London Wrap: Gomez And Findlay Victorious In Hyde Park

©Paul Phillips, Bob Kupbens, ITU

It really was a coming of age. Of course, Javier Gomez took a famous – and perfectly executed – second-successive victory in London, but it was the Brownlee that followed him who will grab a lot of the attention. Because this weekend another Brownlee truly announced himself on the world scene, and he looks ready to mix it with the big boys (not to mention his big brother).

In what proved to be a fascinating men’s race, Gomez and the two Brownlees were part a 27 man pack that formed during the early stages of the bike. A further 13 men (including local favourite Tim Don) were some 30 seconds back on the first lap, but they slowly started to eat into that advantage, eventually bridging the gap on Lap 4.

Then the breakaways began. A few tried, but Stuart Hayes eventually succeeded. He was eventually joined by Rana and Colucci, and the trio took a 30 second advantage into T2.

It wasn’t enough. Almost immediately Jonathan and Alistair Brownlee – along with Jan Frodeno and Javier Gomez – made their move. By the end of 3km those four were in control, and as they hit 8km four became three as Frodeno faded away.

We were all waiting to see who would kick first: it was Gomez,. The Spaniard surged, and Jonny went with him. But, surprisingly, Alistair didn’t. With 500m to go Gomez kicked again, and this time Jonny Brownlee had no answer.

The former World Champion ran to a famous win, as the younger Brownlee came in second. Frodeno took third, and Alistair Brownlee dug deep to collapse across the line in tenth – he had given it everything.

“I think this weekend I felt even better than last weekend,” Gomez said. “I felt like I was flying today. It was very hard to race the Brownlees today. They pushed it very hard from the beginning of the run. On the final lap I just pushed it as hard as I could and I was able to get away.”

©Paul Phillips, Bob Kupbens, ITU

It was an equally fascinating encounter in the women’s race. With Laura Bennett stringing the field out in the water, pre-race favourites Lisa Norden and Barbara Riveros Diaz were left struggling as part of a third chase pack that would ultimately end up in T2 90 seconds down on the leaders.

At the business end of the field, Helen Jenkins, Emma Moffatt and Paula Findlay were all part of a lead pack that was setting a relentless pace on the bike.

And that pace continued onto the run as eight women set off in pursuit of the win. Surprisingly, World Champion Emma Moffatt was one of the first to crack as the pace proved too much. As the leaders went into the final lap four remained: Jenkins, Findlay, Nicola Spirig and Andrea Hewitt.

Initially it looked like it would favour Spirig and her sprint finish. But Findlay broke with less than 1km to go, and nobody could respond. Surging towards the finish, Findlay took the win in 1:51:48. Spirig sprinted to second (1:51:51), with Jenkins third.

“I never thought I could beat them,” said Findlay after her win. “I just hoped for a podium spot. When I made a surge I looked back a few times and ran my heart out to keep the gap and I did.”

Dextro Energy World Championship Series, Hyde Park
Results

Top 5 Men
1. Javier Gomez (ESP) 1:42:08
2. Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) 1:42:14
3. Jan Frodeno (GER) 1:42:30
4. Alexander Brukhankov (RUS) 1:42:44
5. Mario Mola (ESP) 1:42:46

Top 5 Women
1. Paula Findlay (CAN) 1:51:48
2. Nicola Spirig (SUI) 1:51:51
3. Helen Jenkins (GBR) 1:51:53
4. Andrea Hewitt (NZL) 1:51:55
5. Laura Bennett (USA) 1:52:34

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