Marten Van Riel promises best is yet to come in T100 Triathlon
Marten Van Riel promises best is yet to come in T100 Triathlon
By James Reid
Reigning T100 Triathlon champion Marten Van Riel insists the best is yet to come after he returned to the podium in Vancouver.
The Belgian athlete was left disappointed with a sixth-placed finish in San Francisco two weeks ago that dented his hopes of winning back-to-back T100 titles.
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But Van Riel roared back from his sub-par showing in the States with a second place in Vancouver, as he took silver behind the fast-finishing Jelle Geens.
It moves Van Riel top of the overall standings after he also finished third in Singapore in April, but the Belgian is confident he has even more to bring to the table later in the year.
'I think Rico [Bogen] and Jelle have really shown their cards in the last couple of races, and I think I'm just not quite there yet,' he said.
'I got a little bit sick on altitude training in the preparation [for this race] and I feel and know that my run isn't quite 100%. To be this close to Jelle on the run, who's one of the best in the sport is actually good for my morale.
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'My bike is really good at the moment so I'm confident I've got more in the tank for the Race To Qatar.
'We've seen the top athletes get good scores and I hope Hayden [Wilde] returns as soon as possible because he really showed up in Singapore for the first race, so I don't count him out at all. It's going to be very interesting, especially with double points for the final in Qatar.'
Van Riel took the mantle on the bike leg but was quickly joined by Rico Bogen, Kyle Smith and Mika Noodt.
Both Noodt and Smith endured drafting penalties at separate points, but were able to keep themselves in touching distance of Van Riel and Bogen, who were the first to hit the run.
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But a storming comeback from Geens earned him the victory and forced Van Riel to settle for second.
'It was a hard swim, because there was a current pushing us either into the buoys or away from the buoys,' reflected Van Riel. 'Then topped off with a very tough run, but I'm very happy to be on the podium again.
'I was leading at the start of the bike and it took a long time for someone to challenge me. I thought, damn, I must be strong in aero today! I was happy with that.'
The T100 Triathlon World Tour is a season-long schedule of World Championship level races competed over 100km (2km swim, 80km bike and 18km run), where the world's best triathletes go head-to-head in iconic locations. For more information visit www.T100Triathlon.com
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