Palmerston North’s Kris Gemmell has confirmed his place amongst the very elite of triathlon with a fourth place finish at the rich Des Moines World Cup Triathlon this morning, finishing an agonising 2 metres from victory in yet another stunning sprint finish for the sport, this time with 6 athletes converging on the finish line together.
Gemmell was aggressive throughout the race, at one point looking to grab a lead midway through the 40km bike but in the end had to be content with fourth behind Simon Whitfied (CAN), Brad Kahlefeldt (AUS) and Jan Frodeno (GER) but finishing ahead of multiple world champion Javier Gomez (ESP).
Gemmell was not done any favours in the sprint finish with a number of changes in direction required to reach the line with both Gemmell and Frodeno having to chop stride, losing valuable time in a race won by centimetres.
Frodeno and Whitfield were the gold and silver medallists from Beijing while Kahlefeldt has been in superb form this year, losing out to Bevan Docherty in a similar sprint finish at the season opening Tongyeong World Champs Race in April.
While being pipped for the podium is a bitter pill for Gemmell, the performance and the USD$20,000 prize money is welcome news for the 32 year old after a year dominated by crashes, illness and injury.
“I raced about as well as I could race today, I felt great throughout and mixed it up at the front of the field, covered all the breaks on the bike and felt strong on the run. It is just a little tough to take that six tenths of a second means the difference between first and fourth and costs me 180 thousand dollars (US).
“The finish was a little too tight and had been mentioned by the athletes yesterday as a concern but to be fair no one thought we would have 6 of us running side by side for the tape. There was no room to move, a couple of us clipped heels and myself and Frodo (Jan Frodeno) came off worst, that is racing I guess.
“I thought it was playing into my hands to be honest, but the pace slowed down maybe a little too much allowing Simon Whitfield to keep in touch after we had dropped him about 11 times but credit to him, he stayed tough. I thought I had these guys covered but it became a bit of a lottery at the finish with a few gear changes required and here I am, fourth again.”
Fellow Kiwi and one of the pre-race favourites Bevan Docherty was forced to withdraw early on the run, having not overcome the illness that also forced him out in Washington a week ago.
Of the other New Zealanders, Clark Ellice raced superbly to finish in 15th; Graham O’Grady was 27th, Ryan Sissons 37th, Callum Millward 38th, Martin Van Barneveld 40th and Tony Dodds 55th.
2009 Hy-Vee Elite Triathlon World Cup
Des Moines, Iowa
Elite Men
| 1. | Simon Whitfield | CAN | 1:49:43 |
| 2. | Brad Kahlefeldt | AUS | 1:49:44 |
| 3. | Jan Frodeno | GER | 1:49:44 |
| 4. | Kris Gemmell | NZL | 1:49:45 |
| 5. | Jarrod Shoemaker | USA | 1:49:47 |
| 6. | Javier Gomez | ESP | 1:49:51 |
| 7. | Brent McMahon | CAN | 1:50:07 |
| 8. | Tim Don | GBR | 1:50:21 |
| 9. | Danylo Sapunov | UKR | 1:50:26 |
| 10. | Ryosuke Yamamoto | JPN | 1:50:32 |
| Plus | |||
| 15. | Clark Ellice | NZL | 1:51:14 |
| 27. | Graham O'Grady | NZL | 1:52:53 |
| 37. | Ryan Sissons | NZL | 1:55:05 |
| 38. | Callum Millward | NZL | 1:55:21 |
| 40. | Martin Van Barneveld | NZL | 1:55:36 |
| 55. | Tony Dodds | NZL | 2:04:35 |
2009 Hy-Vee Elite Triathlon World Cup
Des Moines, Iowa
Elite Women
| 1. | Emma Moffatt | AUS | 1:59:46 |
| 2. | Emma Snowsill | AUS | 2:01:19 |
| 3. | Lauren Groves | CAN | 2:01:31 |
| 4. | Magali Di Marco Messmer | SUI | 2:01:48 |
| 5. | Liz Blatchford | GBR | 2:02:04 |
| 6. | Andrea Hewitt | NZL | 2:02:26 |
| Plus | |||
| 17. | Kate McIlroy | NZL | 2:06:14 |
| 31. | Samantha Warriner | NZL | 2:11:26 |
| DNF | Rebecca Spence | NZL | |
Tomorrow sees the New Zealanders return to the Des Moines venue for the first ITU World Team Championships.
The Team Championship will be raced in a mixed relay format with four competitors per team, each racing the entire super sprint distance of 250m swim, 7km cycle and 1.8km run before ‘tagging’ their next triathlete. The first team across the line takes the honours and a $40,000 USD prize.
The New Zealand teams are:
New Zealand A
- Sam Warriner
- Andrea Hewitt
- Bevan Docherty
- Kris Gemmell
New Zealand B
- Kate McIlroy
- Rebecca Spence
- Clark Ellice
- Ryan Sissons
Reserve: Martin van Barneveld
Note: Debbie Tanner and Nicky Samuels are not racing in Des Moines so were not considered
The ITU Triathlon Team World Championships will consist of a 4 x mixed relay, consisting of two women and two men. Each member will complete a super sprint triathlon (250m swim, 7km bike and 1.8km run) in succession, with the first team across the line representing the top triathlon nation in the world.
A $70,000 USD prize purse will be available for the top three teams (1st - $40,000, 2nd - $20,000, 3rd - $10,000).
ITU World Team Champs
4 x mixed relay
Monday 29th June, 5.30am NZT
