Australian Felicity Sheedy-Ryan timed her race to perfection to win the elite women´s triathlon final at the Tiszaujvaros ITU World Cup.
Audrey Merle (FRA) took the silver medal and Sara Dossena (ITA) the bronze, both making the podium in a World Cup race for the first time.
Having emerged from the swim a minute down, Sheedy-Ryan slowly progressed to reach the final goal and the top podium position.
"All of the race was hard for me, especially in this format and the swimming is my weakness. The girls went really hard on the cycling as well, and I struggled a bit to keep up with the pace," the Aussie said.
"I just kind put everything I had left and hope it was enough, and looked back she was still there. I am very happy with my result."
The Australian had reasons to look behind as second-place finisher Merle was very controlled during the entire race. The 2014 Junior World Championship bronze medallist made a lead pack of eight out of the water and enjoyed a front position nearly the entire sprint distance race until her group was caught by the chase midway through the eight-lap bike.
"On the bike was really difficult for me because no one wanted to relay and so we didn't managed to keep our advantage," said Merle. "I tried to go really strong on the running as well but Sheedy-Ryan was in really good form and I couldn't beat her."
Like Sheedy-Ryan, Dossena was in the chase pack that fought to bridge up on the bike. Despite heavy legs from a tough bike, Dossena joined Sheedy-Ryan and Merle as they broke away from a five-woman lead pack on the run. The three went stride for stride, but Dossena wasn't quite strong enough as she was edged out and was left with bronze by just one second.
"It was really hard race but I am really happy with the third place."
