Groves fourth at Hamburg

In cold, wet and windy conditions, Vancouver’s Lauren Groves was fourth (1:57:58) in the fifth leg of the ITU’s World Championship Triathlon Series in Hamburg, Germany.

“That was really tough out there today and I’m proud of myself to pull through and finish fourth,” said Groves. “Many may consider me a hot-weather racer, but I proved today that I can compete in all conditions. It is also great to see the Canadian women all near the top. We are all racing consistently and really pushing each other to get onto that podium.”  Montreal’s Kathy Tremblay finished 10th (1:58:20) and Edmonton’s Paula Findlay finished 15th (1:58:52) in her second world championship series race. Australia’s Emma Moffatt, the number-one ranked female triathlete in the world, ran away with a 1:56:12 race win. Sweden’s Lisa Norden was second (1:57:06) and Switzerland’s Daniela Ryf was third (1:57:39). In the men’s race, Victoria’s Simon Whitfield was the top Canadian in ninth place (1:44:49). Just behind him were Edmonton’s Paul Tichelaar in 11th (1:44:57) and Victoria’s Brent McMahon in 13th (1:45:06).

“I paid for it on the run and I pretty much knew I wasn’t going to win it after the first lap,” said Tichelaar, who broke away on the bike and lead until the final 3.5 km of the run. “I now have to go back home and put some miles in the pool and on the run, and get ready to race in the finals in Australia.” The USA’s Jarrod Shoemaker won the event (1:44:06), his first career victory. In second and third were Australia’s Brad Kahlefeldt (1:44:14) and Russia’s Alexander Brukhankov (1:44:16).