Africa Triathlon

ITU Media
Release: Tiszaujvaros World Cup -August 1 -2004

Tiszaujvaros, Hungary:   For immediate release: Conditions for the 8th stop on the ITU World Cup Series   were complicated by the recent wave of storms that have swept across eastern   Europe. The Tiszau River, location of the 2 lap, 1.5km swim portion of the event   was swollen with a current much faster than normal. The slick organizing committee   of this World Cup managed to safely manage the situation to ensure that the   swim went off without a hitch.

In the womens   event Great Britains Olympic hopeful, Jodie Swallow moved to the front   after the starters signal and exited the water with a 9 second lead over   Annabel Luxford of Australia. Christiane Pilz of Germany led the chase pack   from the water with a 24 second deficit.

The 40km bike course   consisted of a 10km stretch to the centre of Tiszaujvaros, then 6 laps with   10 technical corners each lap. Luxford and Swallow were chased down on the way   to the city by British team-mates Leanda Cave and Anneliese Heard, German team-mates   Christiane Pilz and Anja Dittmer, Olga Generalova of Russia, Pilar Hidalgo of   Spain, and Lenka Radova of the Czech Republic. The lead group worked like a   well-oiled machine and increased their lead over the chase group on each of   the laps. Anastasia Yatsenko of the Ukraine and Carole Peon of France worked   hard at the front of the chase group, which numbered 12 and included Olympic   hopefuls Maxine Seear of Australia, Mieke Suys of Belgium, Machiko Nakanishi   of Japan, Erika Molnar of Hungary, Nina Anisimova of Russia and Renata Berkova   of the Czech Republic.

Jodie Swallow was   not able to stay the pace at the front and by the halfway point had dropped   back 56 seconds and was caught by the chase group on the 4th lap.

Anja Dittmer pulled   the lead group through the 5th lap, as Erika Molnar, cheered on by the thousands   of home-country spectators that lined the course, energised the chase group.   They were able to make up some time on the leaders from their 1:50 deficit at   the 30km mark to 1:34 at the bike to run transition.

Pilz was first   off the bike with Hidalgo and Dittmer on her heels followed by Radova and Cave.   Hidalgo and Dittmer stayed at the front on the first lap with Luxford and Radova   dropping back 19 seconds. Pilz and Cave were not able to stay the pace and dropped   further back. By the 5km mark Dittmer was in control and comfortably ahead of   Hidalgo by 14 second as Luxford and Radova were engaged in a seesaw battle for   the final podium step 1:14 behind the leader.

The ease with which   Dittmer cruised through the final lap sent a signal through the triathlon world   that her preparations for Athens are definitely on track. With air temperature   soaring to over 30oC, she posted the fastest time on the Tiszaujvaros course   and appeared to have lots left in the tank. Pilar Hidalgo, also impressive in   the heat, was second 26 seconds back. Lenka Radova won the battle for the podium,   dropping Luxford on the final lap, with Christine Pilz rounding out the top   5

In the mens   event Russias Ivan Vassiliev and Frances Stephane Poulat set the   pace at the front, with Marko Albert of Estonia, Volodymyr Polikarpenko (last   years winner) of the Ukraine, Shane Reed of New Zealand, David Dellow   of Australia and newcomer Lorenc Balogh of Hungary in contact with the leaders.

Vassiliev was first   to exit the water, then Poulat and Albert, with Polikarpenko, Dellow, Balogh   and Reed catching the train to form a tight group of 7 at the front.

The chase group   of 11 was led out of the water by Anton Chuchko of Russia, followed by Daniil   Sapunov of Kazakhstan, Jan Frodeno of Germany and home-town favourite Csaba   Kuttor of Hungary. By the time they hit the town, they were 31 seconds behind   the leaders.

The fine-tuned   machine at the front worked its magic through the technical course, much   to the delight of the thousands of triathlon-crazy spectators that lined the   course. They increased their lead to 53 seconds by the 20km mark, then to 1:22   at 30km. Britains Olympic hopeful Andrew Johns was trapped inside the   2nd chase pack at this time, along with World Cup leader Dimitri Gaag of Kazakhstan,   almost 3:00 back as they entered the final lap of the bike.

Dellow was first   off the bike, and he swept through transition and posted a 1:40 lead on the   chase group. Reed and Balogh emerged onto the 4 lap run course next as both   the air temperature and the air of excitement heated up.

Shane Reed, know   as Snuffy because of the cartoon character he created, overtook   Dellow on the first lap and never looked back. Stephane Poulat moved up to Reed,   but was never able to overtake the wily Kiwi. By the 5km mark Reed had a 17   second lead on Poulat as Polikarpenko solidified his hold on 3rd place by dropping   Dellow.

Reed had a 46 second   lead on Poulat as he arrived at the finish to a deafening roar from the crowd.   Volodymyr Polikarpenko, the 2003 World Cup overall winner held off a surging   Vassiliev for 3rd, as David Dellow moves up in World Cup series by rounding   out the top 5.

The men from the   Ukraine surprised everyone by placing 3 in the top 10, as Polikarpenkos   team-mates Andrey Glushchenko and relative newcomer Andrey Turbaevskiv ran from   the chase pack into 6th and 7th.

In his post-race   interview, Shane Reed said, I was very disappointed not to make the New   Zealand Olympic team, but I sure wish the lads the best of luck on the day.   Im very happy to win the Tiszaujvaros World Cup it is such an   unbelievable event. There is no where like this for spectators and atmosphere.   Im looking forward to the next World Cup in Hamburg, which is another   great event.

The World Cup circuit   takes a break now as everyones focus turns to the Athens Olympic Games   Triathlon set for 25, 26 August. Action will start up again in September with   the Hamburg World Cup on 4, 5 September, Madrid World Cup 19 September and Gamagori   World Cup on 26 September.

Complete information   from Tiszaujvaros is available on www.triathlon.org, including complete results,   updated World Rankings, photos, and video. A 52 minute television show will   be distributed to broadcasters around the world within the coming weeks.

For more information   about ITU, ITUtv.com or the World Cup series, please visit www.triathlon.org   or contact ITU Headquarters at email: ituhdq@triathlon.org