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CANADA, Vancouver - With the conclusion of the 2006 BG
Triathlon World Cup series yesterday in New Plymouth, New
Zealand the official final world cup standings have been
decided. Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal and Javier Gomez
of Spain are the 2006 world cup women’s and men’s
champions taking home the lion’s share of the $US250,000
bonus pool.
Fernandes winning in Beijing - Delly Carr/triathlon.org
Fernandes solidified the world cup championships with her
record 12th straight world cup win in Beijing on the
Olympic preview course. With six world cup wins and a
second place at the world championships in Lausanne,
Fernandes was the runaway of the year easily winning by 69
points with a final score of 388.
The next closest rival was German’s Joelle Franzmann with
319 points finishing a career-high second overall. 2004
world cup champion and Franzmann’s teammate Anja Dittmer
was a close third with 282. Franzmann’s break-through
year included three silver medals and the first world cup
victory of her career.
Although Dittmer had only one gold medal in 2006 her four
silvers insuring her a top position at the end of the
year.
In fourth and fifth position was American Laura Bennett
and world champion Emma Snowsill form Australia,
respectively.
Gomez winning in Cancun - Frank Wechsel/triathlon.org
On the men’s side it was the 23-year old Spaniard, Gomez,
to prove he had what it takes to compete with the
traditional triathlon powerhouses, including past Olympic
and world champions. The university student narrowly beat
out many of the biggest names in the sport with an
impressive 3 golds, 2 silvers and a bronze totaling 322
points on the season. With a victory in the second last
world cup of the season, Gomez secured the US$40,000 top
prize as his own.
Veteran Volodymyr Polikarpenko of Ukraine posted
consistent results throughout the season, managing to
secure second place at the season closer in New Zealand.
Fourty-eight points behind Gomez, Polikarpenko finished
second only 16 points ahead of third place Andy Potts of
the United States. Polikarpenko has an established track
record with two seconds, a fourth, a tenth and an eleventh
overall ranking in the past five years.
Commonwealth Games gold medalist Brad Kahlefeldt of
Australia finished fourth with four world cup victories
during the 2006 season - more then anyone else in the 2006
season. While 2005 world cup champion Hunter Kemper of
the United States finished fifth.
Andrea Hewitt of New Zealand and Will Clarke of Great
Britain were awarded the 2006 ITU Rookie of the Year award
for their outstanding performances during the 2006 BG
Triathlon world cup series and world championships.
2006 BG Triathlon World Cup series final ranking – Elite Women
1. FERNANDES, Vanessa (POR) 388
2. FRANZMANN, Joelle (GER) 319
3. DITTMER, Anja (GER) 282
4. BENNETT, Laura (USA) 264
5. SNOWSILL, Emma (AUS) 244
6. WHITCOMBE, Andrea (GBR) 237
7. GROVES, Lauren (CAN) 222
8. WARRINER, Samantha (NZL) 217
9. HEWITT, Andrea (NZL) 191
10. TANNER, Debbie (NZL) 183
2006 BG Triathlon World Cup series final ranking - Elite Men
1. GOMEZ, Javier (ESP) 322
2. POLIKARPENKO, Volodymyr (UKR) 274
3. POTTS, Andy (USA) 258
4. KAHELFELDT, Brad (AUS) 250
5. KEMPER, Hunter (USA) 238
6. GEMMELL, Kris (NZL) 227
7. BELAUBRE, Frederic (FRA) 194
8. DOCHERTY, Bevan (NZL) 168
9. FRODENO, Jan (GER) 162
10. RIEDERER, Sven (SUI) 153
For full rankings: Triathlon.org.
2006 Bonus pool breakdown:
1. US$40,000
2. $30,000
3. $20,000
4. $10,000
5. $7,000
6. $5,000
7. $4,500
8. $3,500
9. $3,000
10. $2,000
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