Vina Del Mar – Post Race Analysis
Dear Athletes,
Today we are having a look at the race that was in Vina Del Mar, Chile.
Looking at race results and analysing the data is an important tool in your preparation for your races in the future.
Swim – 1 lap 750m, Bike – 3 laps 6km total 18km, Run – 3 laps 2.5km total 5km
Men
There were 63 men in the field. The fastest swimmers were from the outside, rather than the centre, of the beach line up. The lead swimmers reached the first buoy at around 3 min leaving those athletes lagging swimming through very congested swimmers.
Number 3 Diego MOYA (CHI) led the swim, with a large group – literally the entire field – stretching out behind him. The shore break did not have much of an impact on the field as they exited the water, although a nicely times body surf of the shore break did give Moya a slight break over the field exiting T1 about 10sec clear.
Using the undulations out of transition, Moya forced those chasing to work hard to catch him – possibly thinning out the sizeable chase pack. By the end of lap 1 a nearly working group of 3 caught Moya, but the remaining chase group of around 10 were looming.
With the pressure on, the lead group of 4 were soon engulfed by the chasing pack and a large lead group of around 15. The remainder of the bike this lead group worked on their original 26sec break on the chase group. Both groups were of a similar size, and the 26sec
A group of 17 entered T2, around 35seconds ahead of the chase group.
As in generally the case, the run was the deciding factor. Shaufler (GER) led the field out of T2, with a lead group of 8 quickly formed with Jawad (MAR) setting the pace. Castro (ESP) remained content to sit on Jawad’s shoulder with Diego Moya (CHI) the first to attempt to break the group up, at only 5minutes into the run leg.
Moya’s surge did see the lead group string out, and Shaufler (GER) moved comfortable into second, but the remaining 7 stayed together as the end of lap 1 on the run.
Moya (CHI) continued to surge and took Castro (ESP) with him to create a slight 3 sec break over the chasing 5. Abdelmoula (MAR) kept the pressure on at the front of the chase group of now 3, but Castro in second appeared to be in the best position still sitting on Moya at the final and far run turn.
The fight for gold saw the gap to third Jawad (MAR) and Shaufler (GER)) stretch out to 5sec, but the home crowd was fixated on the front, hoping for a hometown win in Moya. Castro took on Moya in the home straight and took the win, and meanwhile Jawad (MAR) wound up his chase almost running down Moya for silver.
Women
With 50 women in the field, the start was testing with a steep and strong dumping shore. The swim was tightly packed at the first buoy. Throughout the swim, the field stayed together – albeit no longer bunched – until the last buoy when Sara Vilic (AUT) opened up a slight solo lead. unfortunately a slight navigational error saw her caught and then exit with the main group.
Out of the water, Lea Coninx (FRA) attacked the long run to T1 and exited with a 4 sec advantage. A group of 5 formed at the front, but as the group took the sweeping right turn off the main drag, Coninx appeared to lose control of front wheel, overcorrect resulting in coming down heavily. Avoiding and reacting to Coninx, Emmy Legault (CAN) swung wide, clipped the centre median strip and also came down. With both women crashing at the front of the small group, the remaining 3 displayed some excellent bike skills to remain upright.
The chase group caught the lead group of 3 within a minute and Baptista (BRA) took control on the front to keep the pressure on. At this point the hilly section of the course with narrower streets combined with the pressure from Baptista (BRA) and the lead group was whittled down to 10.
The leading group of 10 didn’t remain off the front for long. Caught by the chase group, the final lap of the bike became 27 growing to 33. With most of the field in this group the pace slowed and the pack swelled across the road, clearly showing the drop in pace. The most experienced riders took control through the narrow sections in an attempt to avoid being caught in any more potential crashes. It was a waste of opportunity from the strong riders in the field, as the undulations - if ridden aggressively for the entire duration of the bike of the course -would have split the field nicely.
Sandra Dodet was slow into T2 sitting towards the back of the large group, making things a little more difficult than it should have been. In contrast, Marta Kropko (HUN) exited first with a slight 2 sec break over the 30 plus chasing hard.
Despite the deficit out of T2 Dodet made her way to the front of the field quickly. Running with an intent to win, she remained there for the remainder of the run. Gina Sereno (USA) worked with Baptista before making her move clearly into second. With only a 5sec advantage as the end of the first lap, Dodet continued to work hard and stay off the front. Dodet responded to the pressure and despite Sereno constantly pushing the gap remained the same. A few looks over her shoulder from Dodet did appear to show the run was hurting, but she remained ahead to win by 2 sec. A final surge by Sereno to close the gap in the final few 100m did appear to be too late, as her closing km was slightly quicker than Dodet. Maria Velasquez (COL) was only a further 7 sec to take the battle for 3rd over Marta Pintanel (ESP)
Summary
It pays to race aggressively on the run. Those who took the opportunity on the run won their respective races. Fast running was required, but also decisive moved to make a break on competitors won both races.
In both the men’s and the women’s races the stronger cyclists should have used the undulating course to their advantage and either closed the gap of the swimmers or worked the field hard to stay in touch.
Transitions were valuable, particularly T1 with a fairly tough run from the steep beach to the bike. Losing times in transitions must be addressed as some athletes lost valuable time throughout the race just through sloppy transitions. Attention to detail is the key and keeping things simple are a must.
The swim was important, but did not define the winner. As it was a sprint race, with a short bike the swim did have increasing importance over a standard distance triathlon.
With the Pan Am Games scheduled to be held on the course in 2023, all competitors would benefit from some attention to beach swimming, wading and swimming well in swell and managing an aggressive shore break.
You can check out the post race videos here -
Women's race - here
Men's Race - here
Emma Carney (AUS)
