ITU Cape Town – Men > Alistair Brownlee’s Triumphant Return

Uncertainty reigned supreme this weekend as Alistair Brownlee (GBR) made his much anticipated return to the WTS circuit. Would he be able to pick up where he left off by dominating his rivals in his first race back from injury?

ITU Cape Town was once again hampered by its cold water temperatures (11.8 celsius). With the swim being cut in half to 750m, the top swimmers would have a much harder time making their mark. A group of 20 riders had formed as early as the first lap on the bike, and 30 more joined the pack shortely after.

Dorian Coninx, Vincent Luis, Pierre Le Corre and Aurélien Raphael were among the first to exit the water. Team France boasts many strong swimmers and the shortened swim came to them as a disadvantage, but it was not enough to deter them from their game plan.

Cape Town’s bike course, with it’s lack of technical difficulties and many long straightaway’s made it nearly impossible for anyone to break off the front of the group. Any attempt to do so was quickly rebuffed by and even the chase group which counted as many as 40 riders had no difficulty bridging the gap to the leaders. Weaker riders who would normally have suffered from attacks coming off the front benefited from a big draft effect and would come off the bike with fresher legs than usual.

We began to wonder if Alistair was truly back, he who would normally play a leading role in breakaways during the bike. In Cape Town however, he remained passive on the bike, much like the Spaniards have been known to do. He took his place near the front at the end of the bike to ensure a smooth entry into T2.

Mola (ESP) had a rough start to the run. A momentary lapse in concentration would see him tumble to the ground which would prove costly as he was never able to make up the lost ground. In the meantime, Alistair took off at a torrid pace, taking the lead and running the first km in approximatively 2:40. As many as 6 others were able to keep pace with him : Gomez (ESP), Luis, Murray (AFS), Alarza (ESP), Le Corre and Riederer (SUI). Murray and Luis quickly took over the pacemaking which would prove too fast for Le Correand Reiderer. Alarza also struggled to stay with the group.

Alistair’s run did not come without incident. Javier Gomez accidentally stepped on his ankle which set the Brit back several meters from the group. This gap initially seemed to big to make up, but Alistair was able to progressively catch up. Luis, on the other hand, lost contact with the two leaders.

Alistair’s first attack was successful in dropping Murray. Once again, we were left with an all too familiar duo of Alistair Brownlee and Javier Gomez to battle it out for the win.

Brownlee prevailed and scored his 18th career WTS victory (out of 51 starts). Gomez’s second place finish was enough to secure him the top spot in world rankings, even though the Spaniard has yet to win a race this season.

Luis took advantage of a struggling Murray to surpass him and claim the last step on the podium, a first of his career in an olympic distance race. This is quite an accomplishement for the Frenchman who has further cemented his place in triathlon’s hierarchy of champions.
Pierre Le Corre, ran most of the race with Reiderer and Mola. He would finish in 7th and has yet to finish out of the top 8 in his 3 races this season. This consistency is even more remarkable when you consider that these races were only seperated by 2 weeks.

Aurélien Raphael and Dorien Coninx finished in 18th and 19th place respectively. They were clearly disadvantaged by the shortened swim. We expect to see higher placement from both of them in upcoming races.

Aurélien Lescure (ITU) finished 24th while Aurélien Lebrun managed a 33rd place.

Matt Sharpe, Canada’s lone representative, finished 40th.

Following Brownlee’s victory, we really have the feeling that the world’s greatest triathlete is back where he belongs : at the top of triathlon’s elite totem pole. He triumphed once again, and in an atypical manner. Once again, he showed that he is always one step ahead of his competitors.

Considering Jonathan Brownlee‘s recent performances, it’s not out of the question that the two brother’s will end up going head to head for the world title this season.

Alistair was quite modest following the race : You never know how a race will play out. The only thing you can do is train as hard as you can and give everything you’ve got come race day. I knew I was in good form but quite honestly, my legs didn’t feel particularly good on the first lap. It was hard and I’m proud of this victory.

Great Britain walk away with both victories this weekend despite a very small representation.

Pos	First Name	Last Name	Country		Time	Swim	T1	Bike	T2	Run
1	Alistair	Brownlee	GBR		01:39:19	00:08:39	00:00:43	00:59:35	00:00:19	00:30:05
2	Javier	Gomez Noya	ESP		01:39:24	00:08:32	00:00:42	00:59:44	00:00:18	00:30:09
3	Vincent	Luis	FRA		01:39:28	00:08:43	00:00:42	00:59:32	00:00:20	00:30:11
4	Richard	Murray	RSA		01:39:39	00:08:47	00:00:46	00:59:26	00:00:19	00:30:24
5	Fernando	Alarza	ESP		01:39:51	00:08:46	00:00:44	00:59:28	00:00:17	00:30:37
6	Sven	Riederer	SUI		01:40:00	00:08:49	00:00:50	00:59:18	00:00:20	00:30:45
7	Pierre	Le Corre	FRA		01:40:07	00:08:42	00:00:41	00:59:39	00:00:16	00:30:52
8	Mario	Mola	ESP		01:40:16	00:08:50	00:00:50	00:59:22	00:00:21	00:30:55
9	Crisanto	Grajales	MEX		01:40:30	00:08:47	00:00:44	00:59:31	00:00:21	00:31:08
10	Joao	Pereira	POR		01:40:32	00:08:49	00:00:47	00:59:28	00:00:21	00:31:10
11	Steffen	Justus	GER		01:40:37	00:08:56	00:00:49	00:59:13	00:00:20	00:31:21
12	Jarrod	Shoemaker	USA		01:40:43	00:08:52	00:00:55	00:59:22	00:00:20	00:31:15
13	Dmitry	Polyanskiy	RUS		01:40:47	00:08:35	00:00:48	00:59:39	00:00:20	00:31:27
14	Alexander	Bryukhankov	RUS		01:40:56	00:08:44	00:00:52	00:59:31	00:00:23	00:31:28
15	Brendan	Sexton	AUS		01:41:01	00:08:55	00:00:55	00:59:13	00:00:22	00:31:38
16	Kevin	Mcdowell	USA		01:41:04	00:08:44	00:00:45	00:59:33	00:00:22	00:31:43
17	Davide	Uccellari	ITA		01:41:11	00:08:55	00:00:55	00:59:19	00:00:20	00:31:44
18	Aurelien	Raphael	FRA		01:41:14	00:08:37	00:00:48	00:59:36	00:00:21	00:31:54
19	Dorian	Coninx	FRA		01:41:17	00:08:34	00:00:44	00:59:40	00:00:18	00:32:03
20	Miguel	Arraiolos	POR		01:41:23	00:08:53	00:00:52	00:59:21	00:00:25	00:31:54
21	Andrea	Salvisberg	SUI		01:41:27	00:08:45	00:00:45	00:59:31	00:00:22	00:32:05
22	Dan	Wilson	AUS		01:41:32	00:08:41	00:00:45	00:59:34	00:00:19	00:32:14
23	Diogo	Sclebin	BRA		01:41:35	00:09:05	00:00:48	00:59:10	00:00:23	00:32:11
24	Aurélien	Lescure	ITU		01:41:36	00:09:07	00:00:50	00:59:09	00:00:20	00:32:12
25	Kristian	Blummenfelt	NOR		01:41:46	00:08:51	00:00:48	00:59:20	00:00:21	00:32:28
26	Sean	Jefferson	USA		01:41:51	00:09:04	00:00:55	00:59:06	00:00:20	00:32:28
27	Danylo	Sapunov	UKR		01:41:55	00:08:59	00:00:53	00:59:18	00:00:23	00:32:24
28	Gregory	Billington	USA		01:42:01	00:08:44	00:00:55	00:59:23	00:00:20	00:32:41
29	Igor	Polyanskiy	RUS		01:42:06	00:08:41	00:00:47	00:59:36	00:00:22	00:32:41
30	Henri	Schoeman	RSA		01:42:08	00:08:38	00:00:49	00:59:33	00:00:19	00:32:50
31	Pablo	Dapena Gonzalez	ESP		01:42:11	00:08:38	00:00:49	00:59:39	00:00:19	00:32:49
32	Bob	Haller	LUX		01:42:17	00:09:04	00:00:51	00:59:10	00:00:20	00:32:56
33	Aurélien	Lebrun	FRA		01:42:19	00:08:52	00:00:50	00:59:24	00:00:18	00:32:57
34	Tamás	Tóth	HUN		01:42:21	00:09:08	00:00:44	00:59:16	00:00:24	00:32:52
35	Luca	Facchinetti	ITA		01:42:25	00:08:56	00:00:56	00:59:13	00:00:21	00:33:01
36	Gregor	Buchholz	GER		01:42:32	00:08:49	00:00:50	00:59:24	00:00:21	00:33:10
37	Premysl	Svarc	CZE		01:42:42	00:08:48	00:00:49	00:59:28	00:00:22	00:33:17
38	Joe	Maloy	USA		01:43:00	00:08:39	00:00:47	00:59:38	00:00:20	00:33:38
39	Vicente	Hernandez	ESP		01:43:07	00:08:50	00:00:48	00:59:24	00:00:24	00:33:43
40	Matthew	Sharpe	CAN		01:43:12	00:08:40	00:00:48	00:59:36	00:00:19	00:33:51
41	Alessandro	Fabian	ITA		01:43:32	00:08:44	00:00:46	00:59:30	00:00:20	00:34:14
42	Basson	Engelbrecht	RSA		01:43:35	00:08:55	00:00:53	00:59:14	00:00:20	00:34:16
43	Andrea	Secchiero	ITA		01:44:10	00:08:54	00:00:55	00:59:19	00:00:21	00:34:43
44	Jonas	Schomburg	TUR		01:44:17	00:08:49	00:00:45	00:59:32	00:00:19	00:34:55
45	Russell	White	IRL		01:44:29	00:08:49	00:00:48	00:59:29	00:00:18	00:35:06
46	Joao	Silva	POR		01:44:31	00:08:45	00:00:46	00:59:31	00:00:24	00:35:08
47	Francesc	Godoy	ESP		01:44:40	00:08:37	00:00:52	00:59:34	00:00:22	00:35:18
48	Simon	De Cuyper	BEL		01:44:46	00:09:11	00:00:45	00:59:12	00:00:19	00:35:21
49	Eddie	Van Heerden	RSA		01:44:50	00:08:54	00:00:49	00:59:24	00:00:20	00:35:25
50	Chris	Braden	USA		01:44:57	00:08:55	00:00:53	00:59:20	00:00:20	00:35:31
51	Stefan	Zachaeus	LUX		01:46:37	00:08:43	00:00:51	01:01:21	00:00:21	00:35:23
52	Wian	Sullwald	RSA		01:47:45	00:08:44	00:00:46	00:59:32	00:00:18	00:38:26
53	Wikus	Weber	RSA		01:48:05	00:08:58	00:00:51	00:59:17	00:00:20	00:38:40
54	Cameron	Good	AUS		01:48:10	00:08:49	00:00:53	01:04:56	00:00:21	00:33:12
55	Drikus	Coetzee	NAM		01:52:55	00:09:30	00:00:55	01:05:00	00:00:21	00:37:11
DNF	Justus	Nieschlag	GER		DNF	00:08:38	00:00:46	00:59:34	00:00:19	00:00:00
DNF	Andreas	Schilling	DEN		DNF	00:09:04	00:00:47	00:59:17	00:00:20	00:00:00
DNF	Andrea	De Ponti	ITA		DNF	00:08:58	00:00:51	00:59:13	00:00:20	00:00:00
DNF	Benjamin	Shaw	IRL		DNF	00:08:53	00:00:50	00:59:25	00:00:18	00:00:00
DNF	Lawrence	Fanous	JOR		DNF	00:09:01	00:00:47	00:00:00	00:00:00	00:00:00
DNF	Lukas	Siska	SVK		DNF	00:09:03	00:00:50	00:00:00	00:00:00	00:00:00
DNF	David	Castro Fajardo	ESP		DNF	00:08:49	00:01:00	00:00:00	00:00:00	00:00:00
DNF	Luis Miguel	Velasquez	VEN		DNF	00:08:52	00:00:53	00:00:00	00:00:00	00:00:00
DNF	Jan	Celustka	CZE		DNF	00:08:50	00:00:51	00:00:00	00:00:00	00:00:00