Anouk Danna claimed another gold medal this weekend with a dominant performance in Alanya, delivering a decisive run to secure victory in the women’s race.
The Swiss athlete worked with the rest of the leading bike group to put herself in prime position heading into T2 before producing the fastest run of the day. Danna made the most of her opportunity over the five-kilometre course, building a 25-second advantage by the time she crossed the finish line.
Anabel Knoll improved on the bronze medal she claimed in Kitzbühel earlier this season, taking silver in Türkiye. The German put herself in a strong position with the second-fastest bike and second-fastest run of the day. Although she was unable to match Danna’s pace, Knoll held off British athlete Isabella Hayes, who finished just four seconds behind her.
For Hayes, third place marked the first international medal of her career. The Brit matched Knoll over the five-kilometre run, but after entering T2 with the main group of athletes, she had to fight her way through the pack to move into medal contention.
There was a familiar face at the top of the elite men’s podium, with Martin Hubner adding to his medal success in Wels earlier this year. The French athlete had also claimed silver in Rome a few weeks ago, arriving in Alanya with strong momentum and another podium finish firmly in his sights.
Victory was far from straightforward, however, with just one second separating Hubner from runner-up Sam Hart. Despite not recording the fastest split in any of the three disciplines, Hubner’s strong cycling performance and consistent transitions proved decisive. He found just enough in the closing stages to edge ahead of Hart at the finish line.
Like Hayes, Hart celebrated the first international medal of his career, having narrowly missed out on the podium in Tenerife just a week earlier.
Dmitrii Karpeev completed the men’s podium, crossing the line six seconds behind the winner but comfortably securing third place with a ten-second advantage over fourth-placed Etienne Le Roux.
Watch back the racing here.
Find full results here.
Photo: Yagyshoots