 |  | ITU World Cup - Ishigaki Whitfield on top in Ishigaki (April 13, 2008)
Sydney Olympic Champion Simon Whitfield of Canada continues his quest for another Olympic title with a win at the Ishigaki BG Triathlon World Cup today. Whitfield showed a field of top Olympians that he still has kick in his legs to claim his 11th world cup title, in a time of 1 hour 51 minutes and 12 seconds. Close behind in second was 2007 big prize money winner Rasmus Henning of Denmark, 10 seconds back. Rounding out the podium was Russia’s Ivan Vasiliev another 11 seconds back, who just managed to outlast a charging Peter Robertson of Australia. In fifth was Britain’s Tim Don, who also ran back from over a minute deficit after the bike to finish in the top-5.
"That was good, a great way to start the year. I've been coming here for 12 years and never been close to the podium, "said Whitfield after his win, which ties him for second all-time world cup wins with Kiwi and fellow Olympic gold medalist Hamish Carter. “When I was running along I was thinking 'Come on, this might be my last time here so I have to win this thing’. It's my first win in Japan so it's a thrill, never done that. “
As temperatures rose to almost 30 degrees Celsius with 100% humidity, 44 men dived into the warm coastal waters of Ishigaki Harbour for the non-wetsuit swim. It was not until the second of the two-lap swim before a definite break was visible in the long line of starters with local favourite Hirokatsu Tayama of Japan leading the way. Despite a slow first lap Whitfield managed to finish strong, moving into the front group for the start of the hilly bike segment.
Just as in the women’s race earlier, the efficient lead group continued to put time on their chasers throughout the 40-kilometre bike course, coming into second transition over a minute ahead of top contenders Robertson and Don.
Immediately moving the front of the hill-ridden run course was Whitfield, followed closely by Henning and Vasiliev. Vasiliev was the first to fall off the leader’s pace at the 5-kilometre mark leaving the two world cup veterans. On the final downhill Whitfield would open up to drop Henning and run solo to the finish. Both Robertson and Don made a bid for the podium over the 10-kilometre run, coming within 6 seconds of a top-3. But neither had a chance at catching Whitfield as he made his first world cup win of 2008 look easy with a 31:43 run split.
With the strong performances so far in 2008 the Australian and Russian men have pulled ahead of Switzerland for the final spot to qualify three athletes for the Beijing Olympics. Olympic qualification ends on June 8th at the Vancouver BG Triathlon World Championships.
2008 Ishigaki BG Triathlon World Cup
1 – Simon Whitfield (CAN) 1:51:12
2 – Rasmus Henning (DEN) 1:51:22 +:10
3 – Ivan Vasiliev (RUS) 1:51:33 +:21
4 – Peter Robertson (AUS) 1:51:39 +:27
5 – Tim Don (GBR) 1:51:43 +:31
6 – Reto Hug (SUI) 1:51:46 +:34
7 – Alexander Brukhankov (RUS) 1:51:54 +:42
8 – Simon Thompson (AUS) 1:52:00 +:48
9 – Hirokatsu Tayama (JPN) 1:52:04 +:52
10 – Dmitriy Gaag (KAZ) 1:52:12 +1:00
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