Italian athletes have claimed Cross Triathlon gold as the action at the World Triathlon Multisport Championships Townsville 2024 went offroad on Tuesday.
Michele Bonacina won the elite men’s title while Marta Menditto claimed the elite women’s gold as racing headed to Pallarenda Park.
Athletes took on a 1km swim, 20km ride and 6km run on a course that rewarded bike handling skills and showcased Townsville’s stunning coastline.
Bonacina crossed the line in 1:26:22, almost two minutes ahead of New Zealand’s Sam Osborne with Benjamin Forbes of Australia just behind in third.
“It was very fast, I usually do Xterra which is quite longer, this one was so fast, I tried to stay in front on the swim course and then on the bike too I tried to take a big gap with Lucas Kocar but he got a puncture so I remained alone in the first part and I tried to manage the gap on the run course,” said Bonacina. “I tried to start strong but I was feeling good so I’m feeling so happy about the race.
The first event featuring a swim at the World Triathlon Multisport Championships Townsville 2024 saw athletes face tricky conditions with an off-shore breeze, conditions that suited Bonacina.
“I loved the swim, the flat swim is faster but a swim like that with waves is more challenging so I like it,” he said. “Then on the bike there are a lot of turns, I don’t normally do training like this but I love it, it’s so nice, quite technical so I like it.
“This is the main race for me this year, my beginning of the season was quite bad because I broke my arm which was so hard and then I tried to get back in shape and finally now is the moment, I’m so happy about that”
Michele Bonacina
The racing was tight in the women’s elite race, with Italy’s Marta Menditto coming out on top, taking the win in 1:40:58, less than 20 seconds ahead of Romy Spoelder of The Netherlands, with Australia’s Maeve Kennedy winning bronze.
“I’m really happy with that, I came second in 2022 and I really wanted to try and win the race, it was hard on the swim, it was like to be in a washing machine today and I tried to use my technical skills on the bike to catch the girl in front of me and then create a bit of a gap for the run,” said Menditto.
Menditto was excited to make it two Italian gold medals in the Cross Triathlon.
“I’m really happy for Michele too, last year we won the European Championships together and it was a bit like this day, it’s really amazing,” she said.
Australia’s Maeve Kennedy was thrilled to win bronze but admitted that she found the going tough early in the swim.
“I had no idea where anyone was, I looked around a couple of times and then all of a sudden there a girl beside me, it was hard to see at times,” said Kennedy. “The women rode together almost the whole way, Marta was just in front of me, the other girl was just behind me and we kind of rode with each other, it was on the whole time, straight through the transition and the run we could see each other the whole way too, up those hills was a suffer and then downhills was a suffer and the sand was a suffer, it was all noise.”
Ryno Owen of South Africa claimed the Under 23 World Championship men’s title, ahead of Australians Cooper Carswell and Tadgh Williams.
The women’s Under 23 gold was won by Romy Spoelder of The Netherlands, with Australia’s Laura Gillard taking the silver and Austria’s Katja Krenn bronze.
The men’s Age-Group overall champion was Spain’s Alejandro Pareja Villar, with Australia’s Alexandra Keith winning the women’s title.
Racing at the World Triathlon Multisport Championships Townsville 2024 continues on Thursday with the Cross Duathlon taking place at Pallarenda Park.
The World Triathlon Multisport Championships Townsville is supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland.
