Potter takes silver in Hamburg

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Beth Potter backed up her bronze medal at World Triathlon Championship Series Montreal with silver at WTCS Hamburg as Bermudan Flora Duffy took the win before Barclay Izzard finished 13th in the men's race.

The women’s race was the first to get underway, with Beth Potter, Sian Rainsley and Kate Waugh representing Great Britain. Potter was wearing number one as the highest ranked athlete in the race, with American Taylor Spivey and Olympic champion Flora Duffy (BER) second and third ranked going into the race.

A warm day in Hamburg saw a non-wetsuit swim for the first leg of the sprint distance race. A 750m swim opened the race in the German city which included the iconic ‘tunnel swim’ under one of the bridges.  

Rainsley was the third fastest out of the water and into transition behind Summer Rappaport (USA) and Vitoria Lopes (BRA), with Waugh and Potter through T1 and into the chase bike group at the start of the six-lap 21km course.

Duffy drove the pace across the opening lap to see the front pack, which included Rainsley, establish a seven second lead over Potter, Waugh and the rest of the chase group. However, they bridged this gap on lap two to create a lead group of 15 athletes.

The British trio rode with the leaders across the spectator-lined streets and set out onto the run well placed for the two-lap run. Hungarian athlete Zsanett Bragmayer set the early pace on the run, with Potter, Duffy and Laura Lindemann (GER) in hot pursuit.

Having picked up a penalty in first transition, Duffy drove a breakaway from Potter to try and counter having to take the 10 seconds in the penalty box. Taking it at the end of the first lap meant Potter ran through to enter the lead. Rainsley and Waugh were 9th and 10th respectively starting the final lap.

There was no beating the Olympic champion, however as she came back over the final 2.5km to take the tape ahead of Potter. Home athlete Lisa Tertsch (GER) completed the podium in third. Rainsley finished 8th and Waugh 12th.

Reflecting on her silver medal, Potter said: “It was a nervous 2.5km knowing she was coming but I just tried to keep my cool and control what I could control in that last little bit.

“I was a pretty disappointed with my bike today, I felt that I was always on the backfoot. I stuck in until the end and was rewarded with the silver. Coming into the season, I wanted to consistently be in the top five and my last races I’ve done that, so just need to consolidate on that.”

Despite not racing, Georgia Taylor-Brown stays ahead in the Maurice Lacroix World Triathlon Championship Series Rankings on 3,850 points. Duffy sits second on 3,232 and Potter third with 2,908. Britain’s Sophie Coldwell sits 7th with 2,338 and Rainsley returns to the top-ten on 1,814 points to sit 10th.

Following the women’s race was the men’s, with the same 750m swim, 21km bike and 5km run being raced across. Diving in for Britain in the men’s race were Sam Dickinson and Barclay Izzard in a race headlined by Vincent Luis (FRA).

It was the Frenchman who led out of the water alongside his compatriot Valentin Morlec as the athletes streamed into transition. Despite the two French athletes setting out to establish a lead, a long train of athletes rode into lap two together with another dozen athletes including both Brits less than 10 seconds back from the leaders.

Across the second lap over 30 athletes merged into one big group to ride together, with the third lap seeing South African Jamie Riddle make a break for it which stretched out the pack. Jelle Geens (BEL) and Izzard were amongst those nearer the front of the athletes trying to keep within touching distance of Riddle.

Before the end of the bike he was reeled back in to the group as a large pack of athletes navigated the final lap to head into transition two in quick succession. Izzard and Dickinson both headed out onto the run amongst the lead runners, with Izzard and Geens (BEL) kicking on at the beginning of the 5km run.

The strength of the field soon told however, as Matt Hauser (AUS) and Hayden Wilde (NZL) made the break, setting off for the final lap with a growing lead. 

Wilde charged to victory ahead of Hauser in second and Jawad Abdelmoula (MAR) in third having outsprinted Leo Bergere (FRA) to the line. Izzard finished in 13th to record his highest WTCS result, with Dickinson finishing 33rd.

Wilde leads the series rankings on 3,850 points ahead of Bergere (FRA) on 3,493 and Geens (BEL) 3,102. Having not raced in Germany, Britain's Alex Yee drops to 9th on 2,000 points.

RESULTS MAURICE LACROIX RANKINGS

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