Spirig wins in Madrid
Riveros Diaz leads series rankings.
Switzerland’s Nicola Spirig ran her way to victory today at the ITU World Championship Series race in Madrid, Spain.
Sixty-seven women entered the lake at Madrid’s Casa de Campo Park and two women emerged out of the water first, American Sarah Haskins and France’s Jessica Harrison (19:30). Onto the bike all breakaways were unsuccessful, leading to a group of approximately 40 athletes who rode the last 3 laps (8 in total) of the bike together.
Spirig then took control of the race right out of transition. “I always try to have a fast transition and today that worked to my advantage,” said Spirig to the ITU Media. “I wanted to make sure that the group couldn’t stay together at the start of the run.”
A group of 6 women remained until the final lap, where Spirig set the tone once again by successfully surging to break apart the group even more, leaving just 3 women. In the final 400 metres of the run, Spirig managed pull away from France’s Emmie Charayron (2:06:04) and Britain’s Helen Jenkins (2:06:08), crossing the line in 2:06:00. The Swiss women have now won two races in a row in the ITU WCS – Daniela Ryf won the previous race in Seoul.
“It’s amazing to have such a great Swiss team, and it’s great for me as I have just finished up my studies (law degree). It was just a great day,” said Spirig.
Portugal’s Vanessa Fernandes, a six-time winner in Madrid, finished tenth in her 2010 race debut. While, Montreal’s Kathy Tremblay was involved in a bike crash and was unable to finish.
Top 10 Elite Women
1. Nicola Spirig (SUI) Â 2:06:00
2. Emmie Charayron (FRA) Â 2:06:04
3. Helen Jenkins (GBR) Â 2:06:08
4. Mariko Adachi (JPN) Â 2:06:32
5. Sarah Haskins (USA) Â 2:06:48
6. Barbara Riveros Diaz (CHI) Â 2:07:05
7. Anja Dittmer (GER) Â 2:07:37
8. Liz Blatchford (GBR) Â 2:07:39
9. Ainhoa Murua (ESP) Â 2:07:40
10. Vanessa Fernandes (POR) Â 2:08:07
ITU World Championship Series Rankings (after race 3 of 7)
1. Barbara Riveros Diaz (CHI) Â 2082
2. Mariko Adachi (JPN) Â 1767
3. Daniela Ryf (SUI) Â 1543
4. Sarah Haskins (USA) Â 1447
5. Nicola Spirig (SUI) Â 1433
