Kirsten Kasper, Declan Wilson win New Plymouth
Kirsten Kasper of the U.S. and Declan Wilson of Australia took the elite titles at the New Plymouth sprint distance World Cup.
Women
Kasper led the swim and then played it cool in the lead pack on the highly technical bike leg made precarious by a light rain. Kasper then sped away from a run duel with Nicole Van der Kaay of New Zealand to close with a race-best 16:49 5k run. Kasper finished in 1:03:20 with an 8 seconds margin of victory over Van Der Kaay and 17 seconds on Claire Michel of Belgium.
“I wasn’t expecting the rain but we all just rode a little more cautiously, still aggressive but smart,” Kasper told ITU media. “I was trying to make a break away, I knew there was a lot of strong runners in the group and I wanted to test myself.”
New Zealand’s Van der Kaay was thrilled with her breakthrough podium finish. “It was awesome support,” she told ITU media. “I was getting cheered the whole way so it’s pretty special. It’s an incredible breakthrough for me, to crack the podium and on home soil.” Kasper thus started strong in 2018 with a 4th place at WTS Abu Dhabi, 2nd place at the Mooloolaba World Cup and a win at New Plymouth – the fifth straight victory for a U.S. woman at this New Zealand World Cup classic.
U.S. teammate Taylor Spivey placed 4th, 30 seconds off the winner. U.S. competitors Chelsea Burns (12th), Chelsea Sodaro (20th), Summer Cook (21st), and Tamara Gorman (23rd) gave solid performances among the 33 women finishers.
Men
Wilson earned his best ever World Cup finish with a 10th best swim that put him 18 seconds off the lead, a 12th best bike split that was 16 seconds slower than the fastest bike, and closed with a tied-for race-best 14:57 5k run that brought him to the finish in 58:20 with a 2 seconds margin of victory over Sam Ward of New Zealand and 4 seconds over 3rd place finisher Matthew McElroy of the U.S.
Wilson’s thin margin over Ward was accounted for entirely by his 2 seconds quicker bike-to-run transition. McElroy was in the lead pack after the bike, but faded to 3rd with a 4th-fastest 15:02 run.
“I’ve been wanting that [bronze] ever since I won bronze at the 2013 U23 World’s bronze so I am so happy with that,” Wilson told ITU media. “This is the biggest race ever for me. I haven’t won a World Cup before.”
After the swim, Ryan Bailie of Australia broke away to a 10 seconds lead chased by a 9-man pack which included Tayler Reid of Canada, McElroy, Canadians Matthew Sharpe and Tyler Mislawchuk, and Wilson. Bailie led the field out of transition but Wilson soon took charge. “I’ve got a good tempo right now so I just thought I would get out and hurt the boys from the start,” Wilson told ITU media. “I knew I could hold it and thought everything I’ve got, just gun it.”
Wilson fought off all challengers to the line. “I was running scared the whole time,” he said. “I am just so happy to take the win today, this means so much.”
Like Van Der Kaay, Ward was boosted by the cheers of his home country fans. ”I was super hungry after coming fourth in Mooloolaba two weeks ago and just being at home and having the crowd push me in that last part was unbelievable. I was hurting but I was just sticking and waiting for that sprint.”
McElroy enjoyed the battle and was happy with his podium spot. “When it comes down to a sprint it makes everything exciting,” he told ITU media. “Coming off the bike a little cramped up but no excuses, at the end of the day that was a really tough race and I gave it everything I got.”
New Plymouth World Cup
New Plymouth, New Zealand
March 25, 2018
S 750m / B 20k / R 5k
Results
Elite Women
1. Kirsten Kasper (USA) 1:03:20
2. Nicole Van Der Kaay (NZL) 1:03:28
3. Claire Michel (BEL) 1:03:37
4. Taylor Spivey (USA) 1:03:50
5. Yuko Takahashi (JPN) 1:03:51
6. Gillian Backhouse (AUS) 1:03:53
7. Angelica Olmo (ITA) 1:03:55
8. Amelie Kretz (CAN) 1:03:57
9. Andrea Hewitt (NZL) 1:04:07
10. Natalie Van Coevorden (AUS) 1:04:12
12. Chelsea Burns (USA) 1:04:48
20. Chelsea Sodaro (USA) 1:06:56
21, Summer Cook (USA) 1:07:10
23. Tamara Gorman (USA) 1:07:51
Elite Men
1. Declan Wilson (AUS) 58:20
2. Sam Ward (NZL) 58:22
3. Matthew McElroy (USA) 58:24
4. Tyler Mislawchuk (CAN) 58:25
5. Matthew Sharpe (CAN) 58:26
6. Ryan Bailie (AUS) 58:33
7. Kevin McDowell (USA) 58:35
8. Marcel Walkington (AUS) 58:43
9. Brandon Copeland (AUS) 58:49
10. Gregory Barnaby (ITA) 59:10
14. Morgan Pearson (USA) 59:28
17. Tony Smoragiewicz (USA) 59:42
