Triathlon: Triathlon: Whitfield leads gold-silver Canadian finish in Cancun

Monday, November 05, 2007 - 06:44 PM

CANCUN, Mexico - Simon Whitfield of Victoria, BC claimed his third world cup title of the year and the tenth of his career at today's Cancun BG Triathlon World Cup. In a sprint finish, he edged out fellow Canadian Paul Tichelaar of Edmonton, AB who earned his first trip to the world cup podium. Volodymyr Polikarpenko of the Ukraine prevented a full Canadian podium sweep with Victoria's Brent McMahon in fourth place.

Whitfield's teammate Colin Jenkins of Hamilton, ON led the men out of the water and into the first transition. On the fast 40-kilometer bike course, a group of 15 men that included four Canadians pulled away from the field building its lead with every lap. By the fifth lap, the lead grew to more than two minutes.

On the 10-kilometer run course, it boiled down to a battle between the Russians and Canadians. Alexander Brukhankov and Yulian Malyshev were pushing hard for the podium but the Canadians stayed in front of the group. With approximately 400 meters to the finish line, Tichelaar tried to break away but Whitfield kept him in his sights and used his signature strong finishing kick to pull ahead of his compatriot and broke the tape with a time of 1 hour, 52 minutes and 5 seconds.

With the win Whitfield tightens his grip the number two ranking in the world which puts him in position to earn a solid share of the US$250,000 bonus pool which will be finalized after the season finale in Eilat, Israel on December 1. Tichelaar and McMahon will collect substantial Olympic qualifying points with their top five performances today, putting the Canadian men's team in a more comfortable position to qualify a full team of three men for next summer's Beijing Olympics.

Gold - Simon Whitfield (CAN) 1:52:05
Silver - Paul Tichelaar (CAN) 1:52:06
Bronze - Volodymyr Polikarpenko (UKR) 1:52:08

4th - Brent McMahon (CAN) 1:52:15

21st - Kyle Jones (CAN) 1:55:28

30th - Colin Jenkins (CAN) 1:56:43

49th - Sean Bechtel (CAN) 2:06:14

In the women's field, top Canadian was Montreal's Kathy Tremblay, this year's national champion, who finished 16th. National championships runner-up Ayesha Rollinson came across the line in 19th place.

Reigning Pan Am Games gold medalist Julie Ertel of the United States won her first career world cup title, leading a gold-bronze American finish. Frenchwoman Carole Peon celebrated her 29th birthday with her first trip to the world cup podium, out-sprinting Sarah Haskins in a great dual for the silver.

2007 Cancun BG Triathlon World Cup - Final Women's Results:

Gold - Julie Ertel (USA) 2:03:22
Silver - Carole Peon (FRA) 2:03:33
Bronze - Sarah Haskins (USA) 2:03:33

16th - Kathy Tremblay (CAN) 2:09:47
19th - Ayesha Rollinson (CAN) 2:10:25

23rd - Alicia Kaye (CAN) 2:11:39

For full results, audio quotes, high-resolution images, and updated rankings, visit the ITU's Online Media Centre: Triathlon.org.

Up next:
For the first time in ITU history, Israel will host a world cup. On December 1, the 2007 BG Triathlon World Cup series wraps up in Eilat, the scenic beach resort in southern Israel. The race for the world cup series titles for the men and women will heat up in the season finale.