Going into the weekend, Csongor Lehmann (HUN) had not lost an international race in Tiszaujvaros this decade. A classy performance handed him the win in the first men’s semi-final on the Saturday and today he eclipsed the field at his home town World Cup as he cruised to victory by 9 seconds.
Valentin Morlec (FRA) took early control of proceedings in the water. Gergő Dobi (HUN), the winner of the second men’s semi-final promptly latched himself onto the leader’s heels while Lehmann was untroubled by the pace that was set. He emerged from the swim along the leaders, as did World Cup winner Takumi Hojo (JPN).
Dobi took off out of transition with Connor Bentley (GBR) for company. A handful of seconds back lurked John Reed (USA), who had crossed first in the third men’s semi-final, but Dobi and Bentley maintained their slender advantage through the opening quarter of the bike. Sadly, their fun was soon put to an end as a lead group of seventeen men formed. World Cup winner Callum McClusky (AUS) was one of the key names to be stranded back in the chase pack and by the end of the 20km the leaders held an advantage of over a minute.
Lehmann and Chase McQueen (USA) led into T2 and the Hungarian athlete subsequently led out onto the run with Bentley. Brandon Copeland (AUS) kept them company to create a lead trio while Reed occupied the space between the leaders and chasers on his own. On the second lap Lehmann and Bentley pulled away while Reed sniffed his chance to catch Copeland. A little over a month earlier, Bentley had claimed a maiden World Cup win in Samarkand however beating Lehmann on home turf represented a new scale of challenge. He manfully stuck to his task and waited for his opportunity to break local hearts.
Alas it was not to be for the British athlete. Lehmann was simply untouchable and by the midpoint of the run he had moved into a clear lead. Meanwhile, Morlec moved up alongside Reed and inserted himself into the hunt for bronze.
At the front, the Lehmann masterclass continued and he crossed to take a fourth win (two European Cups and two World Cups) of the decade in Tiszaujvaros. Factoring in the first WTCS medal he won only a few weeks ago in Cagliari, he could be in store for a huge summer. Bentley, who was a little worse for wear after trying to take on Lehmann, crossed next to seal a valiant silver medal. A huge push at the end saw Morlec take bronze. There was further delight for the home fans as Gergely Kiss (HUN) surged into 5th place, behind Reed, with a lightning sprint of his own.
What they said:
“I’m really happy because it’s a really nice win before Paris, really good preparation, so I’m incredibly happy to win again here in front of this home crowd and I’m really, really happy and this is a really special race,” said Lehmann.
Morlec came away with his first ever World Cup medal and was understandably elated.
“It’s incredible, you know the semifinal was so hard with the weather,” he said. “This winter I was injured so I’m so happy with my performance today.”
“Yesterday the race was so hard, I didn’t believe what I made today. The main goal today was the breakaway. So many good runners were in the start list so I managed to push very hard on the swim. The guys worked very hard on the bike and I tried to manage my run to be strong during the whole 5k and I’m so happy, I’m so proud of myself today.”
