The 2010 Geneva ITU Triathlon European Cup returned after a three year break this weekend, re-establishing itself as a remarkable event on the European race calendar. The men's and women's race in Geneva have traditionally started within a space of five minutes, with the men setting off first. During the many previous years of competition there had never been a problem of men drafting off women or visa-versa and this weekend, with the terrible weather, that tradition was continued.
Wetsuits were allowed due to the air chill for this two-lap swim and within seconds the waters of Lac Leman were being churned up by the furious swimming of the men. Just as they were settling in to their stroke the women were on the start line and under starter's orders. A slightly smaller field hit the water with many athletes knowing all too well that GB athlete Jodie Swallow was there, that she knew the course and was in fine form.
First out of the water was Richard Varga SVK with a chase pack led by Luis Vincent FRA, Harry Wiltshire GBR and Aaron Royale, AUS. The run to T1 was well-supported by the spectators despite the torrential rain and then the athletes took off along the 6 lap course with a massive climb in each lap and a great descent before heading back to the u-turn and the very loud warnings from marshals about the slippery tarmac. Numerous crashes occurred here, some merely a bounce on the road before the athlete got back on his bike and continued, others resulting in snapped spokes and DNFs. Luckily none of the crashes were serious enough to need medical treatment more intensive than a plaster.
The men's field formed a massive lead pack with strong team work from the French. Indeed the fastest bike split of the day, despite the rain, went to Thomas André FRA.
As the men were speeding around the course, it was a determined and solo demonstration of strength and bike control from GB athlete Jodie Swallow.She worked hard around the laps, taking the u-turn cautiously and building upon her dominant swim. She was almost lap ahead of the tail-enders at the end of her bike. Meanwhile the men had survived the bike leg and were frantically getting rid of the bikes and slipping on the running shoes. Russia's Artem Parienko fell just after the dis-mount but was quickly up and into T2 and then the race was on.
Soon the running strength of Vincent Luis was seen and he began to establish a lead over the four lap course. With no penalties to be served, he had a clear run and to the huge delight of the crowd, many of whom had made the short trip from over the border, he took first place with a powerful run of 33:24. Sensible placing on the bike had left GBR's Adam Bowden in a strong position and despite losing time in T2 he ran through to take second place just seconds in from of Parienko from Russia. The crowd got a real thrill from the only true sprint finish of the day and that was between Jan van Berkel, NLD and Alberti Casadei. They were neck and neck, shoulder to shoulder and step for step for the final 100m of the run Van Berkel had the edge, just and took 8th place.
It was gratifying to see Moroccan athlete Mehdi Essadiq have a good race to place 16th and we hope to see more participation from the newer members of our triathlon family in the future.
Back to the women and Swallow came in to applause from the spectators who had seen her slog around the course on her own and build upon her swim lead. She was soon out onto the run course and was able to watch for herself as the other women competitors made their way out onto the run as her lead at this point was comfortably over a minute. Despite having worked alone for the 6 laps of the bike, Swallow dug in and pushed hard to take more time out of her fellow competitors and it was clear she had this race sewn up. Further down the pack it was Australian athlete Charlotte McShane who was fighting against the Italian duo of Alice Betto and Charlotte Bonin but despite Betto running the same time as McShane, the Aussie had built up just enough on the bike to hold onto 2nd place with Betto being the strongest of the Italians on the day.
The podium presentation for the spectators took place with the famous Jet d'Eau in the background and then, for the presentation ceremony the sun came out at the same time as the cheque book for the top ten athletes who were racing not only for points but for the €12,500 purse.
The race was over, the sun came out and once again Geneva had reminded us what triathlon is all about, a tough course, an enthusiastic and willing team of organisers and, despite the weather, great crowds.