The T100 season kicked off this Saturday on the Gold Coast with a clear victory from Taylor Knibb, who prevailed in the circuit's opening round in Australia with a time of 3:27:53.
The American, leader of the world ranking, dominated the cycling segment to recover from seventh place in swimming and gave no choice to the rest in the foot race.
Behind, the surprise of the day was the British Jessica Fullagar, who debuted in the middle distance and came to threaten Knibb's leadership before giving in in the last kilometers. Imogen Simmonds completed the podium in third position.
Sara Perez Sala finished sixth with a time of 3:36:41, her second best result on the circuit after last year's podium.
The Catalan completed a race conditioned by a swimming error that forced her to make a comeback throughout the course, although the running parts, 3:57 on average, and her management on the bike left positive feelings for the rest of the season.
An error in the water that conditioned the rest of the day
Perez Sala was among the first in the swim, but a stroke error on the second lap cost him about 40 seconds over the front group. "On the second lap I had to go to a buoy and I was already like for the start, I was jumping a buoy and I had to rectify, swim against the current."
From the bike he had to push hard to try to reconnect. "The first three laps I had to make a very strong comeback to try to catch the group in front. I tried to get to Simmonds but when I was about to catch her I couldn't do it anymore and I stayed at my own pace."
He latched onto Bianca Bogen's wheel and from there managed the wind. “It's happened and I've got behind her. There was a part with a favorable air and another with a lot of air against it, like a little in tugs, but better." In the transition, the body already showed the effort: "My back was so bent that I could not get off while walking".
"If I hadn't made a mistake in the water, I could have changed the play a little, especially on the bike, because it's not the same to go back as to be able to go out with Fullagar."
| Pos. | Sportsperson | Ray of Light | T1 | Cycling | T2 | Run | Overall | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Taylor Knibb | 26:39(7) | 1: 37 | 1:54:26 | 0:38 | 1:04:35(3) | 3:27:53 | 35 |
| #2 | Jessica Fullagar | 04/26 | 1:14 | 1:56:47(2) | 0:32 | 1:04:19(2) | 3:28:53 | 29 |
| #3 | Imogen Simmonds | 26:09(2) | 1:41 | 1:58:03(3) | 0:43 | 1:06:50(4) | 3:33:11 | 26 |
| #4 | Nicole Van der Kaay | 26:18(5) | 1:38 | 1:59:53(9) | 0:49 | 1:06:50(5) | 3:35:25 | 23 |
| #5 | Bianca Bogen | 26:57(9) | 1:20 | 1:59:18(4) | 0:49 | 1:07:50(7) | 3:36:13 | 20 |
| #6 | Sara Pérez | 26:41(8) | 1:16 | 1:59:47(8) | 0:59 | 1:08:01(8) | 3:36:41 | 18 |
| #7 | Ellie Salthouse | 28:28(15) | 1:21 | 1:59:29(6) | 0:45 | 1:07:39(6) | 3:37:40 | 16 |
| #8 | Lotte Wilms | 27:48(12) | 0:26 | 2:00:34(10) | 0:52 | 1:08:57(12) | 3:39:35 | 14 |
| #9 | Natalie Van Coevorden | 26:18(6) | 1:32 | 2:03:16(14) | 0:40 | 1:09:03(13) | 3:40:39 | 12 |
| #10 | Alanis Siffert | 27/01/10 | 1:08 | 2:03:51(15) | 0:41 | 1:08:10(9) | 3:40:51 | 11 |
A solid foot race despite the heat and stomach issues
The plan was to go out four minutes on average, but the stomach complicated everything from the first kilometer.
"My idea was to go out to four, because as we have not done much volume nor have we played competition rhythm, because it could be quite long. I got pretty fucked up off my stomach. My gut hurt, I wasn't comfortable, I tried to eat and nothing came in, I took a sip of a gel and threw it away."
In the second kilometer he hit Van Der Kaay and got a 3:40. “I thought I was killing myself.”
The little one of the Bogen always stayed ahead. "I wanted to try to catch her and I didn't catch her, I stayed at a distance from her the other five laps." Behind Salthouse there was no respite. "Trying not to get caught by Salthouse, it was quite hot and I noticed that everything was burning in my head."
“I ran at 3:57 on average, which I think is great. Sixth place I think is very good."