There were maiden successes for Canada, comebacks of sorts for veterans, an epic weekend of winter action, and a host of WTCS stars dusting off their running shoes. If you did not manage to keep up with all that happened this weekend, there is no need to panic; you can catch it all here in the latest World Triathlon Monday Morning Mix.
Winter in Cogne
Cogne, Italy, played host to the World Winter Triathlon & Duathlon Championships as athletes traded their swimming goggles for skis and their cooling headbands for thermal wear. Among the main talking points was the double victory of Daria Ragozina (AIN) as she paired her Winter Triathlon gold with her triumph in the Winter Duathlon event. Her compatriot Oleg Chetsikov (AIN) almost matched the feat, winning the Winter Triathlon crown after settling for silver in the Winter Duathlon competition between the Norwegian pair of Jorgen Baklid and Hans Christian Tungesvik.
On Sunday, the Czech duo of Aneta Grabmuller Soldati and Marek Rauchfuss powered to gold in the 2x2 relay. The home Italian pair came home for silver while Norway continued their successful championships with another medal in 3rd place. With plenty of age-group and para action alongside the elite contests, Cogne proved an immensely successful first world championship of the year. Check out all the results here.
Asia Duathlon Championships
Further multisport action took place in Manama, Bahrain, with the Asia Duathlon Championships. There was home joy in the men’s event as Moussa Karich cruised to gold, breaking away from Morocco’s Mohamed Nemsi on the final 5km run. The women’s race saw Ziqing Lu of China claim a comprehensive victory by 52 seconds.
As with Karich, Lu’s success was largely built upon her tremendous 5km run. The 2024 Chinese junior champion in triathlon will still be eligible for international junior competition this season so may be a name to remember when championship season rolls around. You can see the full results from the competition here.
Asia Cup Putrajaya
Across the continent, Isla Britton of Canada earned the first international win of her career at the Putrajaya Asia Cup. A large field of almost 50 women started, including the winner of last week’s Chennai Asia Cup winner Martina Ayu Pratiwi (INA). A field-leading 20km bike split of 31:07 established Britton at the head of the race and she duly followed it up with the fastest 5km run of the day (18:05). Mako Hiraizumi (JPN) and Gyuri Kim (KOR) completed the podium.
In the men’s event, there was a comeback of sorts for Swiss star Max Studer. A former World Cup medallist and top-10 finisher in the WTCS (he notably finished 6th in Hamburg in 2023), Studer had not raced internationally since the Paris Olympics. He was in control of the race from the start, riding in a lead pack of nine, and opted to wait until the run to make his move. A run split of 15:07 was then enough to hand him victory.
Notably, Studer won an Asia Cup event at the start of the 2023 season prior to WTCS Hamburg and so it remains to be seen if it will prove a similar portent for his 2025 campaign. Oscar Coggins (HKG) and Ryosuke Maeda (JPN) collected the silver and bronze medals, respectively. View the full results here.
World Cup Napier
There was more success for Canada as Desirae Ridenour saw off the experienced pair of Emma Jeffcoat (AUS) and Ainsley Thorpe (NZL) to claim her first ever win at the World Cup level in Napier. In a parallel with her compatriot Britton, Ridenour produced the top bike split in Napier, clocking 28:38 for the 20km as part of a select front group. Her sprint finish then saw off the more experienced Jeffcoat and Thorpe, who settled for silver and bronze. To date, Ridenour has only made one WTCS appearance (in Abu Dhabi in 2018), but with her gold medal secured she will look towards a long-awaited second appearance.
In the men’s event, David Castro Fajardo (ESP) broke the tape first in another comeback from a tricky season last year. Castro missed the majority of 2024 to injury. Now under the coaching supervision of Olympic medallist and multiple world champion Javier Gomez Noya, the 2023 European champion is looking to make up for lost time. He downed the Australian pair of Brayden Mercer – who claimed a maiden World Cup medal of his own in Napier – and the 2024 race winner Callum McClusky at the business end of the race. You can see the full results here and watch the action back on TriathlonLive.
Around the world
Fresh from her 4th place finish at WTCS Abu Dhabi, Leonie Periault raced over 10km in Cannes at the weekend. Paced by her fellow French WTCS athlete Yanis Seguin, she stopped the clock at an impressive 31:45. Her result follows the exploits of teammate Cassandre Beaugrand, who broke the French 5km road record a few weeks ago.
Over in the UK, British pair Olivia Mathias and Georgia Taylor-Brown raced at the English Cross Country Championships. World Cup medallist Mathias got one up over the WTCS race winner by finishing 3rd to Taylor-Brown’s 9th. A week earlier, Alberte Kjaer Pedersen (DEN) appeared at the Barcelona Half Marathon and hit a time of 1:24:24.
