David Cantero Del Campo delighted the Spanish fans as he powered to an emphatic victory in the men’s U23 race at the World Triathlon Championship Finals Torremolinos-Andalucia while it was altogether closer in the women’s event as Karolina Horváth won after a thrilling sprint finish.
No fewer than 24 athletes came into T2 together in the men’s race but within a matter of minutes Cantero Del Campo had surged clear and would never look back.
Greek star Panagiotis Bitados would chase him home in a distant second, 34 seconds back, with Gergely Kiss rounding out the podium to underline a fine day for Hungary.
For his compatriot Horváth had proved strongest in the earlier women’s race as four athletes were neck-and-neck going into the closing stages of the run.
The title went to Horváth, just ahead of Zuzana Michalickova (SVK) and Maria Tomé (POR).
Here’s how it all played out…
Women’s U23 Race Recap
There were good, calm conditions for the wetsuit swim and after the first of two 750m kaps just 20 seconds separated the first 18, with pre-race favourites Horváth, Tomé, Michalickova (SVK) and Barbara De Koning (NED) all in the mix at that point.
But things started to split up more as the swim wore on and uber-biker Cathia Schär (SUI) found herself with over a minute to make up by the time they reached T1.
Early on the bike the front group of nine had an advantage of 39 seconds on the rest, with Schär trying to drive the chasers.
However it was only really Tomé who was helping Schär and the gap would drift out to slightly to 46 seconds.
But in the second half of the bike it did start to come down, so much so that it was all back together on the sixth of eight laps.
Starting the run and it soon boiled down to two groups at the front, with Schär, Tomé, Michalickova, Nora Gmür (SUI) and Horváth leading the way and nine seconds back to Candice Denizot (FRA), Robin Dreijling (NED) and Ilona Hadhoum (FRA).
Denizot would battle hard throughout to try and bridge up – and did so more than once – but when we got to the last of four 2.5 laps the medals had boiled down to Schär, Tomé, Michalickova, and Horváth. All bar European U23 Champion Michalickova – who was wearing the #1 bib – had been in the top 10 of this race last year in Pontevedra, but who would take the title?
Both Schär and Tomé tried digs off the front but weren’t able to drop the others and in a thrilling finish Michalickova surged to the front on the final U-turn back to the blue carpet.
But Horváth wouldn’t be denied, quickly overtaking her before powering clear with a sustained sprint.
“I did a pretty long sprint at the end but I thought this is the only chance I have – and I did it!” she said afterwards.
“But I still can’t believe it and I think I need a few days to process it, it’s amazing.
“We knew that Cathia was the strongest on the bike and when she brought it all back together I tried to get a little bit of rest before the run and it all worked out.”
Men’s U23 Race Recap
There were slightly choppier conditions for the swim compared to the earlier women’s race and it was Britain’s Marcus Dey who led it out.
Onto the bike and an 11-man group carved out an early advantage – which had risen to 36 seconds by the end of the third of eight laps.
However in what was almost a carbon copy of the way the women’s bike section panned out, it all started to come back together and we had a big group of 24 by the penultimate lap, with around two minutes back to the rest.
All of which meant it was seemingly all to play for after the hustle and bustle of T2 – but Cantero Del Campo had other ideas!
He put the hammer down on the very first lap, with only Bitados able to even keep him in range. The gap between them after 2.5km was 10 seconds, with third to ninth closely packed but over 20 seconds adrift.
And to the delight of the home crowd, Cantero Del Campo simply went further and further clear, showing the sort of run form that has enabled him to win the World Triathlon Cup Valencia for the past two years.
He was 24 seconds to the good at halfway and had a 28-seconds buffer to Bitados beginning the last lap.
All of which meant he was able to enjoy a virtual lap of honour as he cruised to an impressive victory.
“The other guys were going fast but I just went at my pace and felt good,” he said of that imperious run display. “I just decided to leave them as quick as possible and keep that pace.
“From the beginning of the race I felt really good – I was in the lead group on the swim, had a good bike and then it was about giving it my all on the run.”
WTCS Torremolinos results 2024
Thursday 17 October 2024 – 1.5km / 40km / 10km
U23 Women
- 1. Karolina Horváth (HUN) – 1:57:13
- 2. Zuzana Michalickova (SVK) – 1:57:17
- 3. Maria Tomé (POR) – 1:57:19
- 4. Cathia Schär (SUI) – 1:57:30
- 5. Candice Denizot (FRA) – 1:57:51
U23 Men
- 1. David Cantero Del Campo (SPA) – 1:45:12
- 2. Panagiotis Bitados (GRE) – 1:45:46
- 3. Gergely Kiss (HUN) – 1:46:11
- 4. Jules Rethoret (FRA) – 1:46:21
- 5. Henry Graf (GER) – 1:46:27
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