SAMUELS "RAINS" SUPREME OVER WORLD CHAMPION MOFFATT
TRIATHLON, March 27: As hard as she tried not even two-time World champion Emma Moffatt could bridge the gap on courageous New Zealander Nicky Samuels who broke through for her first ITU World Cup Triathlon win on a rain swept course in Mooloolaba today.
The inclement weather certainly didn't dampen the enthusiasm of the athletes or the vocal Sunshine Coast crowd, who spurred Moffatt on after she gave Samuels a two-minute head start at the end of the 40km bike leg.
Moffatt finished a gallant second to Samuels, beaten by 20 seconds with Canberra-based Chilean Barbara Riveros Diaz, third, despite serving penalty time for a transition infringement.
Canada's Paula Findlay put together a strong, consistent race for fourth with Czech girl Vendula Frintova producing the "run of the day" to storm home into fifth, after coming out of the water in 28th position.
There were several withdrawals after the heavens opened through the bike and the run legs, including well credentialed world ranked number three, Swede Lisa Norden and Canada's Kirsten Sweetland as the 64-strong field were forced to contend with driving rain in the back half of the race.
And even Samuels admitted the conditions played into her hands as she dropped Switzerland's Daniela Ryf in the first part of the run after the pair had kicked clear of the 10-strong chase pack on the bike.
Moffatt, using her surf skills from her days in the surf on the NSW North Coast town of Woolgoolga, picked the sand back on the southern end of the 1.5km surf swim course and read the conditions perfectly, to be right on the first turning buoy.
Many of the European competitors struggled to negotiate the one-metre dumping waves, leaving Moffatt with a clear swim and she emerged from the water first, closely followed by Switzerland's Melanie Annaheim, British girl Liz Blatchford and Samuels.
But it was the brave move by Samuels and Gold Coast-based Swizz girl Ryf to breakaway on the bike, that set up Samuels win.
She knew if she led going into the final 2.5km run, she could hold off Moffatt, who never gave in as she chased hard over the entire run course.
"The conditions played to my advantage especially with the chop and the surf; I didn't have a very good start but I still turned around the first buoy in third," Samuels said.
"When it started raining that's when we (extended) our gap in the cycle and I was able to hold on to that lead in the run.
"My race plan was solely to breakaway in the bike. I've worked with the same trainer for the last two years and it's all just building up this year towards the selection for the Olympics. It is a key year for us.
"This is my first win at this level. I was third in a World Cup a couple of years ago and haven't done so well since then so this is my first World Cup win.
"I've done this race so many times and you sort of get used to it and the hill's not getting any smaller I can tell you that."
Moffatt praised Samuels and admitted she won't give her a two minute lead again when the pair rub shoulders in the opening round of the ITU Dextro Energy World Championship Series in Sydney in two weeks.
"You never want to give anyone two minutes lead up the road, it really shouldn't have happened but it did and we'll be keeping an eye on both of them (Samuels and Ryf) in Sydney and making sure it doesn't happen again," Moffatt said.
"It was tough, it's always tough here, Mooloolaba is a race that I love and hate - it's an awesome atmosphere; the crowd was amazing but that hill (between Mooloolaba and Alexandra Headland) just hurts every time.
"There was also a bit of a dodgy corner down the other end and quite a number of the girls were crashing and I think a few of us were going at snail's pace around that corner.
"We were all trying to be safe, we've all got Sydney in two weeks and nobody wanted to risk anything this early in the season."
It's the second time Moffatt's been second at Mooloolaba and she admitted she was happy with her first Olympic distance race of the year.
She was then reminded that the race also saw her crowned the Australian Champion.
Moffatt replied with: "I'm good at winning things without actually winning" referring to the fact that she won the World Championship last year although she never actually won a round.
"But that (winning) is something I'm working on for the future," said Moffatt, with boyfriend, coach and yesterday's elite men's winner Brad Kahlefeldt in ear shot.
"Obviously I would love to have won, but I'm happy with second, it's better than third and I'm just happy that it's over.
"I was pretty uncertain how I was going coming into here so I'm pretty happy and hopefully I can get a bit of confidence out of this race for the season."
The world's best triathletes will now prepare for Sydney in a fortnight and what should be a spectacular start over the Sydney 2000 Olympic course with both the men's and women's races set down for Sunday, April 10.
And you get the impression Moffatt won't turn the World Championship Series opener into a handicap race, especially with all-important Olympic points and selection on offer.'