Henri Schoeman threw down the gauntlet ahead of the Commonwealth Games as he won the opening World Triathlon Series event in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
Schoeman never relinquished his lead after coming out the water in front‚ eventually crossing the line in 57min 03sec‚ six seconds ahead of reigning series champion Maria Mola of Spain.
This was Schoeman's second career WTS victory and will be a major boost for the Commonwealth Games which will use the same sprint distance — 750m swim‚ 20km cycle and 5km run.
Schoeman‚ ironically‚ is considered better suited to the standard distance over which he won the Olympic bronze at the 2016 Games in Rio.
But he delivered some serious speed on Friday‚ outpacing most of the top competitors he’s likely to face at the Gold Coast Games next month‚ including fifth-placed Australian Jacob Birtwhistle‚ Englishman Jonny Brownlee in seventh‚ and countryman Richard Murray‚ 10th.
The only one missing from the field was Olympic and Commonwealth Games champion Alistair Brownlee‚ Jonny’s older brother.
Schoeman scythed through the water in 8:56‚ just ahead of Brownlee. He wasn’t the fastest in the cycle and running legs — Mola‚ for one‚ was quicker on both — but Schoeman did enough to keep in front.
He nailed the cycle in 32:14 and the run in 14:41‚ while Mola‚ 30 seconds behind after the swim‚ went 32.03 on the bike and 14:27 in the run.
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