Wanaka's Tony Dodds has secured an impressive result among a world class field in Mexico.
With temperatures approaching 40 degrees celsius, Dodds charged home in a tight finish to cross 10th overall in a time of 1:47:52. He was just 56 seconds behind winner Brendan Sexton of Australia.
Fellow Kiwis Bevan Docherty and James Elvery both suffered crashes on the bike but battled through to the run before pulling out.
There were no elite Kiwi women racing in Monterrey.
Below is a personal account of Dodds' race;
The swim was a water polo scrap to say the least and I didn't feel good at all, but in Bevan's words "If you can imagine a 1500m swimming pool shaped like a snake, that's what it is.”
Idid throw maybe a punch or two here and there, but that was because they were swimming literally on top of me.
I came out of water just at the back of front bunch which we caught quickly. The bike wasn't too fast at all but there were crashes every lap including Bevan Docherty and James Elvery. They managed to brush it off though.
And then came the run and the heat. It was supposed to be 37 degrees and felt pretty close to it! Plan was to hold back and build into it as I didn't want to ‘die' on the run. Did exactly that but for some reason the front bunch was only about 10 seconds ahead at 5km, wasn't too far to go but then the hurt came into play, and was a challenge whether to push a little harder to catch or wait and save myself
I can't really remember what I did, I was still going very hard but the front bunch was gone and I was sticking it out with a Portuguese guy. I managed to pass a few people and outsprint him for 10th. The next couple guys were only a few seconds ahead which we nearly caught.
All up very good race considering coming back from injury/travelling/ and hot conditions. Very good to know that I can run fast also when it is a slowish bike. I know I can be in swim breakaways when I need be so a big confidence booster for the season!
Now a big trip to Germany and recover for the next week.
Tony Dodds
ITU Monterrey World Cup
Elite Men:
1. Brendan Sexton (AUS) 1:46:56
2. Frederic Belaubre (FRA) 1:47:06
3. Hunter Kemper (USA) 1:47:11
4. Ruedi Wild (SUI) 1:47:20
5. Vincent Luis (FRA) 1:47:27
6. Jarrod Shoemaker (USA) 1:47:37
7. Danylo Sapunov (UKR) 1:47:39
8. Matt Chrabot (USA) 1:47:50
9. Carlos Quinchara Javier Forero (COL) 1:47:51
10. Tony Dodds (NZL) 1:47:52
