Julie Derron ends Taylor Knibb’s winning streak, Rico Bogen bags the win at T100 San Francisco

Undefeated American, Taylor Knibb, was finally beaten at a T100 Triathlon World Tour race. Swiss athlete Julie Derron blew past Knibb early on the run, continuing to increase the gap before taking the tape in San Francisco today. Derron was in the mix at the front of the swim and rode close to Knibb, setting herself up for a tight race on the run, before deciding to make a bold move.

Heading out on the run, Derron had a rare opportunity. So close to Knibb, it was her shot at taking the lead and burying Knibb. The risk paid off as Derron took her first T100 win and broke Knibb’s winning streak.

Coming off of a disappointing race last month at T100 Singapore, Derron said at the finish line that she’d gone home and done the work she needed to come back and win.

Derron was running scared

“The first race in Singapore was a really, really hard day. I went home and felt like I’d lost myself a little bit in that race, so I had to do a lot of work on myself in training to get back to myself. Today I really had a great day and finally felt like myself again,” said Derron.

She admitted she had her doubts on the run about whether she could hold off Knibb.

“I was running scared. I just thought “don’t blow up” because I always felt like Taylor was just behind me. I was just really trying to stay in the moment, make sure I felt well, and give it my all until the finish line.

“It was a bit scary to overtake her this early on the run and I thought, oh shit, maybe I started off too fast.”

Knibb’s loss an upset

Speculation going into the race had Knibb and Great Britain’s Kate Waugh facing off for the win. Waugh stunned everyone, including herself, at T100 Singapore last month when she destroyed the field, winning with the largest margin in any T100 race.

In the end it was Knibb in second, Waugh in third. Canadian Paula Findlay had a strong run to pick off several athletes and finish in fourth. In another special moment, new mom Holly Lawrence, coming back to race for the first time eight months after giving birth, rounded out the top five in an emotional finish.

In her finish line interview, Knibb was relatively chill about the outcome.

“I’m pretty happy with the execution, I just feel like I’m missing a few gears. It’s early season and I’m grateful to be here and I’m grateful to be racing. I’ll take it,” said Knibb.

“It’s getting more and more competitive, and I’m excited. We compete to bring the best out of ourselves, and this has definitely made me hungry.”

Bogen running solo on the blue carpet

Germany’s Rico Bogen had the blue carpet all to himself this time as he took the win, comfortably ahead of his sprint rivals from last year. Fans were hoping for another gripping toe-to-toe sprint finish between Bogen, Kyle Smith from New Zealand, and Marten Van Riel from Belgium, but it was Bogen’s day.

The German showed his dominance on the bike, riding to the fastest split of the day. There was no stopping him on the run either as he sped away from any close contenders, finishing ahead of runner-up Jelle Geens, from Belgium, by about two minutes. Mika Noodt from Germany was third across the line, with Smith and Van Riel lagging.

Out of the water, athletes faced a long run into T1. American Morgan Pearson got to the front, with fellow countryman Marc Dubrick and South African Jamie Riddle hot on his heels. But on the bike the trio faded. It was Van Riel who offered the first challenge to Bogen who was in the lead on the bike. Van Riel, the reigning T100 Triathlon World Tour Champion, even overtook Bogen on the second lap, but it didn’t last. Smith, Geens and Greece’s Panagiotis Bitados were up front with Van Riel but it was never enough to regain control of the race.

Despite having to serve a 30 second transition penalty on the run, Riddle was on the chase behind Bogen, with Geens running nearby. Eventually Geens ran his way to second and held on. Noodt had run his way into third, with Smith in fourth and Riddle taking fifth.

Despite the initial challenge of freezing waters in the San Francisco Bay, the day got warmer as the competition heated up for both the men’s and women’s field.