By Brad Culp
June 17, 2007 -- Sunday was a life-changing day for American Laura Bennett and Rasmus Henning of Denmark. The pair battled through 90-plus degree heat in Des Moines, Iowa to walk away with a win and a $200,000 paycheck at the Hy-Vee World Cup Triathlon.
In the women’s race, Bennett out-dueled Australian Annabel Luxford and Canadian Kristen Sweetland in the final meters of the 10km run to finish in 2:04:32. Luxford finished 14 seconds later, as the 18-year-old Sweetland pulled out of the race with only a few hundred meters to go due to extreme heat exhaustion. Overtaking Sweetland for third was Brazilian Mariana Ohata, who out-ran the rest of the women’s field by almost two minutes.
The heat was the big story, especially for the women, who started earlier in the day. Bennett managed to win with a 38:47 10k, which is about four minutes slower than a typical split for her. The mercury also took out pre-race favorite Emma Snowsill, who had been feeling seriously ill before the race and pulled out during the bike leg.
As with the women, the men’s race was all about the run. After a quick swim, a huge group of about 35 men formed a lead back for the first half of the 40k big leg. Half-way through the bike, American Matty Reed decided he had enough of the pack and he pedaled to a 25-second gap.
By the time he made it to T2, Reed’s lead had been swallowed up by a small pack which included World Duathlon Champ Paul Amey of Great Britain, Olympic Champion Simon Whitfield of Canada and Rasmus Henning of Denmark.
After the first of four run laps, Henning was in front with Whitfield just a few seconds back. Making up a huge chunk of time during the first lap was world number one, Javier Gomez of Spain.
Half-way through the run, Henning asserted himself as the best runner of the day and grew his lead all the way to a 1:50:03 win. With a strong run, Kiwi Bevan Docherty finished second, 30 seconds back, with Gomez another 12 seconds behind. Jarrod Shoemaker was the top U.S finisher, in eighth place. Greg Bennett, of Australia, completed a big payday for his family with a fifth-place finish.
Women’s Results
1. L Bennett (USA) 2:04:32
2. A Luxford (AUS) - :14
3. M. Ohata (BRA) - :57
4. S. Haskins (USA) - 1:15
5. A. Whitcombe (GBR) - 1:19
Men’s Results
1. R. Henning (DEN) 1:50:03
2. B. Docherty (NZL) - :30
3. J. Gomez (ESP) - :42
4. T. Don (GBR) - :54
5. G. Bennett (AUS) - :58