Digital magazines from the International Triathlon Union (ITU) and the World Triathlon Series
Issue link: http://worldtriathlon.uberflip.com/i/1313191
It was to be four out of four for Frenchman Vincent Luis, who outsprinted the double Olympic gold medallist Alistair Brownlee (GBR) in Valencia to claim the last victory of the 2020 World Triathlon season, with Belgian Jelle Geens crossing the finish line in third place. "Four races so far and four wins and this one was the hardest I have to say, Alistair was pretty strong," said Vincent Luis. "He was the strongest of us in the front of the bike. I just managed to tactically get him but he could have won this race I think. A few more races under his belt, he could have won for sure. It was a pretty hard ride and that is what Alistair wanted, to make it hard for us so we run a bit slower. On the run, I just took the lead and really try not to think." Luis had been able to hit the front from the first strokes of the swim since the return to racing, and it was not any different in Valencia, this time with three other great swimmers right on his heels in the form of Alistair Brownlee (GBR), Henri Schoeman (RSA) and Pierre Le Corre (FRA). The trio managed to carve out some daylight behind out of the water and after the long route to transition, were on the bikes a precious few seconds ahead of the chasers pulling off their wetsuits. That included the Norwegian army of Kristian Blummenfelt, Gustav Iden and Endre Espedal who organised themselves quickly to get the peloton moving and lead the large chasing group, with the likes of Geens, Roberto Sanchez Mantecon (ESP) and Alessandro Fabian (ITA) working with the group to try to control the leading group. The flat Valencia course, along what was an urban Formula 1 circuit, worked in favour of the leaders, dropping Schoeman with two laps to go and managing to stay in front despite the solid efforts of the chasers. By the end of the 20km bike ride the three leaders had almost half a minute over the large pack, and when it looked like the medals were going to be decided between the three of them, Geens flew out of T2 on a mission. Further ahead, the older Brownlee brother and Luis went shoulder to shoulder, with Luis constantly in front and Alistair keeping up with a pace that no one else was able to match. The pair ran that way until the final metres, with Luis proving that he is unbeatable this season crossing the finish line in first place to grab the fourth consecutive win. Behind them, Geens went full gas and managed to catch Le Corre halfway through the run. The Frenchman never gave up but with just a few metres to go, Geens' sprint grabbed him a second bronze of the season after his podium in Karlovy Vary. Behind Le Corre, Spain's Antonio Serrat Seoane showed once again a magnificent run form to run from the back of the bike group to complete the top five of the day. Luis closes the season in style with a fourth consecutive win VALENCIA WORLD CUP Full Results Watch the race on 70 contents