Martin Schulz continues unbeaten run in Besancon

Paralympic champion secures second Para triathlon World Cup in 2018 18 Jun 2018
Imagen
Martin Schulz of Germany emerges from the water in the swim portion of the men's PT4 class during the Aquece Rio Paratriathlon at Copacabana beach.

Martin Schulz of Germany emerges from the water in the swim portion of the men's PT4 class during the Aquece Rio Paratriathlon at Copacabana beach.

ⒸGetty Images
By Adam Bailey | For the IPC

Germany’s Martin Schulz continued his comeback from injury at the ITU (International Triathlon Union) World Cup in Besancon, France, on Sunday (17 June) by extending his winning streak.

The 28-year-old struggled with an ankle problem earlier this year, but won his second PTS5 race of the year having made a triumphant World Cup return three weeks ago in Eton Dorney, Great Britain.

Schulz, who has not been beaten since the 2015 World Championships, pulled away on the 750m swim, before extending his lead further on the 21.35km bike and the 5km run to cross the line in 1:02:05. France’s Yannick Bourseaux secured second almost three-and-a-half minutes behind while Russia’s Alexandr Ialchik* completed the podium.

Four for France

There was joy for the host nation as Gwladys Lemoussu defended her title in the women’s PTS5, one four French winners at the event.

Lemoussu (1:16:54) exited the water four seconds behind Canada’s Kamylle Frenette. However strong bike and run segments saw her finish two minutes ahead of the early race leader. Ukraine’s Alisa Kolpakchy claimed bronze.

Ahmed Andaloussi claimed his second World Cup victory of the season in the men’s PTWC, repeating his victory from May’s Aguilas World Cup. Just one second separated Austria’s Florian Brungraber in silver from France’s Alexandre Paviza in bronze.

After two World Cup silvers, Annouck Curzillat (1:20:26) finally struck gold on home territory in the women’s PTVI. She finished ahead of Germany’s Lena Dieter and Italy’s Anna Barbaro respectively.

France’s Elise Marc (1:26:39) was the sole competitor in the women’s PTS3 event.

Seconds separate medallists

The top four in the men’s PTS2 event were separated by just over a minute with Russian Vasily Egorov* (1:14:12) the race winner. The Netherlands’ Maurits Morsink was second while France’s Jules Ribstein held off German challenger Stefan Loesler by just four seconds to pick up the bronze.

There was another close battle for bronze in the men’s PTS4 with 80 seconds separating third to eighth-place. Denmark’s Havard Vatnhamar held on to reach the podium finishing behind Austrian race winner Oliver Dreier (1:09:27) and Luxembourg’s second-place finisher Joe Kurt.

Serbia’s Lazar Filipovic (1:09:21) won a close race in the men’s PTVI, crossing the line 29 seconds ahead of Ukraine’s Vasyl Zakrevskyi in second. The battle for bronze saw France’s Antoine Perel and compatriot Arnaud Grandjean neck-and-neck heading into the run but it was the latter who proved the stronger of the two.

In the women’s PTWC race, Australia’s Lauren Parker (1:26:02) secured her first Para triathlon victory. After the swim the former able-bodied triathlete was over three minutes behind France’s Mona Francis and two minutes behind the Netherlands’ Margret Ijdema. But a superb performance on the bike saw Parker build an unusable lead and cross the line seven minutes ahead of her rivals. Ijdema settled for silver and Francis the bronze.

The men’s PTS3 was dominated by Germany’s Max Gelhaar (1:23:08). Silver went to France’s Michael Herter, followed by Croatia’s Antun Bosnjakovic.

The Netherlands’ Saskia Van Den Ouden (1:51:19) was the lone athlete in the women’s PTS2, and Russia’s Anna Plotnikova (1:26:06) in the women’s PTS4.

Complete results of the Besancon World Cup can be found on the ITU’s website.

*Editor's note: The International Paralympic Committee suspended the Russian Paralympic Committee on 7 August 2016 for its inability to fulfil its IPC membership responsibilities and obligations, in particular its obligation to comply with the IPC Anti-Doping Code and the World Anti-Doping Code (to which it is also a signatory). As a result of the suspension, Russian athletes cannot enter IPC sanctioned events or competitions, including the Paralympic Games. For further information please click here.