HUATULCO, Mex.— Tyler Mislawchuk captured his fourth straight podium at the World Triathlon Cup in Huatulco, Mexico after sprinting to the silver medal for the second-straight year on Saturday evening.
The two-time Olympian from Oak Bluff, Man., raced at the front of the pack throughout all three disciplines, finishing the 750-metre swim, 20-kilometre bike and five-kilometre run course in a time of 54:15.
“Anytime you are on the podium it is nice,” said Mislawchuk, who has two victories on the spectacular Huatulco course. “I was a few metres short – you always want to win those races, but you can’t complain.”
The 28-year-old Mislawchuk exercised his race tactics to near perfection. He came out of the water of the beach-start swim in first spot before staying out of trouble, working at the front for the 20-kilometre bike course.
It came down to a foot race for gold between the Oak Bluff, Man. resident, Spain’s David Castro and Mexico’s Aram Penaflor. The trio ran shoulder-to-shoulder for much of the five-kilometre jaunt, until the finishing sprint where the Spaniard edged Mislawchuk at the line.
“I think I could have run a bit faster, but it was a bit of cat and mouse the whole run. I did’t want to lead and be the idiot that got passed in the end. I lost anyways, but I gave it my best shot,” said Mislawchuk. “He (David Castro) is one of the best finishers in the world. He smoked the field two weekends ago at European Championships so it’s nice to be in that company. I know he is in good form. It’s definitely a good sign for me heading into next weekend.”
Castro locked up the gold medal with a time of 54:14. Mexico’s Moysen snagged the bronze at 54:18.
Brock Hoel, of West Kelowna, B.C., also had a solid outing, finishing in 12th spot at 54:57. Martin Sobey, of Charlottetown, P.E.I., was 14th at 55:05, while Filip Mainville (Laval, Que.) clocked-in at 55:32 for 20th place. British Columbia’s Clayton Hutchins was 34th at 56:25, while Quebec’s youngster, Mathis Beaulieu, placed 35th with a time of 56:33.
Earlier in the afternoon, Canada’s Dominika Jamnicky was also in the fight for the medals until the late stages of the run.
The Guelph, Ont. athlete threw down one of her top results of her career while scrapping her way to fifth place in a time of 1:01:14 that came down to an electric sprint finish.
“Today was unreal. It was just one of those days you have goosebumps, you go with it and you’re like all right let’s see how far I can push this,” said Jamnicky. “I was really happy to be fighting for a podium position, but knew I was on my limit.”
The 30-year-old battled her way back into the race after coming out of the 750-metre swim, 43 seconds back of the leaders.
The stacked field wasted no time forming a long train of more than 40 riders through the streets of Huatulco, where Jamnicky steadily worked her way to the front of the pack before hopping off the bike and into second transition.
First to charge out of transition, Mexico’s Anahi Alvarez Corral opened a 23 second lead on Jamnicky who continued the fight for the final two spots on the podium over the remaining 2.5 kilometres of the run which came down to a sprint finish between three athletes.
“I had a sprint with Mercedes (Romero Orozco – MEX) a month ago and I knew it was going to be a showdown,” added Jamnicky. “Unfortunately, she got the best of me today as well as Charlotte McShane (AUS), but I’m really happy, and hopefully we can keep this rolling from here.”
Mexico’s Alvarez Corral stormed her way to the gold medal with a time of 1:00:32. American Gwen Jorgensen ran her way back into second place at 1:01:04, while Mexico’s Mercedes Romero Orozco won the dash for the bronze medal with a time of 1:01:12.
Three other Canadians also suited up for the women’s race. Sophia Howell, of Airdrie, Alta., enjoyed a strong World Cup debut, placing 25th at 1:02:50. Kamille Larocque, of Gatineau, Que., was 51st at 1:08:12. British Columbia’s Desirae Ridenour did not finish.
Complete World Triathlon Cup Results:
The World Cup continues on Sunday in Huatulco, Mexico with the Mixed Team Relays before Canada’s triathlon community heads to Montreal to pay host to the World Triathlon Championship Series, June 24-25.
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