Message sent. The top overall seeds for this weekend’s Tiszaujvaros World Cup made no mistake as they sewed up their spots in tomorrow’s final. The women’s event saw two semi-finals whittle down the field, with the top-14 in each, plus the two fastest athletes thereafter, qualifying. From three men’s heats, the top-9 in each would qualify with three “lucky losers” being added on the basis of their times. Ahead of the finals – which will be live tomorrow on TriathlonLive from 15:45 (CEST) – find out how the semi-finals played out below.
Women
Semi-final 1
Ilaria Zane (ITA) was a last minute withdrawal due to illness, clearing the path for others to potentially make the final, and when the starter’s horn sounded, it seemed like Anja Weber (SUI) had been fired out of a cannon. Lisa Tertsch (GER) and Jessica Fullagar (GBR) tailed her round the first lap as they tried to get back onto her feet. Under Weber’s pressure, the field broke up, particularly on the final third lap, however it was Tertsch who led out of the water. Weber, Fullagar and Tilda Månsson (SWE) followed, ensuring most of the first heat’s heavy-hitters were at the front.
Månsson was the last of the trio to exit T1 within 10 seconds of Tertsch. Meanwhile, those outside the top-10 stared down the barrel of a 45 second deficit. During the bike, Månsson ran into difficulty to leave three at the front. Everyone else was over a minute back. The leaders would ultimately arrive in T2 with a lead of 1:23 over a chase pack that contained Lea Coninx (FRA), Costanza Arpinelli (ITA), Manami Hayashi (JPN), Carina Reicht (AUT) and more. Månsson was at the tail end of the chase group.
Her task all but complete, Tertsch could afford to power down over the 5km run. Fullagar was still with her and the two had such a yawning lead they could share a laugh as they figured out how many laps remained. The German, however, is nothing if not ferociously competitive and sure enough she burned away from Tertsch on the final straight to take the win, which may not be her last of the weekend.
Fullagar was next home while Månsson led the chase pack that had passed an also safe Weber. As all of the chase pack qualified, Mercedes Romero Orozco (MEX) took 14th place with the women directly behind hoping for one of the two lucky loser slots based on the overall times across the two semi-finals.
Semi-final 2
Tilly Anema (GBR) led from Erin McConnell (IRL) and Zuzana Michalickova (SVK) out of the water. The Brit promptly turned a 6 second lead into a 10 second advantage with a smart T1. Breakaways have been her weapon of choice this year and today she had a perfect trial run ahead of potentially setting one up in tomorrow’s final. Selina Klamt (GER), Sophie Alden (GBR) and Jolien Vermeylen (BEL) then grouped around Michalickova as the leaders remained closer together than in semi-final 1. Sara Guerrero Manso (ESP) and Beatrice Mallozzi (ITA) were among those perilously balanced around the 14th place cut-off.
A pack of seven at the end of the first bike with Barbara De Koning (NED) completing the group. A cohort of eleven were over 50 seconds back, adding real jeopardy to making the top-14. Alden led out of T2 as the lead group remained intact before Klamt took over at the front. With all seven safe leaders there was no need to over-exert themselves. Things were rather more fraught in the chase pack as Dominika Peszleg (HUN) led a group including Guerrero and Mallozzi, but eighteen had to squeeze into fourteen.
In the end, Klamt won comfortably to give Germany a double semi-final success. Interestingly, she clocked a faster overall time than Tertsch too, although there is only so much one can read into that. McConnell was next home ahead of De Koning. Alden and Michalickova subsequently followed while having a chat during what resembled a leisurely afternoon stroll.
Kelly Wetteland (USA) was the best of chasers with Guerrero and Peszleg in pursuit. Mallozzi arrived later but was also safe. Taking 14th was Ana Maria Valentina Torres Gomez (MEX) while Alessia Orla (ROU) and Zuzanna Sudak (POL) followed with fast enough times to claim the final two slots for the final.
Men
Semi-final 1
Márk Dévay (HUN) did Márk Dévay things as he led out of the water from Igor Dupuis (FRA) and overwhelming favourite Csongor Lehmann (HUN). Dévay and Dupuis exited T1 with the better part of 10 seconds over Lehmann and the rest having already stretched the field on their quest for position in the top-9. Lehmann hit the front on the bike as part of a breakaway of five (alongside Gregor Rasva (EST) and Gergő Dobi (HUN)) and by the midpoint they led by 69 seconds. The chase of twelve therefore faced a real scrap for the final slots.
Come the end of the bike, the gap had grown to 1:55 and Lehmann and Dévay showed their WTCS class with textbook transitions. Such was their lead, they could have afforded to stop for an ice cream as would have been apt in the Tiszy heat. Like Tertsch, though, Lehmann was intent on asserting his status as favourite and pulled clear to win. It was all just too easy for him.
Jayden Schofield (AUS) led into the run from the chase group but a fight was brewing. Aurelien Jem (FRA), Izan Edo Aguilar (ESP) and Takumi Hojo (JPN) took over, with Baptiste Passemard (FRA) holding 9th place, albeit tenuously. Jem floated along, Edo looked ice cool and Hojo was untroubled. However Passemard was struck by what looked like a stitch and fell behind Schofield, who in turn was under pressure.
The top-5 were therefore safe, as were Jem, Edo and Hojo. At the last, Schofield fended off a surge from Britain’s Dominic Coy to hold onto 9th place.
Semi-final 2
Another Hungarian, Gyula Kovács, led the swim and was the first onto the bike in heat 2. Behind, eighteen men were within 20 seconds so all was up for grabs. One individual not in that cluster was the top seed of the semi-final (and second seed overall) Maxime Hueber-Moosbrugger (FRA). The winner of the Samarkand World Cup was 24 seconds back. By the end of the first of the two bike laps, the front group of eighteen remained with no sign of Hueber-Moosbrugger. Indeed, he was a worrying 55 seconds back.
Bence Bicsák (HUN) was an experienced face in a sea of youngsters at the front. Whizzing around him were Kovács, João Nuno Batista (POR), Andree Buc (CHI) and David Lang (LUX). With a neat attack, Fabian Schönke (GER) earned a slight 8 second gap into T2. Batista cut that to 5 seconds as he led the chasers onto the run.
While Schönke faded, you could have thrown a net over the leading nine men at the end of the opening run lap. Buc, Batista and Lang were all there, as were Aoba Yasumatsu (JPN), Genis Grau (ESP) and Kovács. Bicsák hovered a few metres behind. The Hungarian athlete then made it ten at the front, but one of the leaders, Eduardo Nunez Gomez (MEX), faced a 10 second penalty for swim behaviour. Worse for him, with a lap to go the pace was not high enough compared to the first semi-final to secure a fastest loser slot.
At the finish, Bicsák nabbed a second Hungarian semi-final win. Samuele Angelini (ITA) and Nathan Grayel (FRA) also crossed in the top-9 however Nunez’s final time was ultimately not enough to qualify.
Semi-final 3
Márton Kropkó (HUN) got one over Zalán Hóbor (HUN) in the three-lap swim but Hóbor overtook his countryman in transition. Japan’s Kyotaro Yoshikawa was the only man that could live with them at the start and the trio had over 15 seconds on the field to play with going into the bike. Top seed Jack Willis (GBR) was in the chase of nine men, as were Gergely Kiss (HUN) and Sylvain Fridelance (SUI), and halfway into the bike the gap was down to 8 seconds.
By the time T2 was in sight, the leaders were back together as a dozen. This set up the most dramatic finale of any of the semi-finals.
Kropkó hit the run first on a personal mission to complete the home sweep of men’s semi-final wins. Along with Willis, Fridelance, Seth Rider (USA) and Jonas Osterholt (GER), he led a top-5 that separated themselves from the rest. Kiss followed in a secure position with Hóbor and Zsombor Deváy (HUN) next. Yoshikawa, though, was in a struggle with teammate Koki Yamamoto for 9th place.
With a lap to go, Thomas Windischbauer (AUT) passed both the duelling Japanese duo. Then came a flying Bradley Course (AUS) as he made his way past them too. Four men thus contested one slot, although Course – who had started the run behind – was moving fast enough to threaten the fastest losers from the first semi-final.
Up ahead, Kropkó took the win after some cat-and-mouse antics with Osterholt. Behind, however, Hóbor faded and Course found himself up to 8th. And then from nowhere, there was Schofield. It had been a long day and it could have been a hallucination replaying semi-final 2, but in fact Luke Schofield (AUS) had produced a storming final lap to somehow appear in 9th and qualify for the final alongside his brother. The thwarted Windischbauer and Yamamoto had nonetheless done enough to get 10th and 11th and slots as lucky losers slot alongside Coy by mere seconds.