Andrea Hewitt (Christchurch) finished 7th in the latest round of the ITU World Triathlon Series in Stockholm this morning NZT, fading on the latter stages of the 10km run after taking a brave lead off the bike leg in a rare solo effort in women's racing at the top level.
Hewitt was amongst the lead group out of the water and pushed hard on the technical and demanding bike course to establish a 44 second lead heading out on to the run but was overhauled by eventual winner Gwen Jorgensen (USA) and the chase group with 5km to go.
 Andrea Hewitt during the run(Photo: Janos Schmidt / ITU; click to enlarge) |
Fellow New Zealander Kate McIlroy did not enjoy her best result on the circuit this year, finishing in 24th place. McIlroy never recovered after a tough swim and after riding superbly in the early stages of the bike leg, the Wellingtonian then made the choice to 'shut down' on the bike once Hewitt had gone clear to avoid assisting any chasers, from there the run was something of a training exercise for McIlroy, with a penalty thrown in for good measure!
Hewitt stays 5th on the world rankings heading to London while McIlroy has dropped one spot to 12th with just the London Grand Final in 3 weeks time to race this season.
