Leading virtually from start to finish and steadily extending his gap despite a chasing pack: New Zealander Kyle Smith reigned supreme at Challenge Barcelona, claiming the prestigious race with overwhelming dominance. In the women’s race, by contrast, a thrilling battle unfolded that went down to the very final meters, with Denmark’s Anastacia Damm Nielsen capturing her first professional victory.
Smith took the lead early in the race and watched his advantage grow to over five minutes on the bike. That feat was all the more impressive given that his pursuers were working together in a chase pack, yet even with each other’s help, they couldn’t close the gap. As a result, the outcome was never in doubt during the half marathon. Smith ultimately won in 3:30:39, well ahead of Sven Thalmann (+4:22) and Jannik Schaufler (+5:01).
In the women’s field, the margins were far tighter, and the run in particular turned into a nail-biter; Denmark’s Anastacia Damm Nielsen and Italy’s Marta Bernardi ran shoulder to shoulder for roughly 21 kilometers, refusing to yield an inch. Ultimately, it came down to the final 300 meters, where a blistering surge from Damm Nielsen secured her maiden pro win: visibly emotional, she crossed the line in 4:00:59. Bernardi, also visibly emotional – though largely disappointed – finished second five seconds later. Katharina Kruger took third, 6:29 behind.
*This article is very brief – Triathlon Today was down for a week and a half following the global PHP vulnerability. Purely for the sake of completeness, we chose to publish this article anyway, albeit much later and far less extensively than usual.
