For a long time, Britain’s Kate Waugh seemed to be heading for a golden comeback, but Switzerland’s Julie Derron had other plans: in the closing stages of T100 Vancouver, she surged past to ultimately take the victory. Derron thereby confirms her excellent form – after winning Challenge Taiwan and Ironman Switzerland earlier this year – while Waugh can still look back on a great return to the T100 circuit.
Waugh won the T100 standings last year, but missed the first two races of the season this year due to long-term injuries. Her mission today was clear: show what she is capable of and, preferably, win right away. It was American Taylor Spivey who came out of the water first after 23:59 minutes, but was immediately followed by Waugh, Sara Perez Sala, Lena Meissner, and Imogen Simmonds. Forty seconds later, Nicole van der Kaay, Bianca Bogen, Georgia Taylor-Brown, and Hannah Berry hit the land.
On the bike, a few early attacks were launched right away, and Waugh took the lead, with Simmonds taking over the front position shortly after. Meanwhile, Paula Findlay made a strong push forward – moving from thirteenth after the swim to third place after twenty kilometers on the bike – and her 1.5-minute deficit evaporated to just 25 seconds. Findlay was joined by Perez Sala, the equally well-advancing Derron, Taylor-Brown, Alanis Siffert, Berry, Meissner, Van der Kaay, Bogen, and Spivey, making for a heavily stacked chase group.
It didn’t take long for Findlay to bridge the gap to the front for good, and halfway through the bike segment, the Canadian athlete took the lead. Together with Derron, Simmonds, and Waugh, she formed a leading quartet, but that changed quickly once more. Waugh upped the pace again and eventually pulled away to take the solo lead. Once in T2, she held a 30-second lead over Simmonds and Findlay, 50 seconds over Derron, and 1:40 over Berry, Bogen, Siffert, and Taylor-Brown. After a swift transition, Waugh added another 15 seconds to her margin.
During the 18-kilometer run, it was do-or-die for the reigning British champion, but it quickly became apparent that Derron was also fully in the fight for the victory in Vancouver. While the other athletes lost time, Derron rapidly made up ground on Waugh, catching up to her after ten kilometers. Derron gave Waugh no chance to latch on; she caught her breath briefly in her stride before accelerating and leaving Waugh behind immediately.
In the end, Derron won the T100 Vancouver in a time of 3:33:26. Waugh, who crossed the finish line with a painful, bloody elbow for unclear reasons, came second in 3:35:06, while Taylor-Brown took third in 3:36:27.
