Share the post "TRIATHLON – WTS Leeds (M): Jacob Birtwhistle wins, Vincent Luis 5th"
First ever WTS victory for @JakeBirtwhistle in #WTSLeeds after a dominant run pic.twitter.com/KUAahE58Xc
— TriathlonLIVE (@triathlonlive) June 9, 2019
With two victories already this year (Dorian Coninx in Bermuda and Vincent Luis in Yokohama (Jpn)), the French athletes are performing well on the world circuit. But today, on this 4th stage held in the streets of Leeds, the French Team had significantly less success.
Over the 1,500m swim, no athlete was able to open up a gap. On the French side, they exited well-placed: Pierre Le Corre 5th, Vincent Luis 6th, Dorian Coninx 9th, Léo Bergère 16th, and Simon Viain further back in 49th position.
The battle intensified on the bike with numerous attacks on the first straight section to reach the urban circuit laid out in Leeds city center. From the start of the 1st lap, two men, Dorian Coninx and Jonathan Brownlee (Gbr), broke away. The two escapees worked well together, but they were controlled at a distance by a peloton of 25 men, which included Pierre Le Corre, Vincent Luis, and Léo Bergère, but not Mario Mola, the triple world champion, who was distanced after the swim and was in another group 1 minute behind.
Dorian Coninx and Jonathan Brownlee were caught before T2. Exiting the bike park, Germany's Jonas Schomburg took the lead for the 10k. Pierre Le Corre exited in 2nd position, Léo Bergère in 5th, Vincent Luis in 6th, and Dorian Coninx in 14th.
At the end of the 2nd running lap (halfway through the run), Jonas Schomburg was reeled in while Spain's Javier Gomez and South Africa's Henri Schoeman took the lead of the race, and the French remained well-placed (Le Corre 5th, Luis 9th, Coninx 13th, Bergère 14th).
As the bell rang for the final 2.5 km lap, Australia's Jacob Birtwhistle joined the lead group of four other men (Schoeman, Gomez, Ward, and McElroy). The French were behind. Vincent Luis was the best placed, 6th at 14 seconds, in a chase group that also included Pierre Le Corre. Dorian Coninx was 13th at 35 seconds and Léo Bergère 17th at 55 seconds, while Simon Viain made a good comeback to 21st place.
In this final lap, Jacob Birtwhistle accelerated and dropped everyone. He won solo, claiming his first victory on the world circuit.
No French athlete appeared in the top 5: Vincent Luis was 6th, Pierre Le Corre 8th, Dorian Coninx 12th, and Léo Bergère 20th. Simon Viain, who struggled at the start of the event, finished 19th.
Share the post "TRIATHLON – WTS Leeds (M): Jacob Birtwhistle wins, Vincent Luis 5th"
