared for her attack on the brutal Kitzbuehel Horn with training rides up Springbrook mountain on the Gold Coast, finished a creditable 9th while two-time Olympian Emma Moffatt was 19th and Felicity Abram, who took a groin injury into the race finished 34th.

Australian now has three women in the top ten on the WTS rankings after five rounds with Moffatt sixth, Abram eighth and Gentle 10th while Jackson has jumped from outside the top 58 to 27th.

Meanwhile in the men’s race 22-year-old Wollongong-based Western Australian Ryan Bailie showed why he is an Australian triathlete very much on the rise.

 

 

Bailie, a noted hill climber, mixed it with the best in the world to finish in ninth place while team mate Dan Wilsonwas 29th.

Brownlee proved yet again why he is one of the greatest triathletes of all time with another breath-taking performance.

Mario Mola (ESP) who started the day in third place in the World Series Triathlon rankings, claimed a silver medal while Sven Riederer (SUI) held off Henri Schoeman (RSA) to win bronze.

Bailie left five of the world’s top 10 ranked triathletes in his wake – including world number one, Olympic silver medallist and two-time world champion Javier Gomez (ESP) who was 13th – itself a courageous effort after a bike crash just days before the killer 750m swim; 11.5km ride and 2.5km swim.

Also behind him was world number two Joao Silva (Portugal), fourth ranked Richard Murray (RSA) who was 21st; seventh ranked Laurent Vidal (FRA) 40th and eighth ranked David McNamee (GBR) who was 33rd.

The continuous climb certainly took its toll on some the best ITU triathletes in the world as the killer hill tested the legs of every competitor.

Bailie is now sitting 11th on the WTS rankings with Hamburg, Stockholm and London remaining.

Olympic bronze medallist Jonathan Brownlee was a late withdrawal from the race with a case of food poisoning.

WOMEN’S WRAP

1.    Jodie Stimpson (GBR)
2.    Emma Jackson (AUS)
3.    Anne Haug (GER)

After finishing third in the last two WTS events (Yokohama and Madrid) and sitting third in the overall rankings, Jodie Stimpson made the step up to win the race billed as one the world's toughest triathlons. Stimpson finished ahead ofEmma Jackson (AUS) in 1:04:21 and Anne Haug (GER) in 1:04:34.
 
"I got half way and my legs were not feeling too bad and people were breathing heavy," Stimpson said. "I was like 'make sure you're feeling alright', I was like 'no way it's going to hit me soon' and then I got to 2k and my legs were OK. Darren (Smith, coach) said 'if you get to 2k then let it rip'. I just had to give it a go."
 

 

With the 11.5km bike demanding a 867m climb, with a gradient of between 17 and 22 percent in the final 1km, the cycling specialists quickly made their moves after a close swim. One of those was Anne Haug (GER), who started the race second in the overall rankings.
 
Haug, an expert in clawing her way back on the bike, benefited from the shorter 750m swim in Kitzbuehel. Although she exited the water in 27th place, she soon made up a relatively small 30-second deficit and got herself to the front of the pack as they began the daunting climb.
 

 

When the bike entered the most demanding section, four triathletes began to break away from a large lead group. The leaders were made up of Stimpson, Haug, Nicky Samuels (NZL) and Jackson but in the last 2km Stimpson made her move and began to create a strong lead to take into the 2.55km run. When Stimpson hit the run, she was 43 seconds ahead of the chasing pack and never looked like being caught during the 136m climb.
 
After a disappointing season so far, Jackson said she was pleased to make a podium. "I haven't started the season so well so I'm happy to be back on the podium. This is my third silver medal in a world series event so I'm so happy to do it here. My goal was to stay with the leaders and if I could attack I'd attack, but when Jodie went I couldn't go with her so I wanted to stay with Anne and Nicki and see what I could do on the run."
 
"I didn't want to risk anything so maybe it was the wrong decision, maybe it was the right decision," Haug said." But I'm on third place so I have to be happy with that. It was an amazing swim for me - I was almost in the first group, it was a little bit shocking for me. But it's a series and you have to be consistent all season and I'm in third place so I have to happy."
 

 

Click here for the full rankings

 

 

 

ITU World Triathlon Kitzbuehel - 6 July 2013

 

Final Results - Elite Women - 750m swim, 11.5km bike, 2.5km run

 

 

 

 

 

1	Jodie	Stimpson	GBR		01:03:22
2	Emma	Jackson	AUS		01:04:21
3	Anne	Haug	GER		01:04:34
4	Andrea	Hewitt	NZL		01:04:41
5	Nicky	Samuels	NZL		01:04:54
6	Kirsten	Sweetland	CAN		01:05:02
7	Katie	Hewison	GBR		01:05:05
8	Agnieszka	Jerzyk	POL		01:05:48
9	Ashleigh	Gentle	AUS		01:06:13
10	Rachel	Klamer	NED		01:06:26

 

  

 

Click here for full field results  

 

  

 

MEN’S WRAP

 

 

 

1. Alistair Brownlee (GBR)
2. Mario Mola (ESP)
3. Sven Riederer (SUI)

 

 

 

Alistair Brownlee hadn't raced since winning in San Diego in April because of an ankle injury but blew away the field with an incredible display of endurance, winning in 55 minutes, 23 seconds on the new dynamic course that consisted of a 750m swim, followed by a 11.5km bike and a 2.5km run up the Kitzbuehel horn.

 

 

 

The highlight of Brownlee's performance was on that tough bike. After coming out of the water in eighth place, he hit the front of the pack as a short downhill section turned into a gruelling 867m climb. Initially Javier Gomez (ESP) broke away with Brownlee but couldn't keep up as Brownlee started pulling away, creating an astonishing 1km lead as the as the climb started to take its toll on the rest of the field.

 

 

 

Despite a huge lead, Brownlee continued to run hard and only let up with 200m to go to enjoy the adulation of the support with the finish line in sight.

 

 

 

"I mean if any course is going to be my course, this is going to be my thing," Brownlee said. "The background of mountains and mountain running, and it's what I love doing, it was fantastic today."

 

 

 

It was Brownlee's 14th career World Triathlon Series win and he said of the tough bike course it was just a matter of keeping to his own plan. 

 

 

 

"I just kind of got away and then it was just all about holding my own rhythm," he said. "Once I was riding there was nothing I could do. My stomach was an absolute wreck, I was sort of on that line the whole time and if I went too hard it hurt too much, so I was just trying to keep a steady rhythm and thankfully it was enough."

 

 

 

Without late omission Jonathan Brownlee, it gave other triathletes a chance to gain vital ranking points in the race billed to be the toughest triathlon in the world.

 

Mario Mola (ESP) who started the day in third place in the World Series Triathlon rankings, claimed a silver medal in a time of 56 minutes. Mola only came out of the 750m swim in 18^th place but an impressive bike leg elevated him into second place and he held on during the run. 

 

Sven Riederer (SUI) held off Henri Schoeman (RSA) to win bronze in a time of 56:46, just three seconds ahead of the rising South African star. Schoeman had come out of the swim in third place and held a consistent pace, but was overtaken by master cyclist Riederer early on in the 11.5km bike ride, who had exited the water in 26^th place.

 

 

 

 

Even though Gomez ended-up having an off day, he did enough to retain his overall series rankings lead. With Hamburg, Stockholm and the London Grand Final still to come, Mario Mola sits in second place and Joao Silva in third.  

 

 

 

Click here for the full rankings

 

 

 

ITU World Triathlon Kitzbuehel - 6 July 2013

 

Final Results - Elite Men - 750m swim, 11.5km bike, 2.5km run

 

 

 

1.	Alistair Brownlee	GBR		00:55:23
2.	Mario Mola	ESP		00:56:00
3.	Sven Riederer	SUI		00:56:46
4.	Henri Schoeman	RSA		00:56:49
5.	Ryan Sissons	NZL		00:57:31
6.	Richard Varga	SVK		00:57:37
7.	Thomas Springer	AUT		00:57:39
8.	Vincent Luis	FRA		00:57:41
9.	Ryan Bailie	AUS		00:57:44
10.	Jason Wilson	BAR		00:58:00

 

  

 

Click here for full field results  

 

Images courtesy of Janos M.Schmidt/ITU

A return to the winners list for London Olympian Brendan Sexton highlighted a successful weekend for Australia’s triathletes in Europe.

Sexton broke through for his first victory in 18 months to win the British Triathlon Sprint Championship (750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run) in Liverpool.

And he had to run down training partner and “comeback kid”, Aaron Royle, who three weeks ago was laid up in a Spanish Hospital, his season very much on the line – to give Australia a winning quinella.

Then in the women’s race it was a stunning “catch me in you can” victory to Sexton’s girlfriend Charlotte McShanewho also added the British title to give Australia the double.

Over in the Spain their Wollongong Wizards team mate Tamsyn Moana-Veale claimed her first ever ITU World Cup podium – taking out a close-up bronze in hot, oppressive conditions in Palamos.

Rounding off the results was a top ten finish to another Wollongong-based athlete – Ben Allen, who claimed eighth place in the ITU World Cross Triathlon Championship in The Hague- Kijkduin, in the Netherlands.

Sexton, who will be one of six Australian men in this weekend’s ITU World Championship Series round in Hamburg, was delighted with his return to the winners circle.

‘It has been a long time between race wins for me and after some frustrating times this is more refreshing evidence that I’m again moving towards my lofty goals,” Sexton said.

“The next big step of course will be in Hamburg in five days time for my first ITU WCS event of the year and I’ll admit I’m more than excited to be back mixing it with the best.”

After exciting the water further back than he expected, Sexton admitted he had to give his younger rivals a little friendly encouragement to ensure “a productive group effort” in the second bike pack as they worked together to hunt down the leaders.

“The younger boys were extremely responsive…and by the end of the 20km bike leg we had whittled the gap down to less than 15 seconds by the transition into the run,” he said.

“I caught Aaron (Royle) with around three kilometres to go and I was able to feed off the enthusiastic crowd to extend my lead towards the finish.”

Royle was determined to leave nothing on the road after his remarkable recovery from pneumonia and an abscess on his lung caused by two nasty bacterial infections and in typical fashion was fourth out of the water and then fought back to grab second place towards the finish.

“I wanted to race Liverpool just like I would any other race, which is going hard from start to finish,” said Royle.

“I didn’t want to save energy here or there knowing that I may not be in top shape; I needed this race to kick-start the body back into racing and I was feeling a little sore and tired after completing my first week with intensity since being released from hospital. 

“More than anything I just wanted to push myself over the entire race . I was pretty spent but content that I had done what I set out to do and that was to make the race as hard as possible for myself, despite feeling ordinary in all three disciplines.  

“I don’t think I have ever started a run feeling so awful. It felt as though I was running through quicksand with a heart rate of 300, but it soon settled down after one kilometre and I was able to get into a rhythm.

““It was the perfect race to test myself over the sprint distance before next week’s big race in Hamburg.”

 

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MCSHANE FLIES THE AUSSIE FLAG TOO

The women’s race was also a perfect Hamburg hit out for Charlottle McShane, who has had her most consistent season as she carves her career on the ITU circuit.

McShane went into the race aiming to have a really good swim and said she couldn’t have been happier. 

“I got myself into second position within the first 200m behind British junior Sophie Coldwell and a decent gap opened up behind me to the rest of the field and hanging as close to Sophie as I could our lead had grown when I exited the water just shy of the front.

“It was clear to both Sophie and I that neither of us wanted to hang around and we quickly got to work attempting to extend the difference over the large pack behind us. 

“Being vastly outnumbered by some motivated chasers we managed to stay off the front for two of the four laps before eventually being caught and becoming part of a larger lead bunch. 

“From there I just tried to stay towards the front – the safest place to be, particularly on a somewhat technical course.

“I led out of bike/run transition and to be honest I felt pretty terrible for the first 2km or so. I knew there were a couple of strong runners there, including former X-country runner Emma Pallant who is currently leading the (British) series. 

“We ran side by side until the three kilometre mark when I decided to make a move and step outside my comfort zone. 

“I felt a slight gap open and didn’t look back for the rest of the run continuing to push into my next level until I ran into the finish tape with a 40 second advantage.

“I am really happy with how my race went. I approached the race with some clear goals and I definitely felt like I achieved them all, a huge positive going into Hamburg ITU World Series next weekend!”

 

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BRONZE BREAKTHROUGH FOR MOANA-VEALE IN WORLD CUP

Over in Spain it was Tamsyn Moana-Veale who produced a determined final 10km run to claim her first ever ITU World Cup podium over the Olympic distance.

After Moana-Veale had run down all but one of the leading group but it was the Italian Annamaria Mazzetti who struck just at the last moment, sprinting past Moana-Veale in the final metres for silver and leaving the Australian girl with the bronze after the USA’s Katie Hursey had put together an outstanding race to claim victory.

Other Australians were also well placed with Felicity Sheedy-Ryan 8th, Natalie Van Coevorden 10th, Grace Musgrove 14th and Ellie Salthouse 30th.

Moana-Veale said she started off with a good swim, making up some ground on the second of a two-lap swim to ensure she was well within the main pack. 

“Once on the bike, the hilly and technical course provided an amazing race, probably one of my favourite bike courses to date,” said Moana-Veal, who thrived in the hot, oppressive conditions.

“I learnt lessons early on with my positioning and soon found myself comfortable and riding 'smarter'.

“I began the run around 90 seconds down on a breakaway of four athletes but felt strong early on, so decided to hunt the breakaway athletes down, one by one, on a solo mission. 

“I managed to catch three of the four girls in front and was determined to stay in podium position with Mazetti quickly closing the gap behind me.

“Despite much better positioning and aggression in the final 500m compared to my previous race, I just didn't quite have the finishing legs and lost a sprint finish for second and while I was disappointed to miss second place I was ecstatic to claim my first World Cup podium.”

 

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BEN ALLEN’S EIGHTH PLACE IN WORLD CROSS TRIATHLON
 

At the ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships In The Hague-Kijkduin, Australia’s Ben Allen has finished eighth after looking good in the early stages.

Allen took the initiative in the one-kilometre swim, exiting the water in first place, ahead of under-23 athlete Marco Akershoek (NED) and eventual bronze medallist Brice Daubord (FRA).

Allen, who has won five World Tour events this year stayed with the leaders throughout the 26km bike course but ran out of steam in the second lap of the 9km cross country run and was unable to find any reserves to challenge for a medal, ultimately finishing in eighth. 

South Africa’s Conrad Stoltz made it a hat-trick of ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships wins with an impressive performance. 

“The Caveman” as he is known won in 2011 and 2012 and looked as strong as ever, holding off a valiant challenge from Spain’s Ruben Ruzafa in the closing stages of the race. 

Stoltz finished in two hours, one minute and 38 seconds, with Ruzafa (2:01:52) claiming silver ahead of Daubord (2:02:37) with Allen eighth in 2:05.18.

View the full results here>>