Andrea Whitcombe was crowned Michelob ULTRA London Triathlon champion after a storming last 10K that saw her overcome New Zealand’s Sam Warriner.
Coming out of the swim there was a sizeable lead pack that formed a large group as the bike section got underway.
With no significant attacks on this stage it was Warriner who led out the run with Liz Blatchford and Julie Dibens hot on her heels. Not far behind was the pack which included the former national cross country champion Whitcombe.
Whitcombe’s running ability showed through as she was level with Warriner by half way and came clear in win in 1hr 57min 38sec Warriner second and another Britain, Liz Blatchford third.
The men's race saw impressive British performances too. None more so than the fourth place of Oli Freeman.
Out of the water it was Richard Stannard in the lead ahead of the chasing South African Hendrik de Villiers, Kiwis Hamish Carter and Bevan Docherty plus Britain’s Tim Don, Andrew Johns, Stuart Hayes and Freeman.
With around 10K to go reigning champion Hayes put the hammer down and opened up a clear lead going into transition.
By 5K de Villiers had closed the gap to 6sec. Tim Don was in third and Freeman fourth. De Villiers crossed the line first from Hayes and Don but it was Freeman who had made the big impression – with the crowd, with the pundits and almost certainly on the opposition.
