Blummenfelt Cruises to Second Straight Gold
Kristian Blummenfelt of Norway took Olympic distance gold over Max Studer of Switzerland at the World Triathlon Cup at Lisbon. Blummenfelt broke away from Studer on the final lap of a second-best 29:06 10 kilometer run to cross the line in 1:42:33, 8 seconds clear of Studer and 22 seconds ahead of third place finisher Genis Grau of Spain.
The victory was Blummenfelt’s second straight at the Olympic distance, coming a week after his win at the more prestigious WTS Yokohama by 10 seconds over Jelle Geens of Belgium.
Studer’s performance came a day after helping Switzerland to Olympic Mixed Relay Olympic Qualification with a silver medal finish behind Team Belgium. Spain’s Genis Grau notched a career first World Cup podium after holding off Germany’s Jonas Schomburg by one second in a spring finish for the bronze.
“We [Norway] missed out on the relay podium and that was a big goal, so at least a good individual race followed,” Blummenfelt told ITU Media afterwards. “I knew [fellow Norwegian] Gustav Iden was in the second pack and catching up so just tried to keep control on the bike and stay out of trouble because I know I’m in good run shape at the moment.”
Race Recap
After a false start, 70 men took off from the pontoon on a cool, overcast and windy day and Jonas Schomburg of Germany led the field after a 16:15 split and took off on the bike just ahead of Richard Varga of Slovakia. A day after helping Team Belgium win at the Mixed Relay Qualification, Marten Van Riel led the chase pack 5 seconds behind on the eight-lap course on coastal roads. Thirty seconds off the front was Blummenfelt, followed closely by Eli Hemming of the U.S., Gordon Benson of Great Britain, and Tom Richard of France. Only 45 seconds separated the top 50.
After Simon Vlain of France and Henrik Klemmensen of Denmark crashed out of the race, Gustav Iden, Delian Stateff of Italy and Alois Knabl of Austria took turns at the front as the top 50 men settled in for a cruise to the transition.
Just like Yokohama, Jonas Schomburg of Germany rocketed to an early lead on the run while Blummenfelt, Studer, Grau of Spain and Tom Richard of France soon joined a front group.
Crisanto Grajales of Mexico, Eli Hemming of the U.S., and Mario Mola of Spain chased but could not dent the lead pack.
Halfway through the run, Richard dropped off the lead pack, leaving Schomburg, Blummenfelt Studer and Grau at the front. Soon thereafter, Blummenfelt charged and only Studer could hold on. On the final 2.5-kilometer lap, Blummenfelt hit the afterburners and hit the tape in 1:42:33, eight seconds up on Studer and 22 seconds on Genis Grau, who held off Schomburg by one second for the bronze.
“It started well with a good swim to set it up, and then the large group made it a wait for the run,” Studer told ITU media. “To qualify yesterday [in the Mixed Relay and get a silver here after not much racing is great.”
“I never expected third here in such a quality field,” Grau told ITU media. “I just had to go full gas at the end against Schomburg and hold on through what was a super long sprint.”
Lisbon World Triathlon Cup
Lisbon, Portugal
May 22, 2021
S 1.5 k / B 40k / R 10k
1. Kristian Blummenfelt NOR S 16:42 T1 00:47 B 55:37 T2 00:21 R 29:06 TOT 1:42:33
2. Max Studer SUI S 16:32 T1 00:48 B 55:49 T2 00:28 R 29:04 TOT 1:42:41
3. Genis Grau ESP S 16:44 T1 00:47 B 55:37 T2 00:23 R 29:24 TOT 1:42:55
4. Jonas Schomburg GER S 16:15 T1 00:46 B 56:04 T2 00:20 R 29:31 TOT 1:42:56
5. Tom Richard FRA S 16:24 T1 00:47 B 55:56 T2 00:21 R 29:45 TOT 1:43:13
6. Gordon Benson GBR S 16:37 T1 00:49 B 55:41 T2 00:24 R 29:47 TOT 1:43:18
7. Crisanto Grajales MEX S 16:27 T1 00:51 B 55:50 T2 00:27 R 29:45 TOT 1:43:20
8. Gustav Iden NOR S 17:15 T1 00:50 B 55:02 T2 00:24 R 29:52 TOT 1:43:23
9. Marten Van Riel BEL S 16:19 T1 00:48 B 55:59 T2 00:22 R 30:01 TOT 1:43:29
10. Mario Mola ESP S 17:12 T1 00:457 B 55:11 T2 00:31 R 29:51 TOT 1:43:32
24. Eli Hemming USA S 16:40 T1 00:48 B 55:40 T2 00:25 R 30:56 TOT 1:44:29
26. Austin Hindman USA S 16:51 T1 00:48 B 55:29 T2 00:25 R 30:59 TOT 1:44:32
41. Darr Smith USA 1:45:20 S 16:48 T1 00:51 B 55:32 T2 00:29 R 31:40 TOT 1:45:20
