When Benjamin Choquel (FRA) arrived in Townsville he knew he had a great chance to win the world title in the elite men's duathlon. A year ago Mario Mola missed out on him in Ibiza, but with his Spanish rival absent, Choquel had the chance to reclaim the crown he first won in 2019. However, with reigning European champion Arnaud Deri (BEL) and defending bronze medallist from Ibiza, Krylan Le Bien (FRA), in the mix, Choquel's task was far from easy. The trio led the first lap of the 5km run, with Le Bien holding a slight lead, and the action only intensified from there.
The three riders started at T1 at the front of a scattered line of riders. But soon nine more riders surrounded them on bikes and suddenly it was anyone's game. And with less than 20 seconds separating them from the chasing pack, the leaders were far from safe. The pack actually merged, with 14 riders at the front and a series of attacks in the closing stages. Nicolas Schwijns (Belgium) took advantage of the opportunity and secured a small lead in the transition.
Coming out of T2, Javier Martín Morales (Spain) took the lead before Le Bihan retook the lead, with Choucair lurking dangerously behind his compatriot but Derry struggling with the blistering pace. Going into the final stretch, the race was a close call.
Choker timed his move perfectly to reach the blue carpet first and was expected to sprint across the finish line first as Martin struggled to regain those crucial metres that separated them, but in a most dramatic finale, the Spaniard overtook Choker by a few metres to snatch the gold medal.
“Unbelievable!” Martin shouted at the finish line. “I missed this race in Ibiza last year because I did the Marathon des Sables. It's a totally different race but I'm loving it.”
Choker had to settle for a second consecutive silver medal, but France enjoyed further success with Thomas Laurent (France) coming in third.
Meanwhile, the junior men's title went to Fletcher Medway (Australia) who had a spectacular performance on the bike, beating his nearest rival by nearly a minute. Divan de Vries (South Africa) was the fastest on the day and came close to Medway but ultimately had to settle for silver. Finally, Caleb Wagner (New Zealand) took the bronze medal.
