TRIATHLON - World No1 ranking within Warriner's reach

Sam Warriner is poised for a bold and unexpected tilt at the ITU World Cup triathlon title in Mexico after a gritty podium finish at the Lorient World Cup race in France at the weekend.
Warriner finished second, her 12th career podium finish but, more importantly, the result has boosted her from third in the world rankings to second. It has pushed her to within striking distance of ending her remarkable season ranked No1.
It was also a display of raw courage from Warriner, who has battled to come to terms with a heartbreaking Olympic race and went into the race in Lorient determined to bury any doubts.
"It meant so much because of my disappointment at the Olympics. People say that champions are ones that come back from a failure and disappointment and today I did that. Every time I stand on the podium at a World Cup there is no better feeling because you know what it took to get there," Warriner said. "So [the] result was not only great to say, `Sam is back', but also as I have now cemented my spot as the World Cup No2 and I'm only 24 points behind the No1 spot. So one more good position at Mexico could mean I take the top spot," she said.
On a sunny and crisp morning in north-western France, Warriner's race to silver in the first World Cup race since the Olympic Games came only after a dogged fightback on the cycle leg. Warriner finished 34 seconds adrift of Lisa Norden of Sweden. I was her first world cup victory and the first for Sweden in ITU history. Warriner was off the pace after the first swim leg after being caught unawares by the starter, but worked her way back in the cycle then ran through the pack on the last leg. "The referee did not say the usual, `Athletes, you're under the starter's command'. He just said, `Get set and then go', so I belly-flopped into the water. However, I did not panic. I just focused on getting out there and got to the buoy on the inside and held my position in the main pack for the whole swim," she said.
"I came out in the main bunch, had a great transition and led the chase to the front two and caught them on the second lap. The bike was then erratic and messy. For the first few kilometres [of the run] I did not feel great but was determined to hang on to the front runners who one by one dropped off the pace except for one. I ran well, considering my strong bike so I was stoked. I could not keep up with the pace of Lisa Norden [Sweden] but to finish so strongly at the end and be back on the podium at the World Cup was awesome." Warriner's move up in the World Cup series rankings puts her within striking distance of the overall series title leader Felicity Abram of Australia. Abram faltered in France with an 11th-place finish.
Warriner was the best of a strong Kiwi contingent at Lorient. Andrea Hewitt finished inside the top ten (9th), Debbie Tanner was 14th while Nicky Samuels recorded an encouraging 17th on her return to World Cup racing after an injury-plagued few months.
In the men's race New Zealander Clark Ellice recorded a brilliant result in finishing 7th, 44sec behind the medals. Kris Gemmell withdrew.
The final series event will be in Huatulco, Mexico on October 26.