Jeffcoat, Pevtsov win Chengdu World Cup
In an ITU test of the super sprint format – 400 meter swim, 10 kilometer bike, 2.5 kilometer run – Rostislav Pevtsov of Azerbaijan and Emma Jeffcoat of Australia earned top spots on the podiums at Chengdu China.
Women
After a day of preliminaries decided the final field, Jeffcoat arrived at the start line the favorite after winning Semifinal 1 in a close finish over Jessica Learmonth of Great Britain.
On the bike leg of the final, Jeffcoat, Tamara Gorman of the U.S., Fuka Sega of Japan, and Bianca Bogen of Germany led a 20-seconds breakaway on the blink-and-you-lose bike leg. Starting the run, Jeffcoat immediately surged ahead and was never questioned on her way to a 31:20 time which gave her a 7 seconds margin of victory over Gorman and 14 seconds over Sega.
“It was always my strategy to use my strong swim and bike to get away,” Jeffcoat told ITU media. “I was always ready to be adaptable no matter what happened. The ideal situation played out today. The four of us worked really hard from the start. I really love the sprint and super sprint format! It’s hard from the go and that’s how I race.”
Gorman, who won the 2017 Tiszaujvaros World Cup in a similar super sprint format, was satisfied with silver. “It worked out perfectly coming in today,” she told ITU media. “I was pretty confident with a really relaxed race yesterday and I was happy to go out there and go hard the whole time.”
Men
Pevtsov, who won silver in three previous tries at Chengdu, loved the super-quick racing and finished the elite men’s finale in 28:18, which gave him a 2 seconds margin of victory over Felix Duchampt of France, who prevailed in a photo finish, recorded in the same time, over 3rd place finisher Rodrigo Gonzalez of Mexico.
As might be expected in a 30-man final jammed at close quarters into a 400 meter swim and a 10 kilometer bike leg, the whole field arrived in a rush hour for packed sardines at T2, leaving the race to be decided on the run.
Rodrigo Gonzalez of Mexico surged ahead to start the one-lap run, followed closely by Felix Duchampt of France and Pevtsov. With a quarter mile to go, Gonzalez made a move, but Pevtsov and Duchampt made better moves to pass Gonzalez and attack the final chute together. “It was the last 400 meters we decided to break away and go for it,” said Pevtsov, who prevailed at the finish.
Duchampt said he was happy with his silver medal. “Before the race, there were no favorites,” said the Frenchman. “It can be anyone’s race. My swim wasn’t so good – there was a lot of fight. On the bike, it was one big group. I tried to save as much energy as I could. On the run, it was a lot of guys together and in the last few hundred meters, Rodrigo Gonzalez made a move and it was only Pevtsov and I that could follow and then I knew it would be a podium. Pevtsov was stronger today and credit goes to him. It’s my second podium at a World Cup and I am happy with second.”
Chengdu World Cup
Chengdu, China
May 6, 2018
S 400m / B 10k / R 2.5k
Results
Women
1. Emma Jeffcoat (AUS) 31:20
2. Tamara Gorman (USA) 31:27
3. Fuka Sega (JPN) 31:34
4. Bianca Bogen (GER) 31:39
5. Zsófia Kovács (HUN) 32:05
11. Sophie Chase (USA) 32:26
25. Mary Alex England (USA) 34:07
Men
1. Rostislav Pevtsov (AZE) 28:18
2. Felix Duchampt (FRA) 28:20
3. Rodrigo Gonzalez (MEX) 28:20
4. Daniel Hoy (NZL) 28:25
5. Gábor Faldum (HUN) 28:27
6. Morgan Pearson (USA) 28:29
10. Seth Rider (USA) 28:32
24. Tony Smoragiewicz (USA) 29:01
