Press Release - 2003 ITU Salford World Cup | Triathlon.org

Press Release - 2003 ITU Salford World Cup

By Gareth Davies on 27/07/03 at 12:00 am

ITU Media
Release

Salford, England: 27 July 2003: For immediate release:

Synopsis: Today’s Salford ITU World Cup was staged on the same course as the 2002 Commonwealth Games Triathlon. In the women’s event Australia’s Pip Taylor stayed with the lead group through the swim and bike sections, then ran away from all contenders to finish in 2:03:5. Carol Montgomery of Canada, the gold medallist on this course in 2002 made up almost a 2 minute deficit after the bike to place second. Germany’s Joelle Franzmann was 3rd. In the men’s event newcomer to World Cup racing, Seth Wealing of the USA came out of the swim with a group of 50, then joined forces with Britain’s Stuart Hayes to break from the pack on the 40km bike section. The 1 minute 20 second lead that he and Hayes built by the bike to run transition was not enough to hold off Andrew Johns who set a blistering pace on the run to take the lead. With 1 lap to go, Wealing pulled up with a cramp and slipped back to 15th place. Andrew Johns won the event in 1:53:50. Craig Walton of New Zealand and Martin Krnavek of the Czech Republic were 2nd and 3rd.

Full Report: It was a cool and misty morning in Salford, England as 38 women from 13 countries made a clean start into the waters of the newly re-constructed Manchester canals. The 2-lap 1500m swim was led by Julie Dibens of Britain, followed closely by her team-mates Anneliese Heard, Jessica Harrison and Jodie Swallow. By the 1st transition, Heard had taken over the lead as a group of 9 organised themselves for the 3-lap 40km bike. Pip Taylor of Australia, Lenka Radova and Lucie Zelenkova of the Czech Republic, Susie Gallucci of the USA and Joelle Franzmann of Germany were also able to catch onto the Brits at the front.

The chase group out of the swim was led by Megan Hall of South Africa and Julie Swail of the USA. Carol Montgomery (CAN), Michelle Dillon (GBR) and Andrea Whitcombe (GBR), three of the best runners in the field also started the bike well positioned in this group.

The group of 9 at the front lost some ground to the chase pack, until Michelle Dillon, who was doing a lot to pull the chase group up, suffered a flat tire and lost valuable moments getting a new wheel. Just prior to the flat the chase group appeared poised to overtake the leaders, but with the loss of Dillon this failed to materialize. The leaders finished with a 1 minute 30 second lead on the chase group.

Joelle Franzmann was the first off her bike and onto the 3-lap 10km run course followed closely by Pip Taylor of Australia. Taylor took over the lead at the end of the 2nd lap with Franzmann holding onto 2nd. Carol Montgomery ran through the field and caught everyone except Taylor despite a 1:49 deficit off the bike. Franzmann’s held off Weike Hoogzaad, making a comeback from a serious accident 2 years ago, in the battle for the last step on the podium.

In the men’s event, it was a clean picturesque start off the pontoon before a huge crowd that lined the course. British teammates Richard Stannard and Stuart Hays took to the front of the swim immediately with Ivan Vassiliev of Russia and Germany’s Daniel Unger on their toes. Carl Blasco of France and Reto Hug of Switzerland were also close to the leaders, as the entire men’s field stayed relatively together throughout the swim.

Almost 50 riders were in the lead group for the first 10km of the bike section, which created a dramatic sight as they swept past the Lowry Centre roundabout – the pace and energy of the peleton was a thrill to the spectators.

On the 2nd lap, Seth Wealing of the USA and Stuart Hays of Britain broke from the pack and created a 50 seconds gap by the start of lap 3. Their lead continued to build and by the start of the bell lap they had 1:20 on the lumbering group behind. Germany’s Stefan Vukovic and Daniel Unger along with Paul Amey of Britain tried to break from the chase pack on the 3rd lap, but were not successful. On the last lap Richard Stannard and David Castro (Spain) managed to get away from the big pack and tried to reel in the leaders but all they achieved was a clean transition to the run course ahead of the mob.

For the first lap of the run, Wealing, with a background in college track and field, left Hays behind and appeared to be running away with the show. However, British teammates Andrew Johns and Tim Don, along with Craig Watson of New Zealand were setting a blistering pace in their hunt for the leaders.

At the end of the 2nd lap Wealing pulled up with a cramp and watched helplessly as first Hayes and then 13 others passed him and let his dream of glory slip away. Andrew Johns maintained his 30 minute 10km run pace to take his first World Cup victory since the 2000 World Cup season, with Craig Watson of New Zealand 2nd and Martin Krnavek of the Czech Republic 3rd.