Igor Polyanskiy (RUS) claimed the top podium position in a thrilling race, winning the elite men´s triathlon final in Tiszaujvaros, clenching his first ever World Cup title. In front of his home crowd, Gabor Faldum (HUN) took second place and Andreas Schilling (DEN) grabbed the last spot on the podium.
The Russian kept calm and collective during the entire race, despite the constant attacks from Faldum (HUN) to get away from him.
“I sat back in the pack and had a bit of a rest so I could attack in the end, and I managed it,” Polyanskiy said.
The Russian started the day with a strong swim, which saw him get away with a trio of Frenchman that included Anthony Pujades, Raoul Shaw and Aurelien Raphael. The foursome owned a 20-second advantage onto the bike, but their lead was short-lived as a pack of 18 men quickly caught up.
Faldum (HUN) was the most unsettled in the leading pack. After exiting the water in 11th place, Faldum and Schilling both tried several times to get away from the pack, which they managed on the last two bike laps.
“It was really tough race for me, I was not so good in the swimming,” Faldum said. “I reached them on the third lap, and after I realize how it looks like, I was at the front and just tried to break away with Andreas but it didn’t work.”
“Last year I was third and now second, my family was here which is big a motivation for me and I am very happy with my result.”
Schilling set the fasted time for the cycling but that might have cost him in the final run. The Danish could not keep up with Polyanskiy and Faldum and was forced to settle for the bronze medal.
“It was a great race, I worked together perfectly with Gabor (Faldum) and gave everything to try to escape with him, but couldn’t do more in the end. You pay the price for that but it´s something really fun to do,” Schilling said.
Schilling held on by merely six seconds to deny Tamás Toth (HUN) the last spot on the podium after the Hungarian’s excellent performance with a second fastest time on the 5k run.
All files by Miguel Gomes.