Sophie Coldwell opened her 2017 triathlon season with a win at the Quarteria ETU Cup in Portugal this weekend. Georgia Taylor-Brown finished in second place behind her, and Grant Sheldon just missed the podium with fourth place in the men’s race.
2017 Quarteira ETU Triathlon European Cup RESULTS:
Elite Men
| 1. | Joao Pereira | POR | 01:48:44 |
| 2. | Uxio Abuin Ares | ESP | 01:48:50 |
| 3. | Dorian Coninx | FRA | 01:48:51 |
| 4. | Grant Sheldon | GBR | 01:48:55 |
| 13. | Gordon Benson | GBR | 01:51:24 |
| 15. | Liam Lloyd | GBR | 01:51:38 |
| 22. | Christopher Perham | GBR | 01:52:23 |
| 31. | Morgan Davies | GBR | 01:53:08 |
| 39. | Fergus Roberts | GBR | 01:53:55 |
| 45. | Marc Austin | GBR | 01:54:37 |
| 58. | Jimmy Kershaw | GBR | 01:57:49 |
| DNF. | Calum Johnson | GBR | DNF |
Elite Women
| 1. | Sophie Coldwell | GBR | 02:00:07 |
| 2. | Georgia Taylor-Brown | GBR | 02:00:46 |
| 3. | Anastasia Abrosimova | RUS | 02:01:24 |
| 12. | Jenny Manners | GBR | 02:05:14 |
| 26. | Zoe Thomas | GBR | 02:10:01 |
| 28. | Fenella Langridge | GBR | 02:11:31 |
| 32. | Megan Mcdonald | GBR | 02:13:04 |
For full results, please visit here
Racing over the Olympic distance, Coldwell, 22, and Taylor-Brown, 23, both started well during the 1500m sea swim off the southern coast of Portugal. They got into a lead group, along with Jenny Manners, and stayed there through the second transition and start of the run.
Coldwell was the stronger runner on the day, and won by 39seconds from Taylor-Brown. The win marked Coldwell’s first senior victory, and it was a good result for Taylor-Brown in second as well.
The men’s race saw Gordon Benson attacking and leading during the bike section, but he couldn’t carry that form through the 10km run. In a competitive field, Joao Pereira made it a home win for Portugal and Sheldon was just eleven seconds back in fourth place.
