Javier Gomez ends 2014 season with gold at Beijing Triathlon
Race season ends on a high for Spanish athlete despite punishing schedule, saying he “had to really push hard” to stay with the leaders on the bike
Stockholm, Edmonton, Mont Tremblant and now Beijing – four races in four weekends have brought three golds for Spain’s WTS champion Javier Gomez, who won out on a demanding course in China yesterday.
This year the Olympic distance race had a new route, starting with a 1.5km swim in the Garden Expo Lake before sending athletes on a 40km bike course up Qian Ling Mountain, and finishing with a 10km run through the lush gardens and scenic trails of the Garden Expo Park, including a 606-step stair climb.
Joining Gomez on the start line were Olympians Matt Reed (USA), Greg Bennett (AUS) and Mario Mola (ESP), while in the women’s race the top athletes included six-time Ironman 70.3 champion (and 220 contributor) Emma-Kate Lidbury, Carolina Routier (ESP) and Ashleigh Gentle (AUS), all vying for $100,000 in prize money.
“This new course was really tough, the bike was technical with lots of hills and turns, I had to really push hard to stay with Josh and Greg during the bike portion of the race,” said Gomez afterwards. “I caught them on the first portion of the run, then I powered up the stairs to secure a strong lead. I felt really good at this point so I just kept pushing through the run to hold on to the win.”
At Doha airport on my way back home. Had a great time in Beijing once again, great event! pic.twitter.com/pquvgCZTdC
— Javi Gomez Noya (@Jgomeznoya) September 15, 2014Top three men
1 – Javier Gomez (ESP): 1:55:32
2 – Josh Amberger (AUS): 1:56:51
3 – Greg Bennett (AUS): 1:57:28
Top three women
1 – Ashleigh Gentle (AUS): 2:08:12
2 – Ricarda Lisk (GER): 2:11:25
3 – Laura Bennett (USA): 2:13:35
For full results head here.
(Images: Rocky Arroyo)
Jamie Beach
Former digital editor 
