A day full of races over 150 meters of swimming, 3 kilometers of cycling and 1 kilometer of running and all in an indoor hall full of spectators: the World Triathlon Indoor Cup in Lievin took place today and after all athletes completed several races, Norwegian Vetle Bergsvik Thorn and German Laura Lindemann eventually won the event.
This afternoon qualifying rounds had already started and were followed by repacharche rounds, semi-finals and thus a final. In the women’s final, some real top athletes started: Georgia Taylor-Brown, Laura Lindemann, Cathia Schär, Gwen Jorgensen, Leonie Periault, Jolien Vermeylen, Lena Meissner, Zuzana Michalickova, Audrey Merle, Nora Gmür, Jessica Fullagar and Robin Dreyling. Two women stood out with the 150-meter swim, as Michalickova and also Vermeylen had a small gap to close, but on the bike everyone got back together anyway.
During the three kilometers on the bike, the pace quickened, but above all everyone watched each other. A tactical joust unfolded on Lievin’s indoor track and it was already clear that the final kilometer of the run would bring the decision.
It was Vermeylen who managed to hang up her bike first and start that 1,000 meters in a leading position, but all the women were close together at that point. Still, the pace was – not unexpectedly – high right away, creating differences directly.
At the front, mainly because of the French Periault, things were going fast. Periault pushed hard and only Lindemann and Taylor-Brown came along, although Jorgensen also did everything in her power to close the gap – about five meters – in the final phase. That succeeded, making the last two hundred meters blood-curdling, with four women still in the battle for the podium spots.
Taylor-Brown accelerated first, but soon saw Lindemann pass her. The German went full speed and eventually managed to sprint to victory. Taylor-Brown finished second and Jorgensen third.
Men’s race: the runner takes it all
In the men’s final there was also a great field of some of the best athletes at the start: Tim Hellwig, Csongor Lehmann, Vetle Bergsvik Thorn, Samuel Dickinson, Vincent Luis, Genis Grau, Gregor Payet, Casper Stornes, Antoine Duval, Aurelien Jern, Léo Fernandez and Mitch Kolkman. It was wonderful to see that Kolkman – young and eager as he is – immediately took the initiative during the 150-meter swim and also came out of the water first. On the bike – 3 kilometers – the Dutchman also stayed ahead for a while, but the few seconds he had ahead were logically not sustainable in the face of a chasing peloton.
What followed was three kilometers – or actually a little less so – in which the group watched each other a lot and no real moves were made. As in the women’s final, the decision would come during the final 1,000-meter run.
Carried by his own crowd, Frenchman Fernandez took off running at a stunning pace and really only Thorn and Hellwig could initially follow. Yet even Fernandez could not keep up the pace, began to look around more and more, and another large group of men clumped together.
In the final meters it was finally Norwegian Thorn, after an impressive acceleration, who took the race to himself. Luis finished second and Stornes third.
