Simon Whitfield won his third world cup title of the year and the tenth of his career in Cancun today, in a thrilling sprint finish with fellow Canadian Paul Tichelaar who earned his first world cup podium. Volodymyr Polikarpenko of the Ukraine took the bronze, preventing a full Canadian podium sweep with Brent McMahon in fourth place.
I came here with limited fitness so I conserved as much as I could. It was fun to have three Canadians in the top four. Thats a great sign, commented Whitfield, who raced his first ITU race here at the 1995 Junior world championships. Its the evolution of where we are trying to get to. It was 12 years ago I was first here [Cancun] by myself and now Im here with a team thats placing.
Although the sun came out in the afternoon after the womens race, the gusting winds were still swirling strong, making it difficult and unpredictable conditions for the men. Whitfields teammate Colin Jenkins led the men out of the water and into T1. On the fast 40-kilometer bike course, a group of 15 men pulled away from the field building its lead with every lap. By the fifth of eight laps, the lead grew to more than two minutes.
On the 10-kilometer run course, it boiled down to a battle between the Russians and Canadians. Alexander Brukhankov and Yulian Malyshev were pushing hard for the podium but the Canadians stayed in front of the group. With approximately 400 meters to the finish line, Tichelaar tried to break away but Whitfield kept him in his sights and used his signature strong finishing kick to pull ahead of his compatriot and take the win by only one second.
Simon was looking relaxed the whole race and was definitely the man to beat, said Tichelaar on the final sprint with his boyhood idol. 400 metres to go I took out the sprint and Simon was the only one able to come with me. Its amazing to finish one second behind the guy Ive been idolizing my whole life.
With the win Whitfield tightens his grip on the number two ranking in the world which puts him in position to earn a solid share of the US$250,000 bonus pool which will be finalized after the season finale in Eilat, Israel on December 1.
I used to joke that it didnt matter to me but thats just because I wasnt placing high in the overall rankings, said Whitfield. For sure this weekend was about securing second and a win here certainly does that.
Gold Simon Whitfield (CAN) 1:52:05
Silver Paul Tichelaar (CAN) 1:52:06
Bronze Volodymyr Polikarpenko (UKR) 1:52:08
4 Brent McMahon (CAN) 1:52:09
5 Yulian Malyshev (RUS) 1:52:12
6 Samuel Pierreclaud (FRA) 1:52:42
7 Reinaldo Colucci (BRA) 1:53:11
8 Stuart Hayes (GBR) 1:53:26
9 Alexander Brukhankov (RUS) 1:53:41
10 Dmitry Polyansky (RUS) 1:53:51
Click here for official results
Click here for womens race report
Click here for more race information
Simon Whitfield ha ganado hoy su tercer ttulo de la copa del mundo del ao y el dcimo de su carrera, en un emocionante sprint con su compatriota Paul Tichelaar quien consigui su primer podium en la copa del mundo. Volodymyr Polikarpenko de Ucrania consigui el bronce, evitando el barrido canadiense en el podium ya que Brent McMahon finaliz el cuarto.
Aunque el sol saliera por la tarde tras la carrera femenina, las rfagas de viento eran todava fuertes remolinos, lo que provocaba condiciones difciles e imprevisibles para los hombres. El compaero de equipo de Whitfield Colin Jenkins lider la salida del agua de los hombres. En los rpidos 40 kilmetros del circuito de la bicicleta, un grupo de 15 hombres se situaron al frente aumentando su ventaja en cada vuelta. En la quinta vuelta, la ventaja aument a ms de dos minutos.
En los 10 kilmetros del segmento de la carrera, esto se redujo a una batalla entre rusos y canadienses. Alexander Brukhankov y Yulian Malyshev lucharon duro para conseguir el podium pero a 400 metros para la llegada Tichelaar intent distanciarse pero Whitfield le mantuvo a la vista y utiliz su fuerte sprint final para colocarse por delante de su compatriota. Fue un da estupendo para el equipo canadiense con tres de sus hombres ocupando los cuatro primeros puestos.
Con la victoria Whitfield aprieta la lucha por el segundo lugar de la clasificacin lo que le coloca en situacin de ganar una buena parte de los 250,000 dlares con los que est dotada la Copa del Mundo BG, una vez concluya en Eilat, Israel el 1 de Diciembre, la ltima prueba de la temporada.
Oro Simon Whitfield (CAN) 1:52:05
Plata Paul Tichelaar (CAN) 1:52:06
Bronce Volodymyr Polikarpenko (UKR) 1:52:08
4 - Brent McMahon (CAN) 1:52:09
5 - Yulian Malyshev (RUS) 1:52:12
6 - Samuel Pierreclaud (FRA) 1:52:42
7 - Reinaldo Colucci (BRA) 1:53:11
8 - Stuart Hayes (GBR) 1:53:26
9 - Alexander Brukhankov (RUS) 1:53:41
10 - Dmitry Polyansky (RUS) 1:53:51
Pulse aqu para ver los resultados oficiales