After a tremendous victory at Ironman 70.3 Brazil, a 3rd place finish at WTCS Yokohama and victory in the Mallorca Olympic, Hidalgo had his sights set on another world class performance in the third event of the World Triathlon Championship Series, this time in Italy. And did the Brazilian deliver. An exceptional allround performance saw the BMC athlete storming to victory in Alghero and writing history delivering Brazil's first ever World Triathlon Championship Series gold medal with an outstanding run to the title.
After a lead group of 9 put 90 seconds into the rest of the field onto the bike, Hidalgo flew out of transition and detonated a first lap that nobody else could touch. That was where he would stay, too, taking nearest challengers Hauser and Leo Bergere out of the equation and taking the tape by 28 seconds from the Australian. With this result Hidalgo moves up to 2nd in the overall World Series standings.
Best feeling I ever had
"'It’s the best feeling I ever had in a race, days like this you just have to enjoy and go for it", Hidalgo reflected. "'I saw that in the women’s race those on the right of the start had a bit of an advantage so I was happy to see Hauser go right too and give me faith I’d made the right choice. If it wasnt for Leo we wouldn't have had the breakaway, he worked so hard at the start of the bike. We opened up a good gap and kept it going so I was happy to keep guys like Cantero and Milner away. I started to feel good on the run and it is never a good choice to leave it late with Matt Hauser, so I set my pace and kept it. From the first lap I was just trying to keep focussed and its such an important moment for me, my team and Brazilian triathlon and I' m really proud of this one. I pour my heart, soul, and all my energy into moments like this!"
Lucy Byram takes excellent 6th place finish at T100 San Francisco
Lucy Byram has finished 6th at T100 San Francisco after a charge through the field on the bike and run. The BMC athlete came all the way back from 17th place at the start of the bike, but battled her way forward to cross the line in a time of 3:48:22. Julie Derron (SUI; 3:38:46) won the race in front of Taylor Knibb (USA; 3:40:51) and Kate Waugh (GBR; 3:43:00).
Coming straight of the BMC Pro Tri team training camp, it was all business again for Lucy Byram in San Francisco. After having a difficult swim in the cold water and strong current, she entered T1 in 17th place, 2 minutes back from the leaders. That’s where her charge through the field started. In the first 20k on the bike, Byram had already moved up to 10th place, closing down the gap towards top 7 to 40 seconds. On the challenging up and down bike course, the BMC athlete managed to connect with 7th place around the 60k mark. Lucy immediately broke away to enter T2 in sole possession of that 7th position.
The British athlete started her run in a solid pace, inching closer to the athletes in front of her. Sticking to her pace, she shortly fell back to 8th place, but she kept the pressure on. At the 10k mark, Lucy had caught up with Sanchez in 7th as the duo ran shoulder to shoulder for the next kilometres. Just before the final of four laps, Byram was able to break away and take sole possession of 7th place again. But the BMC athlete wanted more. By keeping her pace high, Lucy made another pass to take over control of 6th place with 2k to go. So, after a difficult swim, but very strong bike-run combination Lucy Byram crossed the finish line in a time of 3:38:22, taking home a solid 6th place.
Surprised on the run
After her race, Lucy Byram shared her thought about her day. “I am definitely happy with this result. I didn’t really know what to expect today. I just wanted to put in a good performance. I have also been coming down with a cold the last few days, so that wasn’t ideal. I’m not sure what happened on the swim. I’ll have to look back at the replay to figure that part out. I’m really happy to have a strong bike and also surprised myself on the run with the build-up I’ve had.”
Teammate Antonio Benito Lopez toed the line at T100 San Francisco as well. After a more than solid swim, Antonio exited the water in 13rd place, only 30 seconds back of the leaders. On the bike and run, the Spaniard didn’t have the day he was hoping for. After pushing through, he crossed the finish line in 16th place.
