Alistair Brownlee tops the Beijing Grand Final results and Sven Riederer takes second.
The big question and perhaps the most intriguing story-line of the Dextro world Championship Triathlon Series is most likely "is Paula Findlay healthy and completely recovered from her injury?"
Most likely Paula is recovered as far as her injury so the second question becomes "has Paula had enough time to regain her pre-injury form?
The same form that had her on top of the points ranking and on her way to the London Olympics in 2012.
Paula raced well in Kelowna but came up short, but she will most likely be more than ready for her best effort in Beijing and could well win the race.
I saw her race in Kelowna when she came in second to Sarah-Anne and you just know that this is one athlete that does not like to lose.
It is that killer instinct that is so essential when one is competing on the world stage, no matter what the sport.
Paula needs a top-eight finish in order to win a spot on the Canadian Olympic team for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
She will do that and more because she has the ability and desire to take her to the top of the world.
Regrdless of the outcome of the race, you just know that Paula will leave all she has to give out on the course and what more can any fan of Paula Findlay ask?
How about the men's race?
It seems that everywhere I read it appears that Alistair Brownlee, Jonathon Brownlee, or Javier Gomez are the only three men who have any hope of winning the race.
Usually that means that means that none of them will and someone comes from out in left field and surprises everyone.
I would never be too quick to discount Simon Whitfield. I watched him win handily in the Kelowna Apple triathlon in August.
However he is up against the best in the world in Beijing and he may not be able to sustain what is sure to be a very fast run pace that the Brownlee's are sure capable of.
Look for Simon to be with the lead group of cyclist.
Also very little mention of Alexander Bryukhankov of Russia who could come up big in this race and upset the Great Britain apple-cart.
CURRENT TRIATHLON SERIES POINTS RANKINGS
TOP TWENTY MENAlistair Brownlee..........3085Jonathan Brownlee..........2965Javier Gomez...............2858Alexander Brukhankov.......2699David Hauss................2405Brad Kahlefeldt............2217Sven Riederer..............2196William Clarke.............2092Laurent Vidal..............1965Dmitry Polyansky...........1814Joao Silva.................1696Brendan Sexton.............1459Jonathan Zipf..............1431Tim Don....................1382Steffen Justus.............1366Vincent Luis...............1303Maik Petzold...............1195Bevan Docherty.............1179Ruedi Wild.................1053Sebastian Rank.............1039
TOP TWENTY WOMENHelen Jenkins.............2913Barbara Riveros Diaz......2712Paula Findlay.............2637Andrea Hewitt.............2636Emma Jackson..............2251Sarah Groff...............2188Emma Moffatt..............2061Gwen Jorgensen............1802Laura Bennett.............1681Ai Ueda...................1669Emmie Charayron...........1660Svenja Bazlen.............1569Anja Dittmer..............1550Emma Snowsill.............1439Ashleigh Gentle...........1361Nicola Spirig.............1329Ainhoa Murua..............1319Lisa Norden...............1315Jodie Stimpson............1201Erin Densham..............1185
Looks like another race(like London)where rain and the wet, slippery conditions it brings on the bike course will be a factor.
THE RACE
As expected the first three out of the water are Alistair Brownlee, Jonathan Brownlee, and Alexander Brukhankov.
The swim split might have been pretty fast, but caution is probably going to be the key word on the bike course. One bad fall could spell the end of the race for any of these athletes.
Early on in the race there is a lead pack of around 40 riders, and it's going to be pretty hard for anyone to make a clean break with the roads as slick as they are.
This race will come down to who can maintain the pace on the run and it will be a torrid one.
Simon Whitfield is in the main pack as they reach the second transition as expected, but will he be able to keep up in the run?
Alexander Bryukhankov of Russia has a good shot at the podium as the run begins and is right there with the Brownlee's from GBR.
Going into the final lap of the bike the Brownlees looked strong and were right at the front all the way to the final transition.
Russia had five in the lead group and it appeared that Kyle Jones from Canada was no longer in contention. For Canada that left Brent McMahon and Simon Whitfield as the run leg began.
Alistair was the strongest of the Brownlee's and he takes the win in Beijing with Jonathon in a tight race for second with Sven Riederer.
Rieder takes second with Jonathan coming in third.
THE TOP 12 FINISHERS IN THE MEN'S RACE1. ALISTAIR BROWNLEE2. SVEN RIEDERER 3. JONATHAN BROWNLEE 4. DMITRY POLYANSKY 5. LAURENT VIDAL 6. JAVIER GOMEZ 7. DAVID HAUSS 8. VINCENT LUIS 9. MAIK PETZOLD 10. IVAN RANA 11. JONATHAN ZIPF 12. ALEXANDER BRYUKHANKOV
No comments:
Post a Comment