Mario Mola Claims ITU World Cup Mooloolaba Title
The No.1-ranked athlete on the start list didn’t disappoint with his second major win in a week.
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Photos: Delly Carr/Triathlon.org
Spain’s Mario Mola was billed as the “benchmark” in the men’s race at Mooloolaba on Saturday, and the No.1-ranked athlete on the start list didn’t disappoint with his second major win in a week.
In hot, humid conditions on Australia’s Sunshine Coast, Mola was pushed by his compatriot Vicente Hernandez until the final lap. But just like in Abu Dhabi last week, Mola proved too strong and crossed the line in 52:54. And it came after a close call, after he just avoided a spill early on in the bike leg.
“I tried to be in the best position possible for the whole bike, I knew we were going to be a big pack… I think at that point I like fourth or fifth, but the guy just in front of me crashed and I just couldn’t stop, I just tried to stay on my bike,” Mola said. “But luckily when these things happen and you are in the front, you can still draft from the guys behind…if I had been further back in the pack I would have struggled to get back into the race.”
“It’s a great atmosphere, it’s my favorite race here and my second win. In 2014 I was able to get it too, so I think I’ll be back again.”
After a 31-second silence at the start of hte race to honor the late Laurent Vidal, Mola said it the race win had extra meaning.
“It was a really special one, I like to honor Laurent Vidal, we had 31 seconds of silence before the start and this win is for him,” Mola said.
Read the race recap at Triathlon.org