Explore some of the top stories from the San Pedro de la Paz World Cup and what the athletes behind them had to say
It was a day of firsts in the women’s race at the San Pedro de la Paz World Cup. A first win for Marta Pintanel Raymundo (ESP), first medals for Ana Carballo Gómez (ESP) and Eva Daniels (LUX), and for one debutant a top-10 finish her first time at bar on the circuit.
Although Annie Fuller (USA) came into the race as a first timer at this level, she also arrived buoyed by a hat-trick of wins at Europe Cups. Victory came in Coimbra, and then again in Ceuta and Tenerife. To go with that, she also won in Montreal earlier in the summer. In the end, she proved the quickest athlete in the chase pack in San Pedro de la Paz as she placed 10th.
“I was definitely a little more nervous going into this race,” said Fuller, “especially with it being my World Cup debut and knowing the level of competition would be higher. However, my recent streak of solid performances gave me confidence that I could put together a good race against this field.”
“Overall, I’m pretty happy with how the race went. I was so close to making the front pack, which would have really helped my race, but not every race can be perfect. I’m happy with how I executed and how well I was able to run after putting in a lot of hard work on the bike.”
Elsewhere, there was also a first World Cup medal for Louis Vitiello (FRA) in the men’s race, a result that, given his prior World Cup results and Europe Cup wins, seemed to have been brewing for a while.
“It takes some time to finally reach the podium in a World Cup event,” he acknowledged. “Before that race, my best result was a 5th place in Tanger (2023). Since then, I knew I was able to perform at this competition level but unfortunately for a reason or another I underperformed a few times.”
Vitiello was not selected for World Cup racing by his federation in 2025 but managed to force his way back into the circuit as of April this year. “Meanwhile, I enjoyed performing on the European circuit, taking 5 wins in Europe Cups, and in the French national league (4 podiums).”
Vitiello’s success in the French Grand Prix raises an interesting point. Over the years it has provided a platform for high-quality elite racing for French – and international – athletes. How significant does he see the Grand Prix in terms of his own career?
“To be honest, in France we have to recognise that we have a big opportunity with the French Grand Prix. After the junior category I joined a team and nearly 10 years later I’m still racing for that same team. We have had two national titles since (2018 and 2023) and a lot of fun and memories. In that league you learn the basics and you sharpen the tools for the World Triathlon events. In my opinion it's complementary to race both those events. Also my team is supporting me and that's why I can do triathlon for a living.”
There was not, however, to be a long-awaited first World Cup win for Spain’s Antonio Serrat Seoane. Nevertheless, the WTCS medallist came away with the top run split of the day on his way to 6th place in a performance that suggests more may be in the tank for this weekend’s World Cup stop in Iquique. Still, Serrat is not getting carried away about the speed he showed.
“It’s true that having been able to run well in San Pedro gives me confidence that I can run well again this weekend. However, I know that Iquique will be a high-level race, and I’m aware that I’ll need to have a good day to be able to compete.”
“The most important thing will be to stay in the race at all times. I’m trying to have a better swim to give myself a greater chance of competing in the race. And above all, I’ll try to recover as well as possible from San Pedro.”
Having been racing since March and still going strong, Serrat has two races left in his campaign. “I’m pleased with how this long season has gone. I’ve had some better races and others where, even though I wasn’t in my best form, I tried not to give up. I hope to finish the season on a high note.”
