Murray tops New Plymouth
Richard Murray of South Africa took just one kilometer of the run to erase 26-seconds lead earned by a two-man bike breakaway, then jetted away to a 20 seconds margin of victory.
Murray, one of the great runners on the ITU circuit, posted a race-best 14:20 split for the 5k run to close the sprint distance race in 53:08 with a 20 seconds margin on runner-up Andreas Schilling of Denmark and 24 seconds on 3rd-place finisher Rostyslav Pevtsov of Azerbaijan.
The win followed Murray’s runner-up finish to Mario Mola at the World Triathlon Series at Abu Dhabi last month. It was also his sixth straight podium finish at ITU elite events which started with his 3rd place at the Olympic Qualification Event in Rio last August and included a win at 2015 WTS Edmonton, 3rd at the WTS Grand Final at Chicago and a win at the 2015 ITU World cup in Cozumel.
“I wasn’t sure how far they (bike breakaway duo Andreas Schilling and Ben Kanute of the U.S.) were away, but when I came in (to T2) I saw that they had left transition,” said Murray. “I wouldn’t say I was completely concerned but definitely had to make sure I ran the first bit a little bit quick to make sure. I managed to get them half way through the run at least.”
Schilling scored his second World Cup podium, and was confident this result might secure him an Olympic slot with the Danish men. “It was perfect for me today,” he said. “I had a podium last year but this is definitely my best result yet. The start of the year has been about securing my place for the Olympics and I think I’ve done that now. Almost, it’s because of the rankings but I’m pretty secure now.”
Anthony Pujades of France led the 750-meter swim but was quickly caught by a 34-man peloton. On the second of four laps, Schilling and Kanute made a break, but only managed a 26 seconds lead arriving at T2.
While Murray ran into a comfortable lead and Schilling outdistanced the rest, the fight for the final spot on the podium was fierce. Pevtsov sprinted hard and crossed the line one second in front of 4th place finisher Ryan Sissons of New Zealand, two seconds ahead of 5th place finisher Marten Van Riel of Belgium and 3 seconds ahead of sixth place finisher Ivan Ivanov of Ukraine.
New Plymouth World Cup
New Plymouth, New Zealand
April 3, 2016
S 750m / B 20k / R 5k
Results
Elite Men
1. Richard Murray (RSA) 53:08
2. Andreas Schilling (DEN) 53:28
3. Rostyslav Pevtsov (AZE) 53:32
4. Ryan Sissons (NZL) 53:33
5. Martin Van Riel (BEL) 53:34
6. Ivan Ivanov (UKR) 53:35
7. Ron Darmon (ISR) 53:37
8. Irving Perez (MEX) 53:37
9. Bob Haller (LUX) 53:42
10. Gregory Billington (USA) 53:43
