Javier Gomez takes WTS Abu Dhabi with huge margin of victory in comeback race
Gomez earns his 13th WTS win in his comeback from injury.
Spain’s Javier Gomez raced on the WTS circuit for the first time in over a year this morning and proved he’s still the man to beat with a smashing victory in the elite men’s race in Abu Dhabi. Gomez, fresh off the win at Ironman 70.3 Dubai in late January, demolished the short course race and comfortable ran across the finish line in 1:52:31 ahead of the U.K.’s Thomas Bishop in second and France’s Vincent Luis in third.
Gomez, who has 37 WTS podiums out of his 50 starts, is widely considered one of the best athletes in the sport. The Spaniard has world titles in the ITU, Ironman 70.3 and Xterra disciplines and has announced he plans to also tackle full Ironman racing this year. He’ll also be racing as part of the new Super League Triathlon this year.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the men’s race today was Bishop’s second place finish in such a stacked field, solidifying his place among the top men in the world and his rise to the calibre of his countrymen, the Brownlees. In a post-race interview, Bishop was thrilled to have had the chance to battle Gomez head-on and come out with a podium finish.
Another remarkable performance came from Gomez’s countryman, Spain’s Fernando Alarza, who clocked the fastest run split of the day (31:01) and overcame at 1:15 deficit after T2 to run up from 12th to 4th place.
There were no Canadian men on the Abu Dhabi startline this morning. Full results available here.
