Thank you Dassi bikes – ITU World Triathlon London

On Saturday 31st May, Stu and I were delighted to be able to attend the ITU World Triathlon London, courtesy of Dassi bikes – Stuart was fortunate enough to win tickets from them.

Stu spent quite a long time admiring the bikes on the stand and as Dassi is a local company (Hampshire-based), he is very tempted to purchase one of their bikes.

I have to say that the idea of a time trial bike is better than a road bike with aerobars, but it’ll be a long time before I try either, no matter how sexy they look!
After we had a look around at the various stands, Stu and I made our way to the grandstand. We managed to get seats fairly near the front, so we had a good view of the swim and were able to see the athletes as they cycled and ran past.
The men’s race
First up was the men’s warm-up. As soon as Alistair Brownlee (in a blue Adidas jacket) appeared, there was a huge roar from the crowd.




There were also cheers for Jonny Brownlee when he appeared.


We also saw the other top athletes including Mario Mola and Javier Gomez, but to be honest, my photography skills aren’t great and with their almost identical black wetsuits and orange swimming hats, it’s not easy to tell any of the men apart!
Soon, all of the men were lined up on the pontoon, ready to dive in.

Then after the swim, it was onto the bike. I took lots of photos, but they’re not exciting enough to share here, so I’ll just include a few.


Next, it was T2 time.



It wasn’t long before the triathletes were out running, with the usual suspects out in front.



Sadly, it wasn’t the Brownlees’ day, and even Javier Gomez didn’t finish at the top, but the Brownlees were willing to be interviewed after the event.


Here’s a write-up on the men’s event:
https://www.220triathlon.com/news/mario-mola-sprints-to-wts-gold-in-hyde-park
The women’s race
In my opinion, the women’s race was a far more exciting event. There were huge cheers as all of the women ran down to the pontoon.



Katie Hursey was the first athlete out of the water…

Then it was transition time again. A group of 8 athletes managed to pull away first, with a chase pack about 20 seconds behind them. Unfortunately, Chelsey Burns took a tumble whilst cycling through the transition area, also taking out Anne Haug. Paramedics were rushing around everywhere and the cones were put out, but Chelsey managed to get up after the accident.
As the triathletes arrived in transition, the race started to get interesting.








A group of women left transition at about the same time and it took a few hundred metres before Gwen Jorgensen managed to pass Alice Betto.


Sarah Groff and Alice Betto stuck together, but Emma Jackson was giving chase.


When Gwen Jorgensen appeared in the finishing straight she seemed to be miles ahead of the other women:





Next up was Sarah Groff:




…with Emma Jackson in hot pursuit.



Alice Betto finished in fourth place.


Jodie Stimpson managed an 11th place finish.


Here’s a write up on the women’s event:
https://www.220triathlon.com/news/gwen-jorgensen-storms-to-victory-in-london
Overall, it was an amazing day out with a great atmosphere.