Honest Racing in Bermuda
What would the world of triathlon look like if Olympic-style racing featured bike courses like those elite cyclists ride? We saw a bit of it in Bermuda over the weekend, where hometown hero Flora Duffy demolished the field on a bike course made not just for her, but for any cycling expert.
MS Amlin World Triathlon Bermuda's technical and quad-crushing bike course doesn’t fully explain Duffy’s dominance, because she had the fastest split in all 3 disciplines, a feat no woman has ever achieved in World Triathlon Series racing.
The Women's Race
Strong cyclists Katy Zaferes and Taylor Spivey were 20sec arrears of Duffy and the rest of the front swim pack, which included Americans Kirsten Kasper and Summer Cook. They made their way to the front but Duffy was long gone by then. The front chase pack would total 9 (Duffy was in a pack of 1, well in front), and would stay together ’til T2.
Nine of the 10 places off the bike would remain in the top 9 at the finish, with Great Britain’s Vicki Holland outleaning Katie Zaferes for the silver. Kasper was 4th, Spivey 9th.
The Men's Race
Scandinavian marauders missed Bermuda their first time around but they sure found it this time. Norwegians posted the top 3 bike splits and a Dane was right with them. No one else was close enough during the bike segment to challenge for the overall win, or even the podium.
Everyone expected Kristian Blummenfelt to threaten for the win, because he’s among the strongest cyclists on the ITU circuit and he’s got a great run. But it was countryman Casper Stornes who soloed during the bike leg and, though running almost a minute slower than Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden he had more than enough in hand to win the race over those two, in that order.
It was the first time in WTS history the men's podium was swept by athletes from a single country. One would've expected the achievement to come from Great Britain, or Spain maybe, but Norwegians did it.
The Significance
How often have the top 3 bike splits in a WTS race also make up the podium? How often have both men’s and women’s races been won by those riding solo almost from the gun? When was the last time only a single man broke 1:55 and just 1 woman broke 2:03? Only 2 men broke 63 minutes for the 40k bike leg, and Flora Duffy was the only woman to ride faster than 67 minutes.
How might ITU racing change if world class bike courses like this one in Bermuda were the norm rather than the exception? It's true, ITU courses are getting harder. Stockholm was tough, Rio's Olympic course was tough. But for contrast, consider which race over the weekend offered the most honest cycling challenge: the North American Ironman Championship contested in Texas; or this ITU race here? Who would've guessed such a question could even be asked a decade ago?
MS Amlin World Triathlon Bermuda
Hamilton, Bermuda
April 28, 2018
S 1.5k / B 40k / R 10k
Women
1. Flora Duffy (BER) 2:01:39
2. Vicky Holland (GBR) 2:03:25
3. Katie Zaferes (USA) 2:03:25
4. Kirsten Kasper (USA) 2:05:40
5. Yuko Takahashi (JPN) 2:05:51
6. Alice Betto (ITA) 2:06:05
7. Yuka Sato (JPN) 2:06:23
8. Jodie Stimpson (GBR) 2:06:37
9. Taylor Spivey (USA) 2:07:02
10. Joanna Brown (CAN) 2:07:38
Men
1. Casper Stornes (NOR) 1:54:47
2. Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) 1:55:08
3. Gustav Iden (NOR) 1:55:10
4. Mario Mola (ESP) 1:49:48
5. Rodrigo Gonzalez (MEX) 1:55:45
6. Fernando Alarza (ESP) 1:56:08
7. Dorian Coninx (FRA) 1:56:08
8. Henri Schoeman (RSA) 1:56:24
9. Ryan Bailie (AUS) 1:56:28
10. Crisanto Grajales (MEX) 1:56:29
