Blummenfelt, Spirig lead Team Europe at Collins Cup
As expected, team Europe repeated as the champions of the Collins Cup, scoring 53 points to 38 points for Team International and 22.5 points for Team USA. Team Europe’s domination was underscored by its 8 wins out of 12 three-competitor matches, while Team International took the remaining 4 wins. Sadly, Team USA failed to win any matches – suffering by the absence due to illness of last year’s U.S. star Taylor Knibb.
Topping the individual results were Olympic and Ironman World Champion Kristian Blummenfelt of Norway, who completed his Match # 7 – 2km swim, 80 km bike split and 18 kilometer run – in 3:09:19. Blummenfelt’s performance was 3:05 faster than Lionel Sanders’ 3:12:24 and 3:07 quicker than Sam Long’s 3:12:27.
Daniela Ryf, back on track after her disappointing 2021, dominated the women with a 3:28:49 overall time which was 2:01 faster than Ashleigh Gentle and 2:20 better than Paula Findlay.
Nicola Spirig of Switzerland, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist and 2016 Olympic silver medalist, concluded her professional career in style with a Collins Cup-4th-best time of 3:32:43.
Some of the day’s best splits: Swim – Aaron Royle of Australia (22:55) Flora Duffy (25:32); Bike – Daniela Ryf (1:51:48), Sam Long (1:41:12); Run – Anne Haug (1:04:36) and Kristian Blummenfelt (59:30).
Team Europe’s gold medalists included Daniela Ryf (3:28:49) Nicola Spirig (3:32: 43), Holly Lawrence (3:33:09), Anne Haug (3:33:56), Kristian Blummenfelt (3:09:18), Magnus Ditlev (3:13:30) Gustav Iden (3:11:31) Daniel Baekkegard) (3:13:51). Team International’s gold include Lionel Sanders (3:12:24), Ashleigh Gentle (3:30:50).Paula Findlay (3:31:09), and Aaron Royle (3:19:41).
Amidst all the tumult and shouting and sheer numbers generated by 18 top triathletes competing for a million and a half, there was drama, comedy, heroism and sheer excellence on display.
The Swiss Women
After all her Olympic medals, a ground breaking Sub8 runner-up performance at age 40, Nicola Spirig smashed all but three of her exalted rivals on this day. Spirig topped the 3-time ITU Olympic distance World Champion, and recent Olympic gold medalist Flora Duffy; and beat Ironman World Championship silver medalist and reigning Sub-8 Hour champion Kat Matthews. So-called tri-experts were baying at the moon that Spirig was through, done and dusted at age 40. But after recovering from recent injuries – and leaving no room for excuses since she declared this would be her last time competing on a high level professional triathlon – Spirig went out in a blaze of glory – and on her own terms. Her 3:32:43 beat all but three of the best younger stars.
The battling Sams
In a Collins Cup press conference on Thursday, Sam Long of Boulder and Sam Laidlow of France got in a rare for triathlon public chippy battle of words. Not joking. No apologies.
On race day, Laidlow, a Captain’s Pick for Team Europe, pulled ahead of sparring partners Long and Sanders early in the swim, exiting the water with a day-best 23:47 swim split and a lead of over three minutes. Long and Sanders, who turned in identical swim times, worked together to make up the deficit on the bike leg. 10 kilometers before T2, they made the pass on Laidlow. When that pair had surged past the Frenchman, Long apparently said: “Hope there’s no cramps mate,” at T2.
Unfortunately for Laidlow it went from bad to worse for him on the run as he was reduced to a walk. The battle of Long and Sanders continued on the run, as the two ran shoulder-to-shoulder at full throttle, each daring the other to make a move. In the final stretch, the two began to sprint, with Sanders edging Long in the finish chute to take the win by two seconds.
Old rivals did not renew their battling
Last year Holly Lawrence of Great Britain and Ellie Salthouse of Australia fought shoulder-to-shoulder for nearly all of the 100-kilometer contest. This time around, Salthouse and Lawrence started tied together as if they had an old score to settle. However, there was a new story unfolding.
Two of the sport’s top swimmers – Salthouse and Lawrence – battled shoulder to shoulder out front in the first leg of the race, while Jocelyn McCauley of the U.S. lagged a full minute behind. Salthouse and Lawrence continued race together for much of the bike leg, each responding to the other’s surges on the bike. While that played out, McCauley eased ever closer, where she pushed her way into the front. Though Lawrence was able to respond to McCauley’s move, Salthouse struggled and fell back falling to a 4:47 deficit in T2. A fast transition from Lawrence gave her a 30 second advantage over McCauley at the start of the run, which she stretched into a lead of over four minutes on her way to finishing in 3:33:10.
Collins Cup 2022 Results
Teams
Team Europe 53 points
Team International 38 points
Team USA 22.5 points
Points are scored thusly: 3 points for winning, 1 point for beating first opponent (victory margin between 4 and 6 points), 1.5 points for beating second opponent (victory margin greater than 6 minutes).
Collins Cup 2022 Results
Samorin, Slovakia
August 20, 2022
D 2k / B 80k / R 18k
Total results – Matches #1 through #12
Match 1
Daniela Ryf EUR 6 points 3:28:50
Flora Duffy INT 3 points 3:35:47
Sarah True USA 1 point 3:40:19
Match 2
Ashleigh Gentle INT 5 points 3:30:51
Laura Philipp EUR 5 points 3:33:24
Chelsea Sodaro USA 3:46:23
Match 3
Paula Findlay INT 6 points 3:31:09
Kat Matthews EUR 2 points 3:37:56
Skye Moench USA 1 point 3:38:40
Match 4
Nicola Spirig EUR 6 points 3:32:43
Vittoria Lopes INT 3.5 points 3:49:16
Sophie Watts DNF
Match 5
Holly Lawrence EUR 5.5 points 3:33:09
Jocelyn McCauley USA 5.5 points 3:37:42
Ellie Salthouse INT 1 point 3:46:27
Match 6
Anne Haug EUR 4 points 3:33:56
Tamara Jewett INT 2.5 points 3:35: 41
Jackie Hering USA 1 point 3:39:20 * 10 second penalty for helmet infringement in transition
Men
Match 7
Kristian Blummenfelt EUR 6 points 3:09:19
Hayden Wilde INT 2.5 points 3:17:55
Ben Kanute USA 1 point 3:21:17
Match 8
Lionel Sanders INT 4.5 points 3:12:24
Sam Long USA 3.5 points 3:12:27 * Fastest bike split 1:41:12
Sam Laidlow EUR 1 point 3:41:35
Match 9
Magnus Ditlev EUR 6 points 3:13:30
Rudy Von Berg USA 3 points 3:20:50
Max Neumann INT 1 point 3:24:51
Match 10
Aaron Royle INT 5.5 points 3:19:41
Jason West USA 2 points 3:24:33
Patrick Lange EUR 1 point 3:26:06
Match 11
Gustav Iden EUR 6 points 3:11:31
Matt Hanson USA 3.5 points 3:19:18
Jackson Laundry INT 1 point 3:32:48
Match 12
Daniel Baekkegard EUR 6 points 3:13:51
Braden Currie INT 2.5 points 3:21:40
Chris Leiferman USA 1 point 3:24:41
Individual best times:
Women
Daniela Ryf 3:28:49
Ashleigh Gentle 3:30:50
Paula Findlay 3:31:09
Nicola Spirig 3:32:43
Holly Lawrence 3:33:09
Laura Philipp 3:33:23
Anne Haug 3:33:56
Men
Kristian Blummenfelt 3:09:18
Gustav Iden 3:11:31
Lionel Sanders 3:12:24
Sam Long 3:12:26
Magnus Ditlev 3:13:30
Daniel Baekkegard 3:13:51
Hayden Wilde 3:17:54
Matt Hanson 3:19:18
Aaron Royle 3:19:41
Rudy Von Berg 3:20:50
Ben Kanute 3:21:16
Braden Currie 3:21:40
Total Purse $1.5 million
Men’s and Women’s winning prize purse $90,000
Men’s and Women’s 10th place $32,000
Men’s and Women’s 18th place $20,000.
