You can go a long way in the countryside that surrounds Tiszaújváros without seeing much at all. You would have to go quite a way further to find anything that dominates its surroundings in the way Lisa Tertsch (GER) did at today’s World Triathlon Cup. This was a clinic on how to win a triathlon, and she dished out lesson after lesson in each discipline as she dismantled the field until one athlete found a way to fight back and push her to the line.
“I'm happy to take the win again. I never take it for granted,” said Tertsch. “I really like how the season is progressing and I'll just try to keep that momentum going forward, and then we'll see what happens.”
Tilly Anema (GBR) set the early pace in the water; having topped the swim standings in the second semi-final, this was nothing out of the blue. For most of the swim there was empty space behind Anema’s feet as she scattered much of the field like an alligator dropped in a duck pond.
Following Anema out of the water was Tertsch, by then only 2 seconds down, with Sophie Alden (GBR) and Jess Fullagar (GBR) next out. Kelly Wetteland (USA) and Jolien Vermeylen (BEL) pursued before a larger gap separated the chase group led by Selina Klamt (GER).
The swim complete, Tertsch shot out of T1, giving Anema no respite. For a second it looked like the German would entertain a solo attack but Anema and Fullagar soon joined her. This was not a breakaway trio those behind wished to see. By the end of the first bike lap gap was already a daunting 22 seconds.
Nine women, with Alden, Vermeylen, Wetteland and Tilda Månsson (SWE) among their number, tried to close the gap but soon found themselves over half a minute in arrears. In normal circumstances, 30 seconds would not have been considered a safe distance to be ahead of Tertsch over 5km. To be that far behind… Cognizant of that fact, the chasers upped the tempo. Every second had to be fought for but by the last lap the gap was down to 19 seconds.
Naturally Tertsch led in and out of T2. However the gap to the chasers was down to 10 seconds. As Anema overtook Fullagar, Vermeylen led the charge from the chase and moved past Fullagar too. And then kept going. She passed Anema and then Tertsch and all of a sudden the German had her first real test of the day. Meanwhile, Månsson gained on Anema in the battle for 3rd.
Månsson eventually got the better of Anema in the last lap. The pair up front, though, could not be separated. There even looked to be brief contact late on, so close were the margins. Yet Tertsch was still in control. Having never been more than a few seconds from the lead, she showed how to finish things off with the final sprint. It was definitely a commanding display, but she will know exactly how hard Vermeylen pushed her.
What they said:
Jolien Vermeylen: “I think the swim went pretty well and I saw some girls in front at transition. I ran for my life, just not fast enough because I saw the wheel of Jess Fullagar and I thought ‘get to her wheel!’ - I never saw her wheel again for the whole race. So, during the eight (bike) laps, we tried to work together, and I tried to take as many pulls as I could, which I'm really proud of.”
Regarding the final stages of her run battle with Tertsch, she added, “I thought, well, just run your own race. Be brave and yeah, maybe you die in the end and at least then we tried. I didn't die until the last corner, but I think that's because Lisa accelerated and my head said to my legs to accelerate too, and the legs said back: ‘no’.”
Tilda Månsson: “The swim was pretty okay, I would say. I was trying to work really hard on the bike and I tried to take some good efforts on the front and at the end we were almost up to the first pack. I really like the course there and (being back on the podium) was really good.”
