Just two weeks after claiming the overall 2013 ITU World Triathlon Series silver medal, Jodie Stimpson (GBR) won the Alicante Triathlon World Cup this Sunday. Stimpson’s victory was decided on the 10 km running segment, while Alice Betto (ITA) reached second position at the finish line and Rachel Klamer (NED) was third.
“When I noticed I was alone, I tried to concentrate and do it as well as I could,” said Stimpson, who led from early on to claim her second World Cup victory triumph after winning her first title in Guatape in 2012.
Stimpson was close to the first women out of the 1.5km swim in the Port of Alicante, which included Lucy Hall (GBR), Carolina Routier (ESP) and Klamer.
In the first lap of cycling, 10 women broke away and proved too powerful to reel in until the end of the race. The group was headed by Betto, Stimpson, Hall, Routier, Klamer, and Natalie Milne (GBR), while the chase group, led by Ainhoa Murua (ESP), followed a minute back.
In the second lap, Russian Valentina Zapatrina was dropped, leaving nine women to battle for the podium. Not much changed in the following laps, as the chase group fell further and further behind for a 2:34 gap off the bike.
In the first running lap, Stimpson escaped the pack and never looked back, sailing to the win in 2:02:39. Behind her, Betto, who was 10th in the overall 2013 World Triathlon Series, European Champion Klamer and Hall jockeyed for two remaining medal spots.
In the third lap, Hall could not follow Klamer, leaving remaining pre-race favourites Betto and Klamer to claim the podium. Murua, who posted the fasted running split of 35:16 finished fourth and Anastasia Abrosimova, fifth.
“It’s wonderful because this race was very strong,” said Betto after capturing her first ITU Triathlon World Cup podium. “We pushed a lot on the bike, we went out from the second transition with a two-minute lead. I am very happy and I want to say thank you to my coach, Simone, because now the dream is real.”
Although she was crowned European champion over the summer, Klamer reached her second podium in a World Cup and explained that she was not especially happy with her season: “It was not really good. In my opinion the highlight of the year was the European Championship. But the rest was not too good. I hope next year will be better.”