With one eye on the upcoming World Para Triathlon Championships, multiple Paralympic champions were out in force at the Alhandra World Para Cup this past weekend. The next day, the latest world titles of the multisport community were settled at the Long Distance Duathlon World Championships. As WTCS stars also tackled a French Grand Prix, there was plenty to dig into. Read on to find out all that happened in this week’s Monday Morning Mix.
World Triathlon Powerman Long Distance Duathlon World Championships Zofingen
Having struck gold at the Middle Distance Duathlon World Championships earlier this year in Alsdorf, Merle Brunnée (GER) was at her storming best once again as she defended her long distance world title. She won by over 6 minutes thanks to a monstrous 4:09:49 split on the 148.2km bike. The next quickest athlete rode over 11 minutes slower.
As a result, Brunnée could afford to lose time on the opening 10.8km run and the closing 26.72km run and still win in style. Moreover, this was her third consecutive long distance duathlon world title, cementing her status as not just the best of this era, but possibly of any. In a repeat of the Alsdorf podium, Britain’s Rachel Brown finished 2nd while Germany’s Madlen Kappeler took 3rd place.
The men’s race followed a similar pattern with Baptiste Domanico (FRA) triumphing on the back of a field-leading bike split (3:47:26). Domanico had been only 15 seconds off the lead heading into T1 and once he established his hold over the race on the bike he did not look back. This was a first international medal for the Frenchman.
At the same time, there were shoots of green for the future in the men’s race with Denmark’s Silas Engel Plambæk taking silver. Born in 2003, Engel Plambæk was by far the youngest man in the field but had a very balanced race to make the podium. Taking the bronze medal for Germany was Fabian Holbach. View the full results here.
World Para Cup Alhandra
Men’s winners:
- PTWC: Aaron Kamnetz (USA)
- PTS2: Lionel Morales (ESP)
- PTS3: Daniel Molina (ESP)
- PTS4: Nils Riudavets Victory (ESP)
- PTS5: Martin Schulz (GER)
- PTVI: Dave Ellis (GBR)
Paralympic champions Ellis, Schulz and Molina enjoyed perfect days out in Alhandra as each came away with a gold medal at the latest World Para Cup. Ellis was typically dominant, clocking the fastest swim, bike and run in the PTVI race. Schulz and Molina, however, came under real strain as they were tested throughout.
Schulz was locked in a battle with Bence Mocsari and Filipe Marques, both of whom out-swam the Tokyo Paralympic champion. Schulz would lose further time in T1 but made up ground on the bike, eventually entering T2 essentially level with Mocsari. On the run, Schulz made the decisive move and ran away to win by 29 seconds.
Molina’s race was the other way around. The Spaniard was the top swimmer in the PTS3 class and was almost 90 seconds clear of 2nd place going into T1. On the bike, however, Britain’s Ryan Taylor made his move. Although Taylor had lost over 2 minutes in the water, he chomped 88 seconds out of the deficit on the bike. Then, on the run, he out-split Molina by a further 53 seconds. It was not to be, though, as the Brit ran out of road to catch the Paralympic champion who had paced his effort perfectly.
Women’s winners:
- PTWC: Jessica Ferreira (BRA)
- PTS2: Sanne Koopman (NED)
- PTS3: Serena Banzato (ITA)
- PTS4: Hannah Moore (GBR)
- PTS5: Maria Fuertes Artigot (ESP)
- PTVI: Heloise Courvoisier (FRA)
There were multiple blowout victories in the women’s races, with Moore and Banzato looking in particularly fine form. The tightest race came in the PTVI event as Courvoisier beat Rachael Elliott by 88 seconds. Courvoisier did the bulk of the damage in the water, clocking the best time and leading Elliott by almost 3 and a half minutes. Elliott knocked out a minute from that during the bike. She then took almost 2 minutes out of Courvoisier’s lead during the run. The French athlete, though, was simply too far away to be caught. View the full results here.
World Triathlon Development Cup Maputo
Maputo, Mozambique, hosted the latest World Triathlon Development Cup but the home team were denied gold in the men’s race by Namibia’s Johannes Jacob Langford. In a consummate performance, Langford was the top athlete across all three disciplines. This was a first international medal for the youngster; he will still be in the junior category until the end of 2028 and so will look to convert his experience into junior international success. Arvin AbdelMassih (MOZ) and Joel Madeira (MOZ) rounded out the podium.
Another young Namibian athlete, 2023 African junior champion Maja Jeanne Brinkman, prevailed in the women’s event. Brinkman was the most experienced athlete in the field having competed at the World Junior Championships last year, and that experience told as she demolished her opposition. Like Langford, she was the fastest athlete in all three disciplines. Kenya’s Josette Umi Njeri Kiarie was next home in 2nd place while Mahounan Conforte Hounga (BEN) claimed the bronze medal. View the full results here.
Europe Junior Cup Bled
At the super sprint event in Lake Bled, Cis Huyghe (BEL) downed Zsombor Holba (HUN) by only 1 second in a flying sprint finish. This was Huyghe’s first international win. For his part, Holba’s time will surely soon come. This was a third Europe Junior Cup medal of the season after medals in Tiszaujavros and Zagreb. With another season to come in the junior ranks next season, a first win should be on the horizon. France’s Keran Gallou completed the podium in 3rd place, 11 seconds behind Holba. All three medallists had been inseparable until the finish as they clocked near-identical times in the water, then closed down the initial leaders on the bike.
Viola Paoletti (ITA) came out on top in the women’s race with Hanna Foltyniewicz (POL) following 6 seconds back. Rebecca Adam (GER) then completed the podium. As with the men’s podium, the women’s medallists were together for practically the entire race. One slight difference, though, was that they had more work to do on the bike than their male counterparts after losing over half a minute to the swim leaders. A huge effort on the bike nonetheless closed the gap, setting up Paoletti’s shot at glory. View the full results here.
Around the world
The latest round of the French Grand Prix took place in Quiberon with Olympic medallist and 2020 world champion Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR) winning the women’s race. Taylor-Brown has dipped in and out of short course racing this year as she enjoys a more experimental post-Olympic season. Her performance made it clear, though, that she can still throw down over the sprint distance. The 2023 world junior champion Ilona Hadhoum (FRA) earned the silver medal. Alissa Konig (SUI) then continued her fine form in France after her recent WTCS personal best in the French Riviera by taking the bronze medal.
WTCS medallist Csongor Lehmann (HUN) edged out World Cup winner Callum McClusky (AUS) and Louis Vitiello (FRA) in the men’s race. Lehmann’s race was a perfect hit-out for his next event at WTCS Karlovy Vary. His win shows his speed is in a good place. Having also won the Karlovy Vary World Cup previously, he is shaping up to be a dark horse for next weekend’s event.
