Ashleigh Gentle showed why she has never finished outside the top two in a 100km race by closing down a gap of more than 5mins on the run to beat GB’s Lucy Charles-Barclay in Singapore.
While it proved the perfect season opener for the Australian, it was more T100 frustration for longtime leader Charles-Barclay, who had to settle for a second consecutive runner-up spot following last month’s T100 opener in Miami.
Netherlands' Els Visser rounded out the podium in gruelling conditions in the Far East, with British wildcard Lucy Buckingham holding tough for fifth place.
Fellow GB athlete Lucy Byram backed up her sixth place from Miami with an impressive seventh, but it was a disappointing day for India Lee who was well placed after the bike leg before dropping out early in the 18km run.
"It was one of the hardest things I've done in my life, a brutal day," Gentle said. "Lucy was amazing and made it really difficult for me. I definitely surprised myself. I'm not confident, especially at the start of the year and there were times when I thought I should have done a race before this one. But I tried to stay focused and fight until the very end. I'm loving triathlon more than I ever have."
It shouldn't be a surprise given her successful streak. Gentle's consistency over 100km was underlined as she took her third win in six races over the distance since stepping up from short course racing in 2022.
But whereas the Brisbane triathlete led on to the run last year, this time she had a huge deficit to overcome, first running down Buckingham and then Charles-Barclay to take the tape in 3:44:23 with by far the day's fastest run split of 1:09:10.
Charles-Barclay, who finished fifth here last year as she returned from injury, described it as a "bittersweet" experience. "I played my cards and came out with second," she explained. "I felt strong and just want to build with every race. Ashleigh had me running scared and it's definitely motivation for the next one."
The series now moves to San Francisco on June 8 with Charles-Barclay having the consolation of moving to the top of the leaderboard as she chases the bonus pool top prize of $210,000 and the title of T100 world champion.
What happened in the swim?
There was much pre-race talk of the conditions in Singapore and the potential for the race to be shortened due to the heat and humidity, but it started just within the allowed limits and the athletes were grateful for some cloud cover to keep them out of the direct sunlight.
The water temperature was still above 30 degrees though and with Charles-Barclay driving the front of the 2km swim in typical fashion, the pressure was on from the start. The reigning Ironman world champion led out of Marina Bay in 26:03 with Buckingham for company along with New Zealand’s Rebecca Clarke.
Hayley Chura, who had taken advantage of a wildcard to finish seventh in Miami, continued to show she had a liking for this style of racing, and came into T1 in fourth place, 72sec behind. Singapore defending champion Gentle was in contention at 98sec down, with Miami winner Lee just a few seconds adrift.
What happened on the bike?
Almost 800m of climbing on the 80km bike course – much of it over the vast linking bridges in the city – made for some epic vistas but demanding challenge over the eight laps.
Charles-Barclay showed her intent to continue to drive the pace with BMC team member Buckingham for company at the front.
Chelsea Sodaro, the 2022 Ironman world champion, was the first casualty. The US athlete, who’d kicked off her season with two wins and a runner-up position in Australia and New Zealand, struggled early on the bike before pulling out.
France’s reigning World Triathlon long course champion Marjolaine Pierre joined her on the sidelines as the attrition started to take its toll.
The pair at the front continued to extend their gap over the rest of the field, with Gentle pushing up to third and Lee, Byram and Switzerland’s Imogen Simmonds in the top five.
Buckingham, who pulled out of T100 Miami on the bike after being sick heading into the race, looked in fluid form as she took the lead, but then appeared to cramp heading into the final 20km.
The other big mover was Visser. Fourteenth out of the water, the Dutch woman who prepared for the race in China, pushed up to third-place on the final lap.
Heading into T2, Charles-Barclay and Buckingham had a 5:29 lead, which was asking a lot, even for a runner of Gentle’s calibre.
What happened on the run?
The humidity was climbing at the start of the 18km run as Charles-Barclay set off on a familiar solo break and Gentle attempted to hunt her down.
Buckingham maintained second place through the first lap of three, but the pass from the Australian was inevitable. Lee’s challenge was fading and she became the third DNF, but Visser and Germany’s Anne Reischmann, another athlete who delivered a strong bike leg, remained in contention for a podium.
Gentle continued to whittle down the leading Brit's advantage and finally made the catch with just over 4km remaining and quickly opened a gap that always looked decisive.
Visser registered her first PTO podium, and Amelia Watkinson showed she could handle the heat by posting the second fastest run split to catch Buckingham almost on the line for fourth.
T100 Singapore 2024 Top 10 women's results
- Ashleigh Gentle
- Lucy Charles-Barclay
- Els Visser
- Amelia Watkinson
- Lucy Buckingham
- Anne Reischmann
- Lucy Byram
- Hayley Chura
- Kaidi Kivioja
- Ellie Salthouse
T100 women's series standings
- Lucy Charles-Barclay 56pts
- Ashleigh Gentle 35pts
- India Lee 35pts
- Lucy Byram 34pts
- Hayley Chura 30pts
Top image credit: PTO
