Being run down by seven rivals in the final three kilometres of standard distance race would normally be a bitter pill but Eva Goodisson will nonetheless go into her offseason break satisfied she’s making strides back to her best.
The Gold Coast-based Kiwi held 4th till the 7km mark in the run during Saturday’s World Triathlon Cup Tongyeong after another trademark swim-bike effort. Unfortunately, the lingering aftermath of a neural back injury meant the Havelock North 26-year-old had to settle for 11th in her final race of a patience-testing season.
Afterwards, Goodisson revealed she has been nursing a “stress reaction in my shin” during her stint in Europe which preceded Saturday’s race in South Korea.
“I’ve had to manage that so I’ve done little to no running in the last eight weeks except in races,” said Goodisson who ran a 38:29 10km compared to eventual Belgian winner Jolien Vermeylen’s 35:38.
“So, a hard 10k was a big ask. I was holding 4th place until about 7k when the fastest runners from the chase pack caught. I was in 7th until the last k and finished 11th.”
Still, that’s nothing to be sneezed at. Indeed, it is Goodisson’s equal second-best result on World Triathlon second tier circuit, matching her placing in Valencia in September 2022 – pre back injury.
Now the goal is to kick on, rekindle her renowned run speed and eclipse her World Cup best of 7th in Miyazaki, achieved a month after Valencia.
“The shin has healed now so I’m excited to first have a well-deserved break back on the Gold Coast then Christmas in NZ, then get into summer training on the Goldie,” Goodisson said.
The Kiwi will certainly rest easy on her swim-bike form after combining with Summer Rappaport (USA), Emma Jeffcoat (AUS), Vermeylen, Sian Rainsley (GBR) and Sara Guerrero Manso (ESP) to form a breakaway out of the water. Guerrero Manso was quickly dropped as Vermeylen went on to claim her maiden World Cup win from Rappaport and Rainsley.
“Yeah I was stoked to have a swim-bike breakaway with those five girls. Had a great start and felt very comfortable in the swim holding third. We had a good gap out of the water and worked really well together in the bike holding a solid average power and using each other’s strengths.
“We were motivated and encouraged each other so it was great to see the time gap go from 20 seconds to 2 minutes by the end.
“I’m honestly very happy with that race and finishing the season like that.”
Kiwi team-mate Ainsley Thorpe DNF’d while Dylan McCullough later claimed his first World Cup win in emphatic fashion the men’s race with Saxon Morgan 27th.
