Bevan Docherty reports on his Edmonton World Cup win

So here it is, the money end of the season. Time to start paying dividends with all the hard training I’ve been doing and get some results! What better time to make it come together than my last hit out before the big one in London…

The race is Edmonton World Cup in Canada, a course that has been very favorable to me over the years. Way back in 2001 as my first Elite World Championship where I finished 7th, to 2007 when I won the race. In-fact, I was sitting in race briefing watching the highlights of the 2007 race thinking ‘how things have changed so much, the style of racing, the intensity, I even had a good amount of hair back then!’

A lot might have changed, however it was the “Old School” athletes that were dubbed as the favorites and as my competition. Hunter Kemper was my main threat, hot off some convincing race wins. In the same breath, I can never count out Canadian Olympic great, Simon Whitfield, who knows how to turn it on when needed. I was ranked #1 for the race, that adds pressure but also gives you a slight advantage, as you are able to select your starting position first.

The swim is held in a “duck poo” filled pond, but that’s ok as they dump enough chlorine in it to kill off anything nasty! Trust me I’ve swum in much worse! I chose a far left starting position as it was the shortest line and gave me clear water. That paid off as I was positioned well exiting the water in the top 10. Into the bike I tried to push early, however, the nature of the course didn’t allow for a break to get away, so the rest of the bike was just about staying out of trouble and conserving the legs for the run.

The run is where it all happened. I had a great transition and hung onto Hunter who was pushing a very solid pace. After about 1km, I felt Hunter fade just a little so I tightened the screw and kept driving, instantly surging to a 15m lead. From there I continued to drive the pace. However, going into the 2nd lap of 3, I began to pay the price for the early effort.

By this stage a young French guy bridged the gap and took control of the race as I hung on to try to compose myself again. It took me until the start of the last lap when my body started to come back into form, as I turned the tables on the Frenchie by pushing the pace and making him hurt. Now was no time to start playing games, with Hunter still only 50m back and ready to pounce, we had to drive all the way to the finish line. With only 800m to go, I felt the Frenchie fade so I pushed again. It wasn’t easy but I didn’t want it to come down to a sprint and wanted to enjoy my win!

Crossing the line in first, I was pretty happy with how the day went but I’m not disillusioned. This was only a World Cup race, and not a World Championship Series race with a lot of big hitters not present. It was a great boost for my confidence, but I realize that there is still a lot of work to be done. In order to win Gold in London, I’ll need to lift my game even more! In saying that, I enjoyed the sound of the NZ National Anthem and the taste of Champagne. These victories don’t come as often as I would like, so I try to enjoy them as much as I can.

As per usual, many thanks to everyone that supports me. Next race is the big one of the season, London WCS and NZ’s first Olympic qualifying race!

Bevan Docherty

Coffee with Bevan Docherty

Bevan Docherty has been in the press a lot lately, from an awesome 6-page spread in Inside Triathlon, to a New Zealand womens mag! We recently headed over to Taupo for a photo shoot with Bevan and took the opportunity to grab a coffee and find out how things have been going for the double Olympic medallist.

Time is money people!

And this has never been more true than for Bevan Docherty who suffered a penalty during the Hy-Vee Elite Cup in Iowa on the weekend...

Bevan's Race Report - Des
Moines
ITU
World
Cup
Des
Moines,
Iowa,
probably
not
a
place
you
think
would
host
the
richest
Triathlon
in
the
World.


 However,
if
they
put
up
the
cash,
the
Worlds
best
will
come.




Des
Moines
in
the
past
has
been
both
good
and
bad
to
me.

The
first
2
years
I
finished
2nd,
and
last year
a
DNF
due
to
sickness.

The
race
win
and
the
200k
check
has
eluded
me
over
the
years.

Was this
year
going
to
be
the
one?


Going
into
the
race
my
form
was
certainly
on.

I’d
had
a
great
month
of
training
back
in
Santa
Cruz leading
up
to
the
event,
with
no
injuries
or
illnesses
to
give
me
any
doubt.




The
course
over
the
years
has
been
moved
around
a
lot.

It
is
now
settled
out
in
West
Des Moines,
 with
a
fairly
static
course
that
offers
limited
opportunities
on
the
bike
and
generally
results
in
one large
pack
going
into
a
fast
flat
run.




I
got
off
to
a
great
start.

I
was
just
sitting
on
one
of
the
Russians
feet,
making
it
to
the
front
buoy
untouched,
then
just
settled
down
into
my
rhythm.

I
did
get
knocked
around
a
little
in
the
second lap,
however
still
came
out
of
the
water
positioned
well
enough
to
make
front
pack.




On
the
bike
and
for
40km,
it
was
a
whole
bunch
of
guys
jockeying
for
position,
with
no
one
standing any
chance
of
making
a
break
stick.

Finally
with
2
km
to
go,
the
“Clingers”
(guys
that
sit
at
the
back of
the
pack)
forced
their
way
to
the
front.



Now
maybe
I’m
just
getting
old
and
grumpy;
however,
in
cycling
there
is
an
unwritten etiquette
about
your
position
in
the
group
or
wheels
you
can
ride
on
relative
to
who
you
are.

Something similar
needs
to
be
established
in
triathlon,
before
“Joe
Blow”
from
Timbuktu
goes
all
Rambo
on
the pack
and
brings
us
down.



After
surviving
a
very
dodgy
entry
into
transition
two,
I
set
out
on
the
10km
run
at
a
relatively


conservative
pace.

As
expected,
a
lot
of
the
guys
went
out
hard
and
fast,
and
then
began
to fade.

 Sure
enough
by
2km
I
had
eased
my
way
back
to
the
top
3
with
only
Tim
Don
up
the
road
and
was ready
to
pounce!

Just
heading
into
lap
2
of
4,
I
heard
my
number
and
name
cited
for
a
penalty,
THIS CAN’T
BE
HAPPENING!!!


A
penalty
can
be
issued
for
a
number
of
infringements
ranging
from
dismounting
the
bike
too
late,
discarding
equipment
in
transition
in
the
wrong
place,
and
many
other
things.

It
is
a
15


second
stand
down
which
 has
to
be
served
in
the
 “penalty
box”
at
the
end
of
 any
of
the
4
laps
on
the
run.

 15
seconds
might
not
sound
 like
a
lot
of
time;
however,
 when
you’re
standing
there
 it
seems
like
an
eternity.

 Also
the
field
is
so
 competitive
that
the
top
ten
 can
finish
within
a
matter
of
 seconds
of
each
other.

 


I
was
quite
surprised
how
calm
I
remained
through
the
whole
thing,
but
back
onto
the
run
I
had
a lot
of
catching
up
to
do.

I
tried
not
to
go
too
crazy
to
catch
up,
and
now
that
I
was
stuck
back
in
 traffic,
I
found
myself
weaving
in
and
out
of
the
stragglers.

Once
again,
I
bridged
back
up
to
the
lead group
of
runners
by
the
end
of
lap
2
with
Tim
Don
just
up
ahead.

Unfortunately,
I
the
penalty
had
 forced
me
to
use
my
“trump
card”,
and
in
doing
so,
was
not
in
the
position
I
wanted
to
be
in.




At
the
7km
mark,
Courtney
Atkinson
surged
in
an
attempt
to
close
the
gap
on
Don
who
had
$$$’s
in
 his
eyes.

This
was
enough
to
shatter
the
chase
group,
only
Kris
Gemmell
could
hold
the
pace
as
I
 gritted
my
teeth
5
meters
off.

For
the
next
lap
I
tried
to
claw
my
way
back
on,
but
the
damage
was
 already
done.

I
had
to
settle
for
4th,
with
Gemmell
winning
the
battle
for
2nd
and
Courtney
in
3rd.




I
would
later
learn
that
the
penalty
was
for
discarding
my
goggles
in
the
wrong
spot
–
a
very
trivial
penalty.

One
they
have
never
enforced
before,
and
also
a
very
costly
one.

I
will
end
by
saying
that
I
will
never
be
making
that
mistake
again,
and
lost
a
little
sleep
when
I
saw
that
Tim
Don’s
winning
margin
over
me
was
14
seconds…


Optimistic
as
always,
I
believe
you
get
the
good
with
the
bad,
so
I
look
forward
to
great
things
to
come.

Bevan


PS.
I
am
now
on
Twitter
and
facebook,
if
you
would
like
regular
updates
and
to
follow
me
day
to day
@BevanJDocherty


Docherty Wins By An Inch

Last weekend, Bevan Docherty from New Zealand outsprinted Australia’s Brad Kahlefeldt to win the opening leg of the Dextro Energy Triathlon - ITU World Championship Series as they crossed the line together in 1:50:25. A photo finish awarded victory to the Kiwi in the US$150,000 event held in the Korean city of Tongyeong and places him at the top of the Dextro Energy Triathlon – ITU World Championship rankings.

The two lap 1500m swim was led out by Korea’s Chang Yon Lee which sent the Tongyeong crowd into a frenzy. Hot on his heels was France’s three time European champion Frederic Belaubre and Australia’s Courtney Atkinson who was given a 15 second time penalty in transition for a false start.

On the 40km cycle a large front pack of 50 athletes formed until Mark Fretta from the USA and Belaubre managed to escape up the road, carving out an ever increasing lead as they pushed on. The duo managed to open up a one minute advantage over the main pack coming into second transition following 30km of hard graft. On the final cycle lap a Russian pairing of Dmitry Polyansky and Alexander Brukhankov also managed to open a gap of 30 seconds taking them clear of the chasers which included Canada’s double Olympic medallist Simon Whitfield and 2008 Tongyeong ITU World Cup winner Tim Don from Great Britain.

Once on the run the Russians quickly caught Belaubre as Kahlefeldt, Beijing Olympic Games bronze medallist Docherty, and his compatriot Kris Gemmell set about reducing the gap to the leaders. Polyansky managed to break Brukhankov but was caught by the chasers lead by renowned runner Jarrod Shoemaker from the USA as the athletes hit half distance on the 10km run.

Despite being caught Polyansky refused to be dropped as a surging Kahlefeldt first shelled Shoemaker, and later Gemmell from the lead pack. The Russian eventually succumbed to the brutal pace in the final 500m as the Aussie and Kiwi broke clear to fight it out in the home straight.

Kahlefeldt stole the early yards but Docherty responded and sprinted past. The Australian kicked again and overhauled the Kiwi but then slipped some ten metres from the line, losing momentum and allowing Docherty’s last ditch effort to gain the extra inch that he needed to win.

Kahlefeldt appealed against the verdict to award Docherty the race victory but the decision was upheld after a review of the photo finish.

“It’s all a blur, when it comes down to those sort of situations,” admitted Docherty. “It’s just mind over body. I couldn’t really feel my legs but they wanted to go forward. Brad got a bit of a lead on me and I came back and inched in front and we both just went for the line. It was a case of just cross your fingers and go for it!”

“Deep down I know I have a pretty good sprint. That was my game plan going into the Olympic Games but unfortunately it didn’t quite go my way. This time it paid off but that Olympic gold medal is going to haunt me and until I achieve that I’m not going to stop.”

I was more than happy with my result, but of course I wanted to win,” said Kahlefeldt. “I felt really good out there and kept trying to push the pace through the twisty and windy sections on the run but I was waiting for Bevan to come around me. In the home straight he got past, then I came over the top of him, then he came back in front and I just gave it 100 percent. I’ve been in these situations before when it’s oh so close, and I knew I just had to give it everything in such a big race.”

Great Bevan Docherty commercial

A very stylishly shot commercial for Mizone featuring Bevan Docherty. Go Bevan!