Mola tops Clermont men
Mario Mola of Spain used a race-best 15:07 run to win the ITU Pan America Cup Sprint Triathlon in Clermont, Florida.
Mola finished in 53:56 with a 16 seconds margin of victory over runner-up Richard Murray of South Africa and 23 seconds over 3rd place finisher Jarrod Shoemaker of the United States.
Mola combined a tied for 3rd-best 9:29 swim, 12th-best 27:39 bike split and a 15:07 run that was 16 seconds better than the next-best competitor to dominate a fairly deep, high-quality international field.
Mola’s victory was his second in senior ITU competition after a win at the 2011 Pan American Cup in Salinas. He also placed 19th at the London Olympics, 4th at the 2012 ITU World Triathlon Series event in San Diego, 4th at the 2012 ITU World Cup in Mooloolaba and 4th at the 2011 European Championship in Pontevedra, Spain.
Murray, who won the 2012 World Triathlon Series sprint event in Hamburg and won the recent Cape Town ITU Sprint Triathlon Africa Cup, combined a 9:36 swim, 27:36 bike split and 2nd-best 15:23 run to gain the silver.
Shoemaker, a 2008 U.S. Olympic team member, the 2012 USA Triathlon Elite champion, and winner of the 2012 Buffalo ITU Triathlon Pan America Cup, swam 9:35, biked 27:29 and ran a 3rd-best 15:27 to take the final spot on the podium. This was Shoemaker’s third straight podium in his hometown race.
Up and coming U.S. triathlete Kaleb Vanort finished 8th in 55:19, powered by a 6th-fastest 15:53 run.
Farkas, who won the Clermont Elite Development Race last year, posted an encouraging 11th place at age 19, while fellow USA contender Joe Maloy finished 12th and Tommy Zaferes, who led the swim by 17 seconds, finished 13th.
In his first major test after his horrific, career-threatening bike accident last year, young U.S. star Lukas Verzbicas had a 9:47 swim and a 29:20 bike split before withdrawing after the first lap of the run.
ITU Pan America Cup Clermont Sprint
Clermont, Florida
March 9, 2013
S 750m / B 20k / R 5 k
Results
Elite Men
1. Mario Mola (ESP) 53:56
2. Richard Murray (RSA) 54:12
3. Jarrod Shoemaker (USA) 54:19
4. Joao Pereira (POR) 54:28
5. Kyle Jones (CAN) 54:32
6. Andrew Yorke (CAN) 54:40
7. Conor Murphy (IRL) 55:14
8. Kaleb Vanort (USA) 55:19
9. Andrew McCartney (CAN) 55:22
10. Miguel Arraiolos (POR) 55:33
11. Luke Farkas (USA) 55:37
12. Joe Maloy (USA) 55:51
13. Tommy Zaferes (USA) 56:01
