Triathlon Canada – MADRID, Spain—Canada’s Matt Sharpe will leave Madrid, Spain wishing for more following a 14th-place effort at the Triathlon World Cup on Sunday.

The Victoria resident, who trains out of Triathlon Canada’s National Performance Centre, clocked a time of 56:31 in the sprint distance men’s race.

“Not much to say other than I’m disappointed with the result,” said Sharpe. “The race was a fight from the beginning, and I came out of the swim with a black eye, but near the leaders.”

After coming out of a scrappy 750-metre duel in the water in fourth place, the 27-year-old settled into the lead group for the 20-kilometre ride while staying focused on a podium result, but things began to unravel as the lanky Canuck prepared for his second transition.

“I was able to establish myself in the front back, but each lap there was a sizeable hill and I found myself under pressure each time we went up it,” added Sharpe. “On the last bike lap I struggled to make it up the hill near the front, and that is how I entered T2 so far back.”

The gap was costly for Sharpe heading onto the five-kilometre run where he was not able to rebound.

“I’ve been running well in training, but fatigue on the bike negated my running abilities today. I’m frustrated as I feel like I’m capable of more,” he said.

The Germans grabbed the top-two spots on the men’s podium after a photo finish after both crossing the line at 55:51. Justus Nieschlag claimed the gold, while Lasse Luhrs was second. Spain’s Roberto Sanchez Mantecon locked up the bronze medal with a time of 55:57.

Alexis Lepage was the only other Canadian in the race but did not finish.

Complete Results:  https://www.triathlon.org/results/result/2019_madrid_itu_triathlon_world_cup/336825

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