The World Cup action continues with Sunday's stop in San Pedro de la Paz
In an electrifying first appearance on the World Cup circuit last year, San Pedro de la Paz resulted in Spanish glory. This year, the top seed in the women’s race will hope to bring home another gold medal for the Spanish team and based on her recent form Marta Pintanel Raymundo seems well-equipped to do just that. Yet she faces an immense start list capable of testing her in every conceivable way.
From the fast starters that will gobble up the one-lap 750m swim, to the powerhouses on two wheels that will thrive on the four-lap 20km bike characterised by long straights ideal for dropping huge watts, to the twisting stop-start two-lap 5km run to sign things off, this is a course that has something for everyone. Will Spain bring home the gold again, or will someone else step up? Find out on Sunday 1st November with the women’s race live on TriathlonLive at 12:30 (CET).
Matching Miriam and a near-miss to correct
After watching Miriam Casillas Garcia (ESP) win last year in San Pedro de la Paz while herself finishing 4th, Marta Pintanel Raymundo (ESP) has both a legacy to live up to and a point to prove at the race. She kicked on with a silver medal at the Florianopolis World Cup but a first gold medal at the World Cup level remains a dream still to be realised.
Recent finishes of 6th at the Rome World Cup and 7th at WTCS Karlovy Vary – the latter being a Series personal best – indicate she is building towards something big, while she also placed 4th at the Lanzarote World Cup at the start of the season. Considering that, and that she is the top returning finisher from last year alongside the top seed, Pintanel is the woman to beat.
Remember how it happened
One thing Pintanel will not take for granted is the danger a breakaway could pose on this course; after all, that is how Casillas and Sophie Howell (CAN) scooped gold and bronze, leaving her with the chocolate medal. Neither are back this time round, but few athletes pose a breakaway threat like Márta Kropkó (HUN) who is the second ranked athlete on the start list.
The Hungarian is likewise in superb form after placing 2nd at the recent Beijing World Cup. She also medalled in Edmonton in the summer and as such seeks a third World Cup medal of the season. Moreover, Kropkó has discovered the kind of running speed that makes gold very much a realistic prospect, no matter how the race pans out.
Manami Hayashi (JPN), the Asian Games individual bronze medallist, has been vastly improved in the water this season and could cause some problems, while Vittoria Lopes (BRA) will do what she does best and chuck a stick of dynamite into the lake and see if she can detonate the field before T1. With plenty of other breakaway exponents also in the field, Pintanel will therefore have to be wary of last year repeating itself.
The business end
Meanwhile, whether the field remains in one big pack or if she makes it into a breakaway, Pintanel will have to deal with an array of seriously fast runners. World Cup winners Maria Carolina Velasquez Soto (COL) and Ana Maria Valentina Torres Gomez (MEX) present two obvious threats and have the ability to drop rapid 5km splits.
Elsewhere, Carina Reicht (AUT) has not hit top form this year as she has been held back at times by injury. Nevertheless, she was a World Cup winner a little over a year ago and logged one of the fastest 5km times ever seen on the circuit at the 2025 Rome World Cup.
A little further down the start list is a new face. Yet while Annie Fuller (USA) will be making her World Cup debut, she is also on a three-race winning streak at the Continental Cup level. What she lacks in experience at this level, she more than compensates with running speed and she will be in the podium conversation if near the front out of T2.
Fuller’s teammate Naomi Ruff (USA) showed off running credentials of her own at the World U23 Championships in Pontevedra as she charged through the field to take 4th place. And finally, World Cup medallists Rosa Elena Martinez Melchior (VEN), Elizabeth Bravo (ECU) and Pintanel’s teammate Noelia Juan (ESP) could all likewise pose problems for the top seed. Altogether, then, with such depth of talent present whoever wins this weekend will likely do so by the slimmest of margins.
