Australian Brad Kahlefeldt got his 2011 Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series season back on track, claiming his first ever series win with a thrilling sprint finish in Hamburg on June 16th in an exciting race that also marked the half-way point in the fight for the men’s title. Suunto Ambassador Javier Gomez (ESP) regained first position in the ITU rankings with a very solid 6th place.
With the Brownlee brothers not competing, the field had a great chance to catch up points. In front of huge crowds in the North German city, conditions were favorable with 19 degree water temperatures and 27 degrees in the air which made the race even more competitive.
It turned into a cat-and-mouse contest with no one able to break free and really stretch the field. Several pairs tried to breakaway, but in the end a huge group of about 50 athletes hit T2 together, setting up a wild showdown on the 10km run.
Just before halfway, a breakaway group of eight turned into six as Kahlefeldt, Clarke (GBR), Hauss (FRA), Javier Gomez (ESP), Joao Silva (POR) and Sebastian Rank (GER) started to build up an unbeatable lead. With three kilometers to go, Suunto Ambassador Gomez - who was the reigning Hamburg champion - tried to turn on his signature burn and stretch ahead. But it wasn’t effective this time as Kahlefeldt and Clarke stuck right to his heels.
With one kilometer to go, Kahlefeldt, Hauss and Clarke pulled away. The excitement continued to the final stretch. With Clarke – a former under 23 World Champion – looking set to win and finally make his mark alongside the elite, it was Kahlefeldt who picked up a gear and stole the lead to finish on 1hr 44min 8sec. After finishing second and also third place twice in the past, it was a sweet victory for the Australian.
“This is my eighth or ninth time in Hamburg and a bunch of podiums and fourth, fifth six, and I was thinking I’ve been so close, I can’t lose this.” Kahlefeldt said. “I got my first podium here in 2003 with Andrew Johns and Bevan Docherty, so I just thought about that and thought I couldn’t lose here, I just thought with a kilometre to go I’ve got to push it.”
It was a blistering run leg, with the top four all breaking the 30-minute barrier and Joao Silva and Gomez finishing right on the thirty second mark.
Overall, it was also a good day’s work for Gomez. His 6th place took him to the top of the ITU Championship on 2,027 points – giving him some headway over expected championship contenders Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) who now lie back in 7th and 8th place in the rankings on 1,690 and 1,480 points respectively. A top four finish in Hamburg would have put Suunto user Alexander Brukhankov (RUS) top of the leaderboard, but he frustratingly finished ninety seconds off the leaders in 22nd place.
It was an even more frustrating day for Suunto Ambassador Jan Frodeno (GER) on his chosen home-race. Despite finishing in second place in Hamburg in 2010 and 2008 and having high hopes before the race, he finished back in 42nd place after receiving a time penalty for removing his swimming cap incorrectly in the transition zone. He suffered further bad luck as he rode over a screw lying on the street which cost him two minutes on a very technical bike course.
Chris McCormack was also impressive in just his second ITU comeback race. McCormack led the second chase pack and clawed back an initial 24 second gap. After serving a 15 second penalty, the 38 year old former World Champion finished in 26th place.
In the women’s race on June 17th, reigning World Champion Emma Moffatt (AUS) finally got her first podium of the year, winning seven seconds clear on 1hr 53min 37sec in front of Emma Jackson (AUS) and Emma Snowsill (AUS) in a photograph finish. With championship leader Paula Findlay (CAN) and Suunto Ambassador Helen Jenkins (GBR) not competing, it was a confidence boosting performance for the top three, especially for the recently injury-plagued Olympic champion Snowsill.
It was nonetheless a pleasing result for Moffatt who has often come second best against Snowsill.
"Usually it’s a few steps with her and then she's gone but today I thought I would try to match her and obviously I could do that for a little bit,'' Moffatt said.
"Then I kind of felt strong on the third lap (of the run) so I tried to push it and I guess that's where I kind of made my break.”
"I'm really happy with my performance, but also the other Emmas as well."
As well as being a successful weekend for the Australian triathletes, it was also a great weekend for the organizers. 8,000 athletes took part in the amateur race and 300,000 spectators were reported over the weekend.
Images by Delly Carr / ITU Media