Gus Marfell’s attack off the front of the main peloton during Sunday’s World Triathlon Cup in Napier smacked of the kind of twitchy, ill-fated move many a nervous newbie has made in their step up in level.
The impulsive young buck would have his brief moment on TV before being reeled in by the established stags in the pack and quickly spat out the back.
Have a taste of that, young fella. Welcome to the cold, harsh realities of life in swim, bike and run’s big leagues.
Except the boy from Blenheim refused to back off, much less be bowed by repeated pinch-me moments throughout the Ahuriri sprint race.
Granted, the breakaway in tandem with Canterbury co-conspirator Henry McMecking didn’t stick for long. Marfell wasn’t done though, somehow keeping his composure to kick on to a brilliant 13th.
“Stoked” and “surreal” were descriptors used on repeat as the 21-year-old tried to comprehend the race of his young life afterwards, an impressive 15:22 5km run split sealing the scarcely believable bow in World Triathlon’s second-tier circuit.
It was little wonder.
There was no surprise in Tayler Reid being the first Kiwi home even if his 7th place wasn’t quite the season opener the Gisborne Olympian had hoped for. What few anticipated was Marfell being the best of the Kiwi rest.
The more experienced Saxon Morgan and James Corbett had been mentioned in pre-race dispatches, while there had been more mail on Sam Parry and McMecking when discussion turned to who, of the U23s in the Tri NZ pathway, might shine.
After all, Marfell’s top level palmarès is still very much a work in progress, a results card scattered with relatively unremarkable performances at continental level.
Before Napier, his standout result was 6th at May’s Oceania Super Sprint and that was in a largely junior field on the Gold Coast. A run to 13th at Asia Cup Tokyo Uninomori in September was an encouraging way to sign off 2024 but remember, that was a title Corbett won, thus the pre-Napier form guide leaning towards the like of February’s SBR magazine cover star.
As such, Marfell was quite content to roll into Napier under the radar and let be what would be. There were nerves of course and they quickly became moments of genuine awe during the race. A endless catalogue of debutants before him have let their minds wander in such circumstances only to become lost in the giddy moment – and on the results sheet.
Not Marfell.
“Seeing all the names on the back of the suits out there on the bike was pretty surreal,” he told SBR.
“To be racing around those guys that I’ve watched since I was a kid, and finally being able to, you know, perform up with them, it’s pretty surreal.
“Yeah, so stoked. Nerves were fairly hard going into it, but I knew I had no expectations on myself so I just raced as hard as I could. Had a pretty good swim, which I was happy with, and just full gas from there.”
Not even a race week prep disrupted by injury impinged Marfell’s performance which should see a giant leap up the World Triathlon rankings from his current position of 242nd.
“I haven’t run since Monday. Had a bit of a calf strain, so that was my first run in, like, five or six days.
“The plan was to just hop off the bike and see what happens and luckily I didn’t feel it at all. It all went according to plan.”
In actual fact, where others crossed the line gassed, Marfell took next to no time to recalibrate.
You look remarkably fresh, Gus?
“Yeah, I actually feel good. Some of the Conti Cups I did in Asia last year were 35, 36 degrees and humid, so I think this [Napier was 25.8°C] was actually quite a nice, quite a relief.”
Of course, Marfell knows one result a summer does not make, much less a career.
The trick now is kicking on during the remainder of the Oceania season to set up a big year focused on earning a maiden start at October’s U23 World Championships in Wollongong with the help of coach Tess Mattern.
“We’ve just started to plan it out, so I’ll go to Europe for five weeks or so, with a stop in Osaka [Japan] on the way to split the travel up. And then hopefully, if everything goes well, an U23 worlds spot.
“Fortunately, today I think I finally put myself [in the picture] to be one of the ones selected. Now it’s just being one of the best U23 Kiwis throughout the season.”
There’s still a long way to go until the worlds in ‘The Gong’ and HP sport is never a linear undertaking.
What is assured though is that a dream World Cup debut has now been pinned to one of the best triathlon-related Instagram feeds in the land.
“That one’s for you Grandad ❤️ I wish you were here to see this one.”
It was a lump in the throat post that only served to amplified the humble Marlborough lad’s day of days.
We’re sure Granddad was there in spirit and that a new legion of fans will be watching @gusmarfellnzl herewith.
World Triathlon Cup Napier – 2025
Men
1.David Castro Fajardo (ESP) – 50:30
2. Brayden Mercer (AUS) – 50:32
3. Callum McClusky (AUS) – 50:33
Also NZL
7. Tayler Reid – 50:50
13. Gus Marfell – 51:22
14. James Corbett – 51:25
16. Henry McMecking – 51:31
18. Lachlan Haycock – 51:54
21. Sam Parry – 52:09
24. Saxon Morgan – 52:23
25. Ivan Abele – 52:28
27. Oliver Larcombe – 52:46
29. Cameron Maunder – 53:13
34. Joel Lange – 55:57
Main Photo: @ScottTPhoto/scottiet.com
