Britain Edged Out by France in Duathlon Relay
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September 27, 2011 TheFreshOutlook  |
Britain secure duathlon silver behind the French to add to the world title Katie Hewison secured in Gijon on Saturday.
Great Britain lost out on gold by 49 seconds in the 4xMixed relay at the 2011 ITU Duathlon World Championships in Gijon as France powered home to victory.
Newly-crowned world champion Katie Hewison, Matthew Gunby, Georgina Schwiening and Mark Buckingham put in an impressive performance in Spain but were beaten to the title by an increasingly dominant Sandra Levenez, Etienne Diemusch, Sabrina Monmarteau and Nicholas Benoit.
The hosts took the bronze, two and a half minutes behind GB and only five seconds ahead of fourth-placed Russia.
Hewison led for Britain over the first leg, beating Levenez by just a metre after the 2km run, 8km bike ride and a further 1km run. Diemusch caught Gunby up quickly and although the two were neck and neck for much of the competition, the Brit blasted clear over the final lap to put Schwiening in control.
But the Briton suffered a slow transition from the run to the bike and Monmarteau was able to catch up and then overtake her. The fearsome speed of Benoit took over in the final leg and he increased his lead over Buckingham over all three stages to secure victory for the French.
Hewison had secured individual glory on Saturday by holding off Germany’s Jenny Schulz to become world champion for the first time by almost two seconds exactly.
Keeping up with the leading pack for the entire event, she eventually pushed ahead during the second running stage, using the energy she had conserved during the cycling to push past long-time leader Levenez and hold off a similarly spirited display by Schulz.
“I had a lot of injuries last year, and wasn’t able to train much, so this is a fantastic result for me,” said Hewison afterwards. “I’m really, really happy.
“I was a little rusty in the beginning, but I found my legs. The bike was really hard and fast at times. I just had to be patient and keep pushing. I am so delighted. Words can’t even tell you.”
By Leigh Gruffydd Sanders
[Image courtesy of ITU/Janos Schmidt]
