Sunday, 25 September 2011 20:37
Hewison and Silva triumph at Duathlon World Champs
Great Britain's Katie Hewison and Portugal's Sergio Silva were crowned this year's ITU Duathlon World Championship on Sunday in the northern Spanish city of Gijon. And the light wind and low sun was the perfect environment for Katie Hewison (GBR) to earn her first world title.
"I had a lot of injuries last year, and wasn't able to train much, so this is a fantastic result for me," Hewison said. "I'm really, really happy."
Hewison proved to be a strong competitor throughout the race, riding and running with the lead group the entire race. However, she never took the lead until the final run portion of the competition.
Instead, it was 2010 runner-up Sandra Levenez (FRA) who wasted no time in making her way to the front. Right from the beginning, she took command of the race, heading up a 12-person run pack on the first lap.
Levenez, determined not to let this year's title slip away from her, got a head start on the bike with the top runners. Meanwhile, the remaining athletes struggled to form chase groups more than a minute back. A small contingency of just five women, which included Hewison, formed the lead group on the biking portion.
Midway through the bike portion, Levenez sat back and allowed the group to pull her, occasionally giving up her number one spot. She traded places with the leaders, never of who were Hewison. While Levenez pumped the pace of the bike, Hewison strategically drafted in the middle of the group.
It was a decision that paid off, as Hewison quickly overtook Levenez when they put feet to pavement. Hewison pulled nine seconds ahead on the first of two laps, followed by Levenez who ran shoulder to shoulder with Jenny Schulz (GER).
Outside of the stadium, Schulz recovered the nine seconds to speed past Hewison in the last kilometer. However, in a massive last-ditch effort over the final 50 meters, Hewison fought back to blast past Schulz and cross the finish at 2:02:45.
Elite men review
The elite men enjoyed similar weather conditions as their female counterparts while they vied for a world title at the 2011 Gijon ITU Duathlon World Championships. However, the men's race saw a much less predictable finish, as each discipline hosted a new group of leaders.
While Sergio Silva (POR) won the men's title by nearly five seconds, his position on the medal stand was uncertain for the majority of the race. A strong runner, he emerged with a slight lead following the first transition.
However, Silva, far less competitive on the bike than his feet, quickly fell out of the lead pack. Instead, he rode with a massive chase group of nearly 30 athletes that continued to lose time on the leaders throughout the race.
Meanwhile, Roger Roca Dalmau (ESP) surged to the front of the bike, followed by teammate Victor Manuel del Corral Morales (ESP). Together, the men battled with Richard Hobby (GBR), opening up more than a minute of time between themselves and the competition.
Etienne Diemunsch (FRA), competing in the U23 division, joined the lead pack and helped push the pace even further ahead of the sizeable chase group. By the time the men entered the second transition, they owned an 80-second lead.
Frenchman Diemunsch initiated an incredible transition, and ran off to demolish the elite competition by nearly 45 seconds to easily win the U23 category.
Behind him, Roca and Corral were trying to hold off Silva, who had recovered almost 50 seconds on the first lap of the final run. Down just 19 seconds with one lap to go, Silva was unstoppable.
"There were many attacks on the bike, but we couldn't catch up," Silva said. "I had to run very fast to make the podium. I felt very strong and knew I could make it if I ran fast."
He pulled even with the Spaniards quickly outside of the first lap and blew by them in the final two kilometers. Silva slid past the finish line in 1:51:18 to capture the world championship title, while Roca was second in 1:51:23. Corral was third in 1:51:29.
