Le Corre, Gentle take Tiszaujvaros
Pierre Le Corre and Ashleigh Gentle took the wins at the 2012 ITU Tiszaujvaros World Cup, a race that was set with qualifying heats the day prior. The French today actually manged to sweep the men's podium.
Lukas Verzbicas, Bryce McMaster and Andrey Bryukhankove had won the semi final events on Saturday and thus many eyes were on them as the men entered the water. Aurelien Raphael who had posted the fastest swim the day before again showed his prowess in the water and reached the pontoon first. His French teammates Anthony Pujades and Pierre Le Corre were not far behind.
The three French athletes with assistance from the Russian duo Igor Polyanskiy and Andrey Bryuksnkov, plus Aussies Dan Wilson and Ryan Fisher led a 10-men group out of transition, and that leading bunch steadily pushed their advantage over the chasers up. By the time they reached the second transition they had one minute advantage over a group that contained Verzbicas.
Le Corre moved into the lead on the run fairly soon and Raphael looked well established in second position, but third place was a battle between Pujades and Fisher, with the French Pro getting the better of the Aussie at the end. So with Le Corre taking the win, Raphael the runner-up spot and Pujades the final podium spot, the French managed a rare sweep of the podium.
Ashleigh Gentle and Annamaria Mazzetti took the semi final heats on Saturday and looked well again for the main event today.
Gentle though did not have a great swim, but that had not stopped her on Saturday. Inna Tsyganok was first out of the water in 9:31, with Mazzetti 14 seconds behind, and Gentle a full 35 seconds.
Gentle though pushed it hard on the bike and with the athletes up front not pushing their advantage out even further, Gentle and quite a few others managed to ride into the front pack and thus 21 athletes rolled into the bike-run transition together.
German Rebecca Robisch was first out on the run, but Gentle took over the lead reasonably soon. Maake Caelers though really gave her a run for the money and challenged the Aussie until the end. Gentle though had a bit more left at the end and took the win in 58:39.
"It was a really hard fought battle to be honest," said Gentle. "I was trying to shake her, but she was relentless and stuck by my side. I’m lucky I had that little bit extra at the end."
Caelers took second place and Mazzetti finished third.
ITU Tiszaujvaros World Cup
Tiszaujvaros , Hungary / July 15, 2012
750m swim / 20k bike / 5k run
Top men
1. Pierre Le Corre (FRA) 51:54
2. Aurelien Raphael (FRA) 52:05
3. Anthony Pujades (FRA) 52:10
4. Ryan Fisher (AUS) 52:17
5. Igor Polyanskiy (RUS) 52:19
6. Lukas Verzbicas (USA) 52:21
7. Gregory Rouault (FRA) 52:24
8. Andrey Brukhankov (RUS) 52:29
9. Balazs Pocsai (HUN) 52:35
10. Dan Wilson (AUS) 52:37
Top women
1. Ashleigh Gentle (AUS) 58:39
2. Maaike Caelers (NED) 58:43
3. Annamaria Mazzetti (ITA) 59:19
4. Charlotte McShane (AUS) 59:24
5. Anja Knapp (GER) 59:31
6. Rebecca Robisch (GER) 59:32
7. Arina Shulgina (RUS) 59:33
8. Inna Ryzhykh (UKR) 59:45
9. Zsofia Kovacs (HUN) 59:46
10. Helle Frederiksen (DEN) 59:59
