KEY POINTS:
New Zealand triathlete Kris Gemmell led from the start of the bike leg to secure his third World Cup triathlon victory with a commanding win in Rhodes, Greece today.
The world No 5 imposed his aggressive race plan on the rest of the field early in the bike leg, quickly establishing a substantial break on a world-class group of triathletes, including former world champion Ivan Rana (Spain) and world No 2 Brad Kahlefelt (Australia).
Gemmell was joined by Brazilian Reinaldo Colluci and the two worked well to establish a lead of 15 seconds on chasers Sven Reiderer (Switzerland) and Alistair Brownlee (UK), while the main pack were over a minute behind as they headed out on the 10km run.
That huge effort on the bike did not show as Gemmell immediately went to work, with just the 18-year-old Brownlee able to stay with his hot pace. Neither athlete appeared affected by the hot conditions, in and out of the water with wetsuits not required in the 26 degree water temperature.
After running side by side for most of the 10km distance, the New Zealand No 2 surged away from Brownlee with apparent ease in the final 200m to score yet another win for New Zealand in a World Cup race.
Meanwhile, fellow New Zealander Blair Jordan struggled to make an impact in Rhodes, dropping off the pace throughout the bike and run legs, and eventually withdrew from the event.
Nicky Samuels finished 33rd in the wqomen's section.
Samuels was five minutes, 32 seconds behind the winner Vanessa Fernandes, of Portugal.
The world champion crossed the finish line in 2hr 2min 06sec followed by Briton Andrea Whitcombe, who was 58 seconds behind, and Vendula Frintova, of the Czech Republic, a further 1min 15sec behind in third.
- NZPA
