ITU Winter Triathlon World Cup Stoos
Stoos, Switzerland.
Sunday, February 3, 2002
6km run, 12km mountain bike, 10k CC Ski

As in the first Winter World Cup in 2002, Marianne Vlasveld of the Netherlands and Benjamin Sonntag of Germany outclassed the field to take their second Gold medals in the ITU Winter Triathlon World Cup series. It was a wonderful week-end for the Winter Triathlon in Stoos which started Saturday with the race briefing, attended by all the athletes including Karin Mobes from Switzerland, just out of the hospital after her severe injury in the Wildhaus World Cup. Bright sunshine, temperature around 15°C, with heavy snow created excellent and difficult conditions for the race. The rolling tracks were groomed right through the center of the resort.

In the women's race Marianne Vlasveld took the lead and remained in front of the women till the end. There was no question about her superiority. Anna Serra of Spain and Sabrine Fuhrimann of Switzerland finished 2nd and 3rd behind the flying Dutchwoman.

In the men's event, Juan Carlo Apilluelo of Spain and Iwan Schuwey of Switzerland set a hot pace on the run to try to escape the chase group of Benjamin Sonntag of Germany, Switzerland's Christoph Mauch, and Marc Ruhe of Liechtenstein. The leader's 20-second advantage after the run melted like the snows of yesterday when Benjamin Sonntag jumped on his mountain bike.

With dexterity and skill he pulled his way over the rugged course with the cheers of the enthusiastic crowd in his ears. Behind him there was a real fight for the remaining steps on the podium between Mauch, Ruhe and Schuwey, with Apilluelo dropping back after the first lap. The final cross-country ski section would, as is often the case, determine the outcome of the battle between Mauch and Ruhe. Marc Ruhe attacked as best he could to get one minute ahead of Christoph, the Swiss veteran of many summer triathlons, but despite the valiant effort he finished 24 seconds behind him.

Several officers of the region including his worship the Mayor of Stoos and the President of Wildhaus Tourist bureau attended the official prize giving ceremony under a spring-like sun. In two weeks the third stage of the ITU Winter Triathlon World Cup series will be contested in Jaca in the Spanish Pyrenees, the Olympic Bid City for the Winter Games of 2010. The number of points to be earned will be higher and set the ranking for the Winter Triathlon World Championships in Brusson, Italian Alps.