Kate Waugh is looking to deliver a ‘stronger version’ of herself onto the Qatar stage next month as she prepares for what now looks to be a thrilling three-way battle for the T100 Triathlon World Tour title.
Add in the prospect of IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR) returning to line up for the end-of-season showdown, and you have a top three raring to go, with only 11 points between them.
Waugh did little wrong
Waugh, who was looking to follow up her win in Wollongong last month with another timely victory, did little wrong at the weekend but will surely be concerned by the manner of Derron’s success as she eased through the gears to take maximum points.
Derron, who missed last month’s IRONMAN World Championships in Kona after injuries from an August bike crash took longer than expected to heal, looked in ominous form and, after the race, declared that she was back to her best.
An honest Waugh accepted that she did not have enough in the tank to keep up with her rival, but that Qatar preparations had already been discussed as she looks to bounce back in the race that really matters.
“I’m actually pretty happy with the result,” she said post-race in Dubai. “It was a hard race. I tried to make it hard right from the start, make it an honest race, and I’m pretty happy, to be honest.
Julie has come back all guns blazing
“On the run, I did what I could, but Julie has come back all guns blazing, and I couldn’t go with her. I had a slower transition, and I said to myself to ‘just build into it’, but as I was building into it, she was pulling away. I can’t be disappointed. I gave my everything, and it was second.
“I’m going to take a few days to recover from this race. But I’ve already discussed with my coach how we should best go about preparing for Qatar. This one was kind of just a race in between. I hope I can bring a stronger version of myself to Qatar.”
Derron was clearly delighted to have picked up a second victory of the Tour, and one which, crucially, knocked off her 12th-place finish in Singapore from her best four scores to count – replacing the nine points with an extremely handy 35.
As she crossed the line, there were no obvious signs of fatigue as she went off to search for her mum, who had been watching and cheering on from the sidelines.
‘Glad to be back and feeling like myself again’
“It was amazing. I’m just so glad to be back and to be feeling like myself again,” she said. “I was pushing all the way, for sure; I kept thinking about my coach. She would tell me to push all the way to a finish line, and that’s what I tried to do.
“My mum has been one of my biggest supporters, so to find her at the finish line was really important to me, and to give her a hug. She’s been with me through all the ups and downs.
“For me, the goal was to improve on my 12th place from Singapore, and for sure, I did that and can now scratch that from my overall ranking. I’m really happy to have had a great race today, and I’m getting back into training and will be trying to be the best I can be in Qatar.”
With the T100 World Tour champion set to pick up $200,000, the Qatar finale promises to be a real thriller, especially as there are more points up for grabs in the final, with 55 going to the winner, 46 to the runner-up and 41 to third place. Even tenth-placed finishers pick up 18 points.
It all means that any of the top three are in with a shout of winning, with Waugh currently sitting at the top of the table on 128 points (with two wins and two second places counting towards her score), Derron in second on 122 (two wins, a second and a fourth place), and Charles-Barclay third on 119 (two wins, a third and a fourth place).
