Posted: May 8, 2006

Triathlon: Tremblay Podiums in Mazatlan

Kathy Tremblay finished third in Mazatlan World Cup (Photo: Delly Carr/ITU Media)

A world-class field of athletes gathered today in Mazatlan, Mexico, with representation from 19 countries, for the fifth stop on the 2006 ITU World Cup circuit and there were many streaks on the line, but it was Kathy Tremblay, from Montreal, who started her own streak with her first ever podium performance.

Tremblay finished third behind winner Vanessa Fernandez and silver medallist Anja Dittmer. Fernandes, from Portugal, continued her dominance by winning her eighth straight world cup in 2:01:24, coming one step closer to Emma Carney’s record twelve straight. Dittmer, from Germany, was terrific in her return to the World Cup Series after taking a break in 2005 finishing in 2:02:45. Tremblay was 9 seconds out of second in 2:02:55

Once on the run Fernandes quickly opened a 30 second lead on the first lap of the four lap run. From there it grew and no one was able to catch her. Dittmer and Tremblay ran together, feeding off of each other, but could not close the gap in the hot, humid conditions – temperatures climbed to 30 degrees Celsius.

Tremblay picked a great race for a top-3 result as it was one of the three designated races to qualify for the World Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland in September. Tremblay was obviously thrilled with the result. “This is my first podium. I came off the bike in a good spot and I just went for it. This is a new experience for me.”

National Training Centre coach, Joel Filliol who was at the race, was very impressed with the young Canadian. “It’s the best Kathy has ever looked. She raced with tremendous confidence and it showed in her result.” This is an outstanding finish for Kathy with a world class field.”

Lauren Groves, who is currently the highest ranked Canadian in the ITU Rankings and the World Cup Rankings, continued her torrid pace with her second top-6 World Cup performance in the last month. Groves, from Victoria, finished just 6 seconds out of fifth spot and according to Filliol was very unlucky not to get a podium finish. “Coming out of transition Lauren missed the front pack by a hair, and was on her own for much of the bike which made if very difficult. Lauren had a scorching run and if she was fortunate enough to get in the lead pack I think Canada would have had 2 podium results.”

Last year’s silver medalist, Jill Savege, from Penticton finished in 10th position. Edmonton’s Carolyn Murray was 12th, Toronto’s Ayesha Rollinson Rollinson finished 24th, Geneviève Pellerin, from Gatineau, Quebec was 33rd and Kelowna’s Gillian Kornell was 37th.

On the Men’s side with a star-studded field that included Australia’s Brad Kahlefeldt, who had won every race he has entered this season, including the Doha World Cup and the Commonwealth Games. Kahlefeldt was looking for his sixth consecutive victory - an unprecedented streak. Kahlefeldt was expected to face stiff competition from 2005 World Cup champion and last year’s Mazatlan winner Hunter Kemper and former Olympic champion and 2004 winner Simon Whitfield.

However, the big guns had a frustrating day and it was Rasmus Henning, from Denmark who crossed the finish line first with a time of 1:49:16, the silver medal went to Andy Potts from the United States, while Germany’s Jan Frodeno was third.

A large group of men came out of the water together that included the three podium finishers, but did not include Whitfield, Kemper or Kahlefeldt. It was a group of nine that went for the early break and worked very well together stretching their lead to almost three minutes heading into the second transition.

Whitfield finished in ninth place in 1:52:00, 32 seconds ahead of race favourite Kahlefeldt who finished in 13th spot. Hunter Kemper was just 8 seconds ahead of Whitfield in 8th position.

Filliol said Whitfield had to get in the lead pack to have any chance for a top-5 finish. “The way the race played out was extremely tough for anyone not in the front group. I thought Simon had a very good run but it was his first race and he lacked some sharpness – but overall it was a very good effort.”

Kyle Jones was the next best Canadian – 14th overall. Jones, a 22-year-old from Oakville, Ontario, also beat some notables as he finished in 1:52:41. Jones, who will be looking to win the U-23 World Championships this year, defeated last year’s U-23 World Champion, American Jarrod Shoemaker by 28 seconds.

Edmonton’s Paul Tichelaar – 8th at the Commonwealth Games - finished 19th, Victoria’s Brent McMahon was 30th, Nick Hastie from Sackville, New Brunswick was 34th, Windsor’s James Loaring was 43rd and Sean Bechtel from Caledon, Ontario was 57th.

Triathlon Canada’s Executive Director, Alan Trivett, was optimistic with the results. “This was the first big race of the season and to get 3 top-10 performances in the women’s race including a podium finish from Kathy Tremblay with such a strong field is a great start to the long season ahead.”

Source: Triathlon Canada.

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