Haug prevails at Mooloolaba
Anne Haug of Germany, who ended 2012 on a high note with her victory at the 2012 ITU Grand Final in Auckland, maintained that form starting her 2013 season with a hard-fought win at the ITU World Cup in Auckland.
Haug started her day with an 18:52 swim that gave away 10 to 17 seconds to 10 rivals. Haug erased that deficit with a race-fastest 1:07:40 bike split during which she spent most of the time within a breakaway pack that included Stimpson, Moffatt, Hewitt, Aileen Reid of Ireland, Natalie Van Coevorden of Australia and Rebecca Clarke of New Zealand.
The breakaway succeeded in eliminating dangerous runner Emma Jackson as Jackson and the rest of the chasers languished 3 minutes 30 seconds arrears at T2.
Moffatt started the run 15 seconds off the front because she stopped to tie her shoe, then quickly ran to the leaders. As things sorted out, Haug and Jodie Stimpson of Great Britain joined veterans ITU stars Moffatt and Andrea Hewitt at the front and they ran together to the 5k mark.
On the 3rd 2.5-kilometer lap of the run, Hewitt faded first, then Moffatt fell 40 meters back.
After Haug and Stimpson shed their elders, Haug proved stronger as she made a surge in the final kilometer to finish the run in a race-best 35:47 split and prevailed over Stimpson (2nd-fastest 36:06 run) by 22 seconds.
Moffatt, a 2-time ITU World Championship Series champion, proved to be the stronger of the two veteran ITU stars dueling for the final spot on the podium. Moffatt’s 36:32 run was good enough to take 3rd, 31 seconds behind Stimpson.
Hewitt, fading in the heat of the Australian Gold Coast summer, could only muster a 37:24 run, which was good enough for 4th place, 49 seconds behind Moffatt.
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The 1-2 finish was also a daily double for Haug and Stimpson’s coach, Darren Smith, who guided former athlete Lisa Norden to a silver medal and current squad member Sarah Groff to 4th place at the London Olympics.
Stimpson also came into Mooloolaba on a positive note as she finished 5th at the 2012 ITU Grand Final in Auckland and won the recent Devenport OTU Oceania Sprint Triathlon.
Moffatt, who crashed out of the 2012 London Olympics, started 2013 back in form with a close 2nd place to Ironman 70.3 World Champion Melissa Hauschildt at the Australian Long Course Championships in Geelong.
Mooloolaba ITU World Cup
Mooloolaba, Australia
March 17, 2013
S 1.5k / B 40k / R 10k
Results
Elite Women
1. Anne Haug (GER) 2:03:31
2. Jodie Stimpson (GBR) 2:03:53
3. Emma Moffatt (AUS) 2:04:24
4. Andrea Hewitt (NZL) 2:05:13
5. Natalie Van Coevorden (AUS) 2:07:03
6. Aileen Reid (IRL) 2:07:50
7. Charlotte McShane (AUS) 2:09:54
8. Maaike Caelers (NED) 2:10:52
9. Annamaria Mazzetti (ITA) 2:10:55
10. Simone Ackermann (NZL) 2:10:59
12. Emma Jackson (AUS) 2:14:54
