Zaferes, Blummenfelt tops at Super League Jersey
Round Two of the innovative two-day, multiple sprint format Super League Triathlon – Jersey finished on a cool, rainy day where competitors had to play it conservatively on the slick bike course. After the Eliminator format whittled the fields down to 10 men and 10 women in the final stages this Sunday, Katie Zaferes of the United States and Kristian Blummenfelt of Norway raced away with the victory.
Zaferes and Blummenfelt won both the Day 1 Triple Mix sessions and the Day 2 Eliminator competition to achieve perfect 50-point scores and earn $18,000 checks for the overall titles.
“It’s just so cool,” Zaferes told Super League media announcer Emma Frodeno after the race. “It’s a different style of racing. It’s a fun style but it is so painful and so you cannot hide anywhere. I would love to do more of these.”
Cook relied on her vaunted run to nip Spirig for the day’s runner-up and overall runner-up. “I knew when I made the pass [on Spirig on the final Eliminator stage] I had to gap them or else it was game over. So I really just went for it and I tried not to look back. I was running pretty scared at the end but it worked out.”
Blummenfelt, who finished his WTS season with a flourish with a 2nd place at the Grand Final and 3rd overall in the WTS series, continued his hot streak at Jersey with some grit and tactical expertise. "I tried to play a little bit safe in the beginning [of the 3 Eliminator Stages Sunday] and just make it inside the top 15 and top 10. But it's just so hard to hold back when I like racing. Hopefully I get winter off training now and I'll be fit for next year."
Blummenfelt went to the front in the final lap of the final stage on the bike and charged to a big lead at the start of the run. Brownlee fought hard to keep Blummenfelt in sight and stave off a last lap surge by Murray. "I had a massive advantage there with British weather and British crowds so thank you to everyone for coming out even in this weather,” he told Super League media. “I actually think I got fitter from yesterday, but Kristian was far better than us all the whole weekend and I was absolutely nowhere near him today.”
Summer Cook of the U.S. finished third on Saturday and 2nd on Sunday to score 39 points and take home the women’s overall runner-up check for $12,000. 2012 Olympic gold medalist and 2016 Olympic silver medalist Nicola Spirig of Switzerland finished 2nd on Saturday and 3rd on Sunday, also scoring 39 points. However, Sunday’s results were given preference, so Spirig’s 39 points earned her 3rd overall and a check for $8,000.
Brownlee, the 2012 Olympic Triathlon bronze medalist and 2016 Olympic silver medalist, finished 3rd on Saturday and 2nd on Sunday, earning 39 points and a $12,000 check. Hamilton Island Super League champion Richard Murray of South Africa fell into the same problem as the women as he finished 2nd on Saturday and 3rd on the more heavily weighted Sunday results, so his 39 points earned him $8,000 for third place overall.
While Super League Triathlon officials advertised a total purse of $260,000 (with $130,000 going to the men and the women), the big checks awarded at the finish did not match the $100,000 won by Richard Murray for his win, $50,000 to Mario Mola for his second place finish and $30,000 to Jake Birtwhistle for his third place finish at the inaugural Super League Triathlon held on Hamilton Island, Australia in March. That race invited only men, and received criticism for failing to offer a field for women. Organizers said that the March race was a test event, and appeared to answer critics with fields for men and women in Jersey.
Race co-organizer Chris McCormack said on live streaming commentary for the event that Super League planned to have a third event later this year, but hurricanes in the Caribbean forced cancellation. McCormack added that Super League plans to put on a series in 2018.
Super League Triathlon – Jersey
Jersey, Channel Islands, Great Britain
September 23-24, 2017
Saturday Day 1 Triple Mix
Triple Mix is a three-stage race with a 10-minute break between stages and a pursuit-style start in Stages 2 and 3. S one lap 300 meters / B 5 laps 5.5k / R 2 laps 2k.
Stage 1: Swim-Bike-Run
Stage 2: Run-Bike-Swim
Stage 3: Bike-Swim-Run
Accumulated Day 1 results – Men qualifiers
1. Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) Points 25 Total time 56:51
2. Richard Murray (RSA) Points 21 Total time 57:14
3. Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) Points 18 Total time 57:30
4. Henri Schoeman (RSA) Points 16 Total time 60:20
5. Mario Mola (ESP) Points 14 Total time 60:17
6. Matthew Hauser (AUS) Points 12 Total time 60:22
7. Alessandro Fabian (ITA) Points 10 Total time 60:27
8. Andreas Schilling (DEN) Points 8 Total time 60:23
9. Aaron Royle (AUS) Points 6 Total time 60:34
10. Jacob Birtwhistle (AUS) Points 4 Total time 60:41
11. Ryan Fisher (AUS) Points 3 Total time 61:23
12. Ben Kanute (USA) Points 2 Total time 61:26
Accumulated Day 1 Results – Women qualifiers
1. Katie Zaferes (USA) Points 25 Total time 65:23
2. Nicola Spirig (SUI) Points 21 Total time 65:44
3. Summer Cook (USA) Points 18 Total time 65:50
4. Kirsten Kasper (USA) Points 16 Total Time 65:55
5. Claire Michel (BEL) Points 14 Total time 65:53
6. Sophie Coldwell (GBR) Points 12 Total time 66:08
7. Carolina Routier (ESP) Points 10 Total time 66:16
8. Jodie Stimpson (GBR) Points 8 Total time 66:25
9. Rachel Klamer (NED) Points 6 Total time 66:35
10. Anastasia Abrosimova (RUS) Points 4 Total time 67:03
11. Barbara Riveros (CHL) Points 3 Total time 67:28
12. Laura Lindemann (GER) Points 2 Total time 68:07
13. Taylor Spivey (USA) Points 2 Total time 68:09
Saturday Day 2– Eliminator
The Eliminator format has three stages of swim-bike-run whittling the field down to the fastest 15 and then 10 to race for victory in Stage 3. Unlike Day 1, position is all and times are irrelevant.
S one lap 300 meters / B 5 laps 5.5k / R 2 laps 2k.
Eliminator Stage 3 Final Results – Women
1. Katie Zaferes (USA) 25 points
2. Summer Cook (USA) 21 points
3. Nicola Spirig (SUI) 18 points
4. Kirsten Kasper (USA) 16 Points
5. Jodie Stimpson (GBR) 14 Points
6. Sophie Coldwell (GBR) 12 Points
7. Charlotte McShane (AUS) 10 points
8. Rachel Klamer (NED) 8 Points
9. Melanie Santos (POR) 6 Points
10. Emmie Charayron (FRA) 4 points
Eliminator Stage 3 Final Results – Men
1. Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) 25 points
2. Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) 21 points
3. Richard Murray (RSA) 18 points
4. Matthew Hauser (AUS) 16 points
5. Jacob Birtwhistle (AUS) 14 points
6. Aaron Royle (AUS) 12 points
7. Ben Kanute (USA) 10 points
8. Mario Mola (ESP) 8 Points
9. Alessandro Fabian (ITA) 6 points
10. Andreas Schilling (DEN) 4 points
Super League Jersey Final Podium Results
Finals stage Eliminator points are 25-21-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4 and when combined with Day 1 points count for the overall results with $18,000 for the win, $12,000 for second place, and $8,000 for third.
Women
1. Katie Zaferes (USA) 50 points – $18,000
2. Summer Cook (USA) 39 points – $12,000
3. Nicola Spirig (SUI) 39 points – $8,000 *in case of ties, preference given for Day 3 result.
Men
1. Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) 50 points – $18,000
2. Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) 39 points – $12,000
3. Richard Murray (RSA) 39 points *in case of tie, preference given for Day 3 result.
