Canada’s Mathis Beaulieu battled to a close finish, taking bronze at the World Cup today in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Beaulieu was quietly working away for the first two-thirds of the race, coming out of the water behind the leaders and riding in the second pack on the bike. When the third group on the bike caught up to the first chase pack, it unleashed 26 athletes into T2 behind the five lead riders.
It didn’t take long for Beaulieu to emerge from the massive group and head near the front on the run. Blazing through the field, Beaulieu followed hot-on-the-heels of France’s Hueber-Moosbrugger, who overtook leader Marton Kropko from Hungary. Kropko then tried desperately to ward off Beaulieu, but the Canadian was dug in and held his ground.
With Hueber-Moosbrugger leading into the final stretch well clear of his chasers, Kropko found another gear just in time to overtake Beaulieu to seal second place. Beaulieu held onto third in a performance that showed patience and guts. His fierce run put the rest of the field on notice.
Beaulieu comes back fighting from Chengdu
“I felt so much better on the swim and run,” Beaulieu told Triathlon Magazine.
After finishing 11th in Chengdu two weeks ago, Beaulieu said he got a little too excited early on the bike and it cost him on the run. He planned to ride smarter at Samarkand for a stronger overall performance. Heading into Samarkand, he had a boost of confidence after his teammate and training partner, Reese Vannerson, took the win in China.
“Training with him gives me confidence. I know I can run for the podium. Now it’s about staying smart and making it count,” he said.
See story: https://triathlonmagazine.ca/personalities/pro/rising-canadian-elite-mathis-beaulieu-racing-for-world-cup-glory-and-the-2028-olympics/
Hueber-Moosbrugger comes from behind to take control
Vannerson spent most of the bike at the back in the second chase pack with eventually winner Hueber-Moosbrugger, until the two chase packs merged before heading into T2. When the second chase pack was down about a minute off the front it looked like the athletes in that group would struggle for position on the run.
Hueber-Moosbrugger got his second chance when the two packs joined forces and began to close the gap on the five riding up front, which were Kropko, Poland’s Maciej Bruzdziak, Uzbekistan’s Jeremy Quindos, France’s Igor Dupuis and Germany’s Marcus Dey. Once on the run and through the field, Hueber-Moosbrugger took control at the front and was clear of the tight battle between Beaulieu and Kropko.
After the race Kropko said he’d found the strength to blast past Beaulieu in the final moments in honour of his sister who’d crashed on the bike and DNF’d during the women’s race earlier.
Women go down on the bike, resurrect on the run
Kropko’s sister, Marta Kropko, was an early leader in the water in what was a rough sea swim due to high winds. Out of the water, Kropko, Tilly Anema from Great Britain and Mathilde Gautier from France, formed the lead group on the bike. Less than a minute behind, the chase pack, ridden by Russian Diana Isakova, Jessica Fullagar of Great Britain and Switzerland’s Alissa Konig, provided the drama while the front rode in control.
Fullagar crashed and Isakova went on the attack, only to find herself in a futile chase to the front. She eventually fell back into a group of nine riders on the hunt for the lead pack of three. Isakova’s luck would change when Anema crashed on a corner on the fourth lap, with Kropko also going down. Now it was Gauthier out in front, like a sitting duck, with several laps to go.
Gauthier came out of T2 in the lead, but Isakova bit into the 45-second gap quickly. That was it for Isakova, who never lost control after taking the lead on the run. Behind her, a banged-up but bloodthirsty Anema fought back and was running with chasers Lea Coninx from France, and Costana Arpinelli and Marta Pintanel Raymundo from Spain. As tough as Anema was, she would finish fifth, behind Coninx in second, Arpinelli in third and Italy’s Ilaria Zane in fourth.
The post Canadian Mathis Beaulieu wins bronze at Samarkand World Cup in blazing run performance appeared first on Triathlon Magazine Canada.