Gomez, Gentle On Top At Beijing International Tri
Coming off of two big-time performances, current ITU world champion Javier Gomez of Spain won Sunday's Beijing International Triathlon.
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Coming off of two big-time performances, current ITU world champion Javier Gomez of Spain won Sunday’s Beijing International Triathlon for the second year in a row. Australia’s Ashleigh Gentle, also an ITU specialist, took the women’s vicotry. More than 1,000 professional and amateur athletes from more than 40 countries participated in the third annual Beijing International Triathlon.
RELATED PHOTOS: 2014 Beijing International Triathlon
This year’s new race location started and finished inside the Garden Expo Park, in the eco-friendly Fengtai district of Beijing. The new Olympic-distance race featured a 1.5 km swim through Garden Expo Lake, a challenging 40 km bike race through the villages of Fengtai and up Qian Ling Mountain, the highest peak in Southwest Beijing, and a final 10 km run through the lush gardens and scenic trails of the Garden Expo Park, including a 606-step stair climb.
A prestigious field of the world’s top professional triathletes, including Gomez, Matt “Boom Boom” Reed (USA), Greg Bennett (AUS), Mario Mola (ESP), Josh Amberger (AUS), Brian Fleischmann (USA), Graham O’Grady (NZL), Laura Bennett (USA), Ricarda Lisk (GER), Carolina Routier Canigueral (ESP), Emma-Kate Lidbury (GBR), Gentle and Yi Zhang (CHN), all competed for $100,000 in prize money.
“This new course was really tough, the bike was technical with lots of hills and turns, I had to really push hard to stay with Josh and Greg during the bike portion of the race,” said Gomez. “I caught them on the first portion of the run, then I powered up the stairs to secure a strong lead. I felt really good at this point so I just kept pushing through the run to hold on to the win.”
“The course was amazing, especially the bike leg, it was quite challenging and that is where I was able to catch Carolina and then Laura,” said Gentle. “I loved the race—the course, the people and the location.”
2014 Beijing International Triathlon
Beijing, China – Sept. 14, 2014
1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run
Men
1. Javier Gomez (ESP) 1:55:32
2. Josh Amberger (AUS) 1:56:51
3. Greg Bennett (AUS) 1:57:28
Women
1. Ashleigh Gentle (AUS) 2:08:12
2. Ricarda Lusk (GER) 2:11:25
3. Laura Bennett (USA) 2:13:35