Auckland, New Zealand (November 20, 2011) - New Zealand's Andrea Hewitt put the perfect finishing touch on her already excellent 2011 season, leading a bike breakaway en route to a dominant World Cup win in Auckland.
After impressive victories in Beijing and Yokohama, Hewitt was the female triathlete to beat at home in the final World Cup race this year. And the World Championship silver medallist did not disappoint on the course that will host the 2012 Dextro Energy Triathlon Series Grand Final.
After quickly catching the leaders from the swim, Hewitt rode hard to lead a breakaway of five athletes on the tough, hilly and technical bike course before easily pulling away on the run for her third consecutive major win in a time of 2 hours 14 minutes and 12 seconds, almost a full minute ahead of Japan's Tomoko Sakimoto who claimed her second consecutive World Cup silver. Her teammate Mariko Adachi claimed bronze, finishing a further 13 seconds behind Sakimoto.
"It's amazing, the feeling was so incredible running that last lap. It's actually really hard to run and smile at the same time. But, it was just such a great race," Hewitt said.
It was an excellent day for the Japanese women's team, with 40-year-old three-time Olympian Kiyomi Niwata running through the field to claim fifth and Ai Ueda's ninth giving them four athlete inside the top 10.
Auckland ITU Triathlon World Cup
Official results - Elite Women
1. Andrea Hewitt NZL 02:14:12
2. Tomoko Sakimoto JPN 02:15:09
3. Mariko Adachi JPN 02:15:22
4. Alice Betto ITA 02:15:51
5. Kiyomi Niwata JPN 02:16:39
6. Maaike Caelers NED 02:17:10
7. Anne Haug GER 02:17:14
8. Kathrin Muller GER 02:17:34
9. Ai Ueda JPN 02:17:49
10. Vicky Holland GBR 02:18:05
Photo Credit: Carr ITU
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