File Photo: World Triathlon
By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwi
Trent Thorpe has rattled off a second successive World Cup top 10 and is encouraged that his latest result in China could have been even better.
The Cambridge-based 27-year-old was 10th, matching his pre-race seeding, at World Cup Weihai on Saturday, a fortnight after finishing 4th at in Yeongdo, South Korea.
Thorpe stock has been on the rise since he took charge of his own campaign just before finishing 5th at the Oceania Standard Distance Championships in Port Douglas in late May.
The men’s race was won by Mexican Crisanto Grajales while Italy’s Bianca Seregni took the women’s title.
“I had a good swim leading to the first buoy, then sitting comfortably in 3rd for the remainder of the swim,” Thorpe said taking up the story of his race.
“At the beginning of the bike we had a small pack together but it didn’t stick unfortunately, so a pack of about 20 riders came together.
“Getting into the run, I felt great on the first lap but I underestimated the toll the heat would have on me in the later stages, long with the big hill the hot conditions and a run that was slightly longer than 10k.
“I think if I was more conservative at the beginning like the eventual winner Crisanto, I would have fared better towards the end but again I’m happy with consistency. I just wanted more out of my run legs on the day.”
Thorpe now has a six-week training block to prepare for two more World Cups in Asia, at Tongyeong back in South Korea on October 21 and then a week later in Miyazaki, Japan on October 28.
