French Grand Prix Triathlon – Dunkerque 2011

22nd May 2011 – Dunkerque, France

Sartrouville took their second win of the 2011 series when only Joao Silva of Les Sable Vendee Tri separated the Brownlee brothers, Alistair and Jonathan, from their team’s third finisher Javier Gomez. The race however had not gone entirely to plan for the winning team.

“You get an U23 box in Grands Prix and when there is us starting next to the under 23s like in Nice we get absolutely hammered because they are more about trying to swim with us than they are about swimming forward” Alistair Brownlee explained. “So we thought ‘right, we will go the opposite side to them’ which we did and then after about a hundred metres me and Gomez were in the side of the dock trying to fight to get out of it. Then I went miles round the first buoy and had to swim back up.”

Despite this setback Sartrouville’s Richard Varga was second out of the swim with Jonathan Brownlee leading Alistair from the water a couple of places behind. Gomez made his way to transition another 10 seconds later. With the first three finishers of each team counting to the result Alistair slowed and brought him back into the lead bike pack where the quartet worked to built a gap over the five lap course which allowed the older Brownlee to get away from the rest of the field as he started the run with Jonathan and Joao Silva in pursuit.

Behind them Laurent Vidal and Ryan Sissons, racing for Lagardere Paris, and Rouen’s Tom Bishop managed to keep pace with the Brownlees and Silva but the minutes lost to them in the swim and on the bike were enough to see Alistair cross the line first with his younger brother finishing 10 seconds later comfortably ahead of Silva with Gomez taking fourth.

“I just wanted to have a good race today,” Alistair said after the race. “I haven’t raced for a while, it’s a Grand Prix and it’s a training session aswell and I wanted to have a good run out. Last time I waited for him (Jonathan) at the finish and everybody goes ‘why didn’t you run very fast’ and I was like ” ’cause I was waiting” so that is why I wanted to do a proper time.”

Whilst the Brownlees are able to compete alongside their main World Championship Series rival Javier Gomez, in the women’s races the series’ rivals are spread throughout the teams. Current World Champion Emma Moffatt now back at her European training base for the summer races for Charleville Tri Ardennes, Barbara Riveros Diaz competes for Tri Val de Gray and Andrea Hewitt races for Poissy.

Exiting the water with only a few seconds between them a lead pack containing these race favourites quickly formed. Moffatt’s team mate, Britain’s Vicky Holland who was CTA’s highest placed finisher at the first race in Nice, was one of the first to drop out with her first ever puncture during a race – her attempt to get to the next wheel change almost a whole lap away foiled when she felt the rear tyre sliding away dangerously as she went round corners.

Starting the run it was Moffatt who led the way with Riveros Diaz and Hewitt close behind. As she increased the pace so the trio began to pull away from the rest of the field.

However having been at the front for the majority of the race, Hewitt led by several metres as the trio entered the finish chute. Moffatt pushed again but was unable to catch the Poissy triathlete though the clock was unable to split them.

Once the team races were finished the town then saw the 25th running of the open race, the Triathlon de Dunkerque, which has been won by such notables as Susanne Nielsen, Jenny Rose and Beatrice Mouthon in the women’s race and by Chris McCormack, Matt Reed, Lothar Leder, Didier Volckaert and 4 times winner Remy Rampteau in the men’s since Francis Provo’s victory in the inaugural race in 1986.

MEN OVERALL

1. Alistair Brownlee                   (EC Sartrouville)                 00:56:30
2. Jonathan Brownlee               (EC Sartrouville)                 00:56:40
3. Joao Silva                              (Les Sables Vendee Tri)     00:57:00

WOMEN OVERALL

1. Andrea Hewitt                       (Poissy Triathlon)                  1:03:36
2. Emma Moffatt                       (Charleville Tri Ardennes)      1:03:36
3. Barbara Riveros Diaz            (Tri Val de Gray)                    1:03:39

MEN’S TEAMS (Individual finish positions in brackets)

1. EC SARTROUVILLE
Total time 2:50:08
Position totals = 9 (+2 penalty points)

Alistair Brownlee                                        00:56:30 (  1)
Jonathan Brownlee                                    00:56:40 (  2)
Javier Gomez                                             00:57:08 (  4)

2. LES SABLES VENDEE TRI
Total time 2:53:54
Position totals = 16

Joao Silva                                                   00:57:00 (  3)
Anthony Pujades                                        00:58:08 (  6)
Brad Kahlefeldt                                           00:58:16 ( 7)

3. POISSY TRIATHLON
Total time 2:54:40
Position totals = 26

Bertrand Billard                                          00:57:50 (  5)
Tony Moulai                                                00:58:23 (  9)
Gregory Rouault                                         00:58:27 (12)

WOMEN’S TEAMS (Individual finish positions in brackets)

1. POISSY TRIATHLON
Total time 3:12:02
Position totals = 16

Andrea Hewitt                                              01:03:36 (  1)
Carole Peon                                                 01:04:13 (  7)
Kate McIlroy                                                 01:04:13 (  8)

2. CHARLEVILLE TRI ARDENNES
Total time 3:12:57
Pos: 19

Emma Moffatt                                             01:03:36 (  2)
Sarah Groff                                                 01:04:05 (  5)
Anja Dittmer                                                01:05:16 (12)

3. TCG 79 PARTHENAY
Total time 3:15:54
Pos: 32

Emma Jackson                                           01:03:54 ( 4)
Ainhoa Murua                                             01:04:48 (11)
Laurie Belkadi                                             01:06:52 (17)

POSITIONS AFTER TWO RACES

MENS TEAM’S

1. EC Sartrouville                               40
2. Les Sables Vendee Tri                   32
3. Lagardere Paris Racing                 32
4. Poissy Tri                                       32
5. Rouen Tri                                       24

WOMEN’S TEAMS

1. Poissy Tri                                       30
2. Charleville Tri Ardennes                 22
3. Lagardere Paris Racing                 21
4. Tri Club Chateauroux 36                20
5. TCG 79 Parthenay                         17

Ph. : +44 (0) 7770 792143 | [ E Mail ]