Abu Dhabi, March 3, 2023 - First stop of the World Triathlon Championship Series in Abu Dhabi. Sober summary of the Norwegians for the first form test on the sprint distance: Blummenfelt has to miss out due to illness, Iden dropped off in 52nd place. Men's and women's races are won by the British, German women with top placings.
Gustav Iden relegated to 52nd place, photo: World Triathlon
World Cup start for the short-distance elite on Friday afternoon on the Formula 1 racetrack in Abu Dhabi over the sprint distance (750m - 20km - 5km). Eagerly awaited: how are Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden doing? Both want to return to the short distance at the Olympic Games in 2024. For Kristian Blummenfelt, the race ended before it even started - he had to cancel the start on Thursday due to illness. Gustav Iden was not yet able to assert himself in the strong field - after swimming with a deficit he missed the connection to the leading group of bikes, rode and ran behind the field and finally finished the race in 52nd place.
The big field races across the racetrack, Photo: World Triathlon / Wagner Araujo
Winner of the race: the powerful Brit Alex Yee. After the swim, a large part of the field drove together in a huge group across the Formula 1 course, despite attempts to break away, no athlete was able to pull away decisively. After the second change, the group went together on the running track - here it was Alex Yee, who was able to set the decisive attack and with the fastest running split of the day (14:26 min / 5 km) won the race.
Winner Alex Yee, Photo: World Triathlon / Wagner Araujo
Result: Elite men
1. Alex Yee, GBR, 00:52:53
2. Vasco Vilaca, POR, 00:52:59
3. Manoel Messias, BRA, 00:53:06
4. Vincent Luis, FRA, 00:53:11
5. Dorian Coninx, FRA, 00:53:14
The German starters
21. Lasse Nygard Prieser, DEU, 00:53:49
29. Jannik Schaufler, GER, 00:53:58
40. Valentin Wern, GER, 00:54:42
47. Jonas Schomburg, GER, 00:55:34
49. Johannes Vogel, GER, 00:55:44
The women's race: Beth Potter wins, three German women in the top 10
The chasing field on the bike, photo: World Triathlon / Wagner Araujo
In the women's race, a six-man lead group was able to form after the swim, including the later winner Beth Potter, but the German Lena Meißner was also there after a strong swim. The group harmonized very well on the bike and was able to extend the lead over a large field of pursuers to over half a minute. In the run, Potter and her compatriot Sophie Coldwell took the lead, sprinting the lead group. Lena Meißner couldn't keep up with the high pace of the two English women. In the last 500 meters of the run, Beth Potter launched the decisive attack and was the first to cross the finish line ahead of Sophie Coldwell. Lena Meißner secured fifth place after a strong overall performance. From the large field of pursuers after cycling, it was also Nina Eim and Lisa Tertsch who fought their way to seventh place (Nina Eim) and tenth place (Lisa Tertsch) with an impressive mileage.
Beth Potter wins season opener Abu Dhabi, Photo: World Triathlon
Result: elite women
1. Beth Potter, GBR 00:57:56
2. Sophie Coldwell, GBR 00:58:14
3.Taylor Spivey, USA 00:58:27
4. Summer Rappaport, USA 00:58:35
5. Lena Meißner, GER, 00:58:39
The German starters
7. Nina Eim, GER, 00:58:45
10. Lisa Tertsch, GER, 00:58:53
18. Marlene Gomez-Göggel, GER, 00:59:11
40. Anabel Knoll, GER, 01:00:43
