Mexico’s Rosa Maria Tapia Vidal proved this Saturday morning in Brasilia that she has found back her running speed. With a brilliant comeback, she closed a half-a-minute deficit on the bike to win dominantly the World Triathlon Cup Brasilia. Silver was for Sandra Dodet (FRA), while the bronze medal was for USA’s Tamara Gorman, the first time on a World Cup podium for her since 2019.
The Brasilia World Cup saw a thrilling race in the Brazilian capital, where 25 elite women athletes lined up under the famous Juscelino Kubitschek bridge with the sky holding the raindrops throughout the whole race. From the very start, local favourite Vittoria Lopes and USA’s Summer Rappaport took control of the race, as predicted, and proved once again that they are two of the strongest swimmers on the World Triathlon circuit, and they managed to create a 20-second gap out of the 750m swim.
By the time the chasers hit the shore, both were already charging toward their bikes, leaving the main chase group, which included key contenders like Sandra Dodet, Rosa Maria Tapia Vidal, Maria Carolina Velasquez Soto (COL), and Verena Steinhauser (ITA), scrambling to catch up.
As Lopes and Rappaport worked together on the 20km bike course, they stretched their lead to almost 40 seconds midway through. The chasers, hindered by strong winds on the bridge, struggled initially but eventually found some cohesion, and by the time the leaders transitioned into the run, they had trimmed the lead down to just 13 seconds.
Tapia Vidal was quick out of transition, capitalizing on her strength in the run. She immediately set her sights on the two leaders, knowing Lopes would struggle on the run. With Dodet close behind, the two surged forward, passing Lopes and closing in on Rappaport.
On the small climb to the bridge, Tapia Vidal made her decisive move, passing Rappaport and pulling away from Dodet, who couldn’t match her pace.
Behind them, Tamara Gorman displayed impressive strength in the second half of the run, climbing from the back of the pack to overtake Rappaport and secure third place with a negative split.
Ultimately, Rosa Maria Tapia Vidal clinched the victory, her second consecutive win after the Viña del Mar Americas Premium Cup, capping a stellar end to her season. “I am very happy. It had been a long time since I was wearing the number 1 and then I managed to deliver, and today I did. This season has been really long and hard at the end, but I am glad that at the end it was a good result”, she said. “There were many girls helping on the chase group of the bike, but I visualized this scenario the night before and just went for it. When I saw Summer closer and closer, it was hard to get her but I tried to be conservative a bit at the beginning and go full gas at the end”, she explained.
Dodet crossed the line in second, a satisfying result after an injury-laden season. “It has been a while since I was on the podium so today feels great. It was a very hard race today but I am happy with the results, and congrats to the girls out there”, she said.
Gorman’s bronze marked her first World Cup podium since Banyoles 2019, a well-earned reward after years of battling injuries. “This has been a tough race. I could not even think that I would finish on the podium when we started the run, I was just thinking to do my job, stay relax and do everything that you can. And ended up being in the podium so I feel great. It feels great to be back at this level”, she explained.
Despite Rappaport’s last push to regain a podium spot, she had to settle for fourth, while Steinhauser rounded out the top five. Sofia Rodriguez Moreno (MEX) finished in 6th, a career-best for her, and behind her were Maria Carolina Velasquez Soto, and Vittoria Lopes in 8th and was also the first Brasilian on the finish line.
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