Mario Mola and Flora Duffy Win 2019 Beijing International Triathlon

New Draft-legal Professional Race Division Adds Intensity

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Beijing International Triathlon

Oct 22, 2019, 09:00 ET

BEIJING, Oct. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Mario Mola from Spain and Flora Duffy from Bermuda took first place honors in the men and women's pro division, at the 2019 Beijing International Triathlon. Under blue skies, the two world champions competed amongst an elite professional field. More than 1,000 professional and amateur athletes from 29 countries participated in the eighth annual race, on Sunday, October 20, in the Fengtai District of Beijing.

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Mario Mola from Spain and Flora Duffy from Bermuda took first place honors in the men and women’s pro division, at the 2019 Beijing International Triathlon.
Mario Mola from Spain and Flora Duffy from Bermuda took first place honors in the men and women’s pro division, at the 2019 Beijing International Triathlon.

Eric Lagerstrom (USA) was first out of the water with Mola, Sam Ward (NZ) and Joe Maloy (USA) close behind. Duffy led the women's field out of the water with Lucy Hall (GBR) and Natalie Van Coevorden (AUS) only a few seconds back.

The new draft-legal race format allowed pro racers to closely draft off one another adding intensity and excitement to the competition. Lagerstrom, Mola and Ward took full advantage of the new format and worked together to breakaway early on the bike course while Van Coevorden, Hall and Duffy did the same amongst the women.

Ward led the run out of the second transition with Mola and Lagerstrom close behind but unfortunately had to turn back 250 meters in after forgetting to put on his race belt. Once Mola had the lead on the run, it was clear it was going to be his race.

"I had a great race today," said 2019 Beijing International Champion Mario Mola. "I was able to stay in touch with the front group on the bike the whole time. Eric, Sam and I worked well together."

Top Professional Men's Results:

  1. Mario Mola (ESP) 1:56:02
  2. Eric Lagerstrom (USA) 1:57:19
  3. Sam Ward (NWZ) 1:59:20
  4. Keeghan Hurley (USA) 2:01:34
  5. Joe Maloy (USA) 2:02:49
  6. Liam Ward (NWZ) 2:05:01
  7. Ivanov Lo Ching Hin (HKG) 2:17:22
  8. Zhou Fang (CHN) 2:20:50

Top Professional Women's Results:

  1. Flora Duffy (BER) 2:04:55
  2. Lucy Hall (GBR) 2:06:53
  3. Non Stanford (GBR) 2:08:44
  4. Natalie Van Coervorden (AUS) 2:10:14
  5. Carolina Routier (ESP) 2:15:11

"I had heard this was a hard race, but did not know what to expect," said 2019 Beijing International Champion Flora Duffy. "Coming out of the swim first felt great, but the transition run after the swim was harder than I expected. I am super happy to have won today, my first win in a long time."

The race started and finished amongst the beautiful scenery of Garden Expo Park. Olympic distance race featured a 1.5 km swim through Garden Expo Lake; a 40 km bike race through the villages of Fengtai; and a final 10 km run through the park. A sprint distance race took place on Saturday, October 19.

The Beijing International Triathlon is produced by IMG. The 2020 Beijing International Triathlon will take place September 12-13, 2020. For additional information, visit www.beijinginternationaltriathlon.com.

SOURCE Beijing International Triathlon

Related Links

http://www.beijinginternationaltriathlon.com

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