Jodie Stimpson wins Abu Dhabi
Jodie Stimpson of Great Britain broke away from a four-woman pack on the final lap of the run to win her first WTS victory since 2014 at the inaugural race of the 2016 season at Abu Dhabi.
Stimpson accelerated away from Ashleigh Gentle of Australia, fellow Brit Helen Jenkins and Flora Duffy of Bermuda with a kilometer to go to close with a race-best 34:53 10k run and earn a 9 seconds margin on runner-up Gentle, 16 seconds on Jenkins and 34 seconds on Duffy.
“This winter I could not say it could have gone any better,” Stimpson told ITU Media. “My training group has been highly motivated because none of us have made our Olympic slots yet. Me and (Two-time ITU Olympic distance World Champion) Helen Jenkins are great rivals. She is just a fantastic athlete and I have so much respect for her. As soon as I crossed the line I went to her and thought we could not make it any harder for the selectors. We are both in the same boat and it will be whoever has the best race on the Gold Coast.”
The win was a good omen for Stimpson’s British women's 2016 Olympic team chances, which will be decided in three weeks at the WTS race on Australia’s Gold Coast. So far, Vicky Holland and Non Stanford have made the 2016 British women's Olympic triathlon team. One spot is left to be determined and will be awarded to the first British woman excluding Stanford and Holland who can finish in the top 8 at the Gold Coast race. If no British woman other than Stanford and Holland can meet that standard, the final slot will be up to British selectors, which might be bad news for Stimpson who was left off the British Olympic team in 2012 in favor of Lucy Hall who served as a swim-bike domestíque. Stimpson is one of her country’s best Olympic distance triathletes as she placed 2nd in the 2013 WTS season standings and won the 2014 Commonwealth Games gold.
Gentle said of her runner-up finish, “I am so thrilled. Apart from not swimming so well, I actually felt pretty good about how I raced today because it was just Nicola (Spirig) and I pulling the turns together in the chase group so I feel really thankful to her. It felt really good to catch up.”
The door to an Olympic slot is wide open for Gentle, because no Australian women have so far earned an Olympic slot.
Spirig, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist, seemed to have returned to her 2012 Olympic form until she was caught in a multiple competitor crash on the 39th kilometer of the bike leg. Spirig appeared to have a sprained wrist and bruised shoulder and withdrew after one lap of the run.
Lisa Norden of Sweden, who battled Spirig to the wire at the London Olympics, appeared to be approaching her 2012 level after a few off form seasons, finished 10th, 1:17 back of Stimpson.
Flora Duffy of Bermuda, the 2015 XTERRA World Champion, continued her rising stature in the WTS series with a strong performance. Duffy rode at the lead of the bike pack and ran elbow to elbow with Stimpson, Jenkins and Gentle all the way to the final kilometer of the run to finish 4th.
The surprise of the day had to be U.S. rising star Renee Tomlin, who made up for a sluggish 19:32 swim by riding on the back wheel of Spirig and then displaying her topflight collegiate running form to finish with a 5th-best 35:44 10k that brought her home in 5th place.
Katie Zaferes, who placed second to U.S. star Gwen Jorgensen for most of last season but fell behind Sarah True at the final U.S. Olympic qualifying race of 2015, had a disappointing day, joining True in the DNF list. Jorgensen, who stayed away from Abu Dhabi to compete in a smaller race in Australia, and True earned the first 2 U.S. women’s 2016 Olympic slots and only one slot remains open for Rio.
WTS Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
March 5, 2015
S 1.5k / B 40k / R 10k
Results
Elite Women
1. Jodie Stimpson (GBR) 1:56:10
2. Ashleigh Gentle (AUS) 1:56:19
3. Helen Jenkins (GBR) 1:56:26
4. Flora Duffy (BER) 1:56:44
5. Renee Tomlin (USA) 1:57:02
6. Emmie Charayron (FRA) 1:57:17
7. Sara Vilic (AUT) 1:57:25
8. Charlotte McShane (AUS) 1:57:25
9. Annamaria Mazzetti (ITA) 1:57:26
10. Lisa Norden (SWE) 1:57:27
21. Kaitlin Donner (USA) 1:58:16
DNF Sarah True (USA), Katie Zaferes (USA)
