Taylor Knibb takes PTO US Open title in Milwaukee

Taylor Knibb clinched the PTO US Open title after turning the tables on last year’s champion Ashleigh Gentle over the 100km distance distance.

Gentle had hunted down Knibb in last year’s event in Dallas to take top spot on the podium, but it was a different story in Milwaukee as the 25-year-old US star held on over the 18km run leg to claim a first PTO Tour victory.

After finishing second to Anne Haug in the PTO European Open in Ibiza, it was Gentle’s second runners-up spot in a PTO Tour race this season, adding to the Canadian and US Open titles the 32-year-old Australian took last year.

Canadian Paula Findlay was a comfortable third place, but behind her there was an inspired performance by 23-year-old Brit Lucy Byram to finish fourth.

Fellow GB triathlete Holly Lawrence delivered a consistent performance in fifth, with Kat Matthews making up time on the run to place seventh and make it three GB triathletes in the top 10.

What happened in the swim?

The 2km swim was far more strung out than in the men’s race the afternoon before, and USA’s Lauren Brandon led the way – opening a sizeable gap on Knibb and Rebecca Clarke by the Aussie exit at halfway.

Brandon retained the advantage into T1, with the pairing of Knibb and Clarke next out of the water 29sec back.

Another renowned swimmer, Hayley Chura, emerged fourth followed by a pack of five including Lawrence, Ellie Salthouse, Gentle, Findlay and India Lee. Matthews, Tamara Jewett and Jocelyn McCauley lost just under 2:30 as they headed out on to the bike

What happened on the bike?

Knibb shut down the gap to Brandon and took the lead within 5km of the seven-loop 80km bike course.

The talented 25-year-old finished fourth in the US time-trial championships in June. But having professed to being concerned about her run form following surgery in January, it was no surprise to see her try to build an advantage on her strongest discipline.

Knibb gradually extended her lead through the bike leg, with Findlay – a two-time Canadian national time-trial champion – heading a pace-line of eight for the first-half of the bike, including Salthouse, Lee, Lawrence, and swim pacesetters, Brandon, Clarke and Chura.

Heading into the final third of the bike, Clarke and Chura began dropping off with 23-year-old Byram staying in contention as she rode up to the chasers.

On to the final lap, Byram’s surge took Findlay clear with her in pursuit of Knibb and was only 90sec adrfit heading into T2, with Gentle starting the run 2:50 back, followed by Lee, Lawrence and Salthouse and the rest of the field more than 5min in arrears.

What happened on the run?

While Knibb’s lead over Gentle was nothing like the 7min she held over her last summer in Dallas, it was still a handy advantage over 18km.

But Gentle was soon making inroads and worked her way into second within the first 5km, with Findlay looking comfortable in third ahead of Byram.

However, as the kilometres were ticked off it started to become clear that Gentle wasn’t going to close gap quickly enough, and with Knibb showing no signs of flagging, the American maintained a gap of just under a minute to finish in 3:32:58.

Findlay was comfortable in third, but behind her a sprint finish ensued as Byram, Lawrence, Salthouse and Matthews all finished within a few seconds of one another.

PTO US Open final result

1. Taylor Knibb
2. Ashleigh Gentle
3. Paula Findlay
4. Lucy Byram
5. Holly Lawrence
6. Ellie Salthouse
7. Kat Matthews
8. Anne Resichmann
9. Hayley Chura
10. Tamara Jewett

Top image credit: PTO