ITU World Cup Salford
Salford, England
Sunday, July 27, 2003
1.5k swim, 40k draft legal bike, 10k run
Complete Results: Women, Men

Women

Men

It was a cool and misty morning in Salford, England as 38 women from 13 countries made a clean start into the waters of the newly re-constructed Manchester canals. The 2-lap 1500m swim was led by Julie Dibens of Britain, followed closely by her team-mates Anneliese Heard, Jessica Harrison and Jodie Swallow. By the 1^st transition, Heard had taken over the lead as a group of 9 organised themselves for the 3-lap 40km bike. Pip Taylor of Australia, Lenka Radova and Lucie Zelenkova of the Czech Republic, Susie Gallucci of the USA and Joelle Franzmann of Germany were also able to catch onto the Brits at the front.

The chase group out of the swim was led by Megan Hall of South Africa and Julie Swail of the USA. Carol Montgomery (CAN), Michelle Dillon (GBR) and Andrea Whitcombe (GBR), three of the best runners in the field also started the bike well positioned in this group.

The group of 9 at the front lost some ground to the chase pack, until Michelle Dillon, who was doing a lot to pull the chase group up, suffered a flat tire and lost valuable moments getting a new wheel. Just prior to the flat the chase group appeared poised to overtake the leaders, but with the loss of Dillon this failed to materialize. The leaders finished with a 1 minute 30 second lead on the chase group.

Joelle Franzmann was the first off her bike and onto the 3-lap 10km run course followed closely by Pip Taylor of Australia. Taylor took over the lead at the end of the 2^nd lap with Franzmann holding onto 2^nd. Carol Montgomery ran through the field and caught everyone except Taylor despite a 1:49 deficit off the bike. Franzmann's held off Weike Hoogzaad, making a comeback from a serious accident 2 years ago, in the battle for the last step on the podium.

In the men's event, it was a clean picturesque start off the pontoon before a huge crowd that lined the course. British teammates Richard Stannard and Stuart Hays took to the front of the swim immediately with Ivan Vassiliev of Russia and Germany's Daniel Unger on their toes. Carl Blasco of France and Reto Hug of Switzerland were also close to the leaders, as the entire men's field stayed relatively together throughout the swim.

Almost 50 riders were in the lead group for the first 10km of the bike section, which created a dramatic sight as they swept past the Lowry Centre roundabout - the pace and energy of the peleton was a thrill to the spectators.

On the 2^nd lap, Seth Wealing of the USA and Stuart Hays of Britain broke from the pack and created a 50 seconds gap by the start of lap 3. Their lead continued to build and by the start of the bell lap they had 1:20 on the lumbering group behind. Germany's Stefan Vukovic and Daniel Unger along with Paul Amey of Britain tried to break from the chase pack on the 3^rd lap, but were not successful. On the last lap Richard Stannard and David Castro (Spain) managed to get away from the big pack and tried to reel in the leaders but all they achieved was a clean transition to the run course ahead of the mob.

For the first lap of the run, Wealing, with a background in college track and field, left Hays behind and appeared to be running away with the show. However, British teammates Andrew Johns and Tim Don, along with Craig Watson of New Zealand were setting a blistering pace in their hunt for the leaders.

At the end of the 2^nd lap Wealing pulled up with a cramp and watched helplessly as first Hayes and then 13 others passed him and let his dream of glory slip away. Andrew Johns maintained his 30 minute 10km run pace to take his first World Cup victory since the 2000 World Cup season, with Craig Watson of New Zealand 2^nd and Martin Krnavek of the Czech Republic 3^rd.

All of the action now turns to Tiszaujvaros, Hungary for the ITU World Team Championships on Thursday, 31 July and the Tiszaujvaros ITU World Cup on Sunday, 3 August.