Abu Dhabi: Spain’s Mario Mola said the conditions could not have been tougher after he defied the intense heat and a penalty to win the ITU World Triathlon Abu Dhabi for the second consecutive year on Saturday afternoon.
Mola exited the swim field near the end and then gained a penalty in transition one for an equipment infringement at the Corniche extravaganza, which featured a 1.5-kilometre swim, 40km bike ride and 10km run at Abu Dhabi Sailing and Yacht Club.
But after a technical 40-kilometre bike stage brought the field together, he blasted out of transition two and had already hit the front in the first lap. After extending a 10-second lead over a chasing group that included Richard Murray, Joao Silva and Fernando Alarza, Mola made a tactical decision to take his penalty at the halfway mark of the run.
That set him back on course a few metres behind that trio, but he quickly caught their heels. It then took him less than a kilometre to find his way to the front, and that’s where he stayed for the rest of the race.
While at stages it looked like Murray was in catching distance, Mola simply surged away to secure his second World Triathlon Series win in a row after winning 2015 Grand Final in Chicago. Mola’s winning time was one hour and 46 minutes and 39 seconds, with his training partner Murray second and Portugal’s Joao Silva third.
“Things couldn’t have got much harder today, it’s very hot outside, of course it’s hot for everyone, but it makes it very tough,” Mola said. “I didn’t swim great, but I was able to get to the front on the bike and then when they called me for the penalty, I imagined it was going to be a bad day, but when I had those 10, 15 seconds, I thought, that is the time to stop and get back into the pack again. Richard [Murray] was amazing today, as was Joao [Silva] and Fernando [Alarza], but I felt great, and I’m happy to get the win here.”
Mola was one of 130 of the world’s fastest triathletes striving to earn the first world rankings points of the year as they began their final preparations for this summer’s Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.
Last year, Abu Dhabi joined the eight-race World Triathlon Series (WTS) calendar and became the first Middle East city to host a WTS event.
This year, the UAE capital is one of only four WTS events left for athletes to earn Olympic qualification points as they battle through the challenging course.
Alarza finished fourth, followed by Mexico’s Crisanto Grajales and Russia’s Dmitry Polyanskiy. New Zealand’s Ryan Sissons secured his Olympic Games spot in seventh.
To celebrate his victory, Mola will receive a complimentary return business class flight to defend his title at the 2017 ITU World Triathlon Abu Dhabi, courtesy of event partner Etihad Airways.
