ABU DHABI // Every sport thrives on rivalries and that makes triathlon look particularly healthy at present.
There are the Brownlee brothers, Jonathan and Alistair, and their sibling duels, as well as their continuing battle with the reigning world champion Javier Gomez Noya.
Beyond those three is another Spaniard, Mario Mola, who is making a habit of unheralded victories.
A perfect, but not solitary, example was his triumph in the season-opening World Triathlon Series in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Gomez and Jonathan Brownlee were the headline draw, but Mola bested both comfortably with an assured win, consigning his higher-profile rivals to non-podium finishes in sixth and fifth place respectively.
At the WTS race in London last year, Mola did the same – for added effect that time he also beat Alistair Brownlee, who was absent from Abu Dhabi with an ankle injury.
Mola has, though, proved himself a specialist sprint distance triathlete and, 20 minutes after winning the race on Saturday in 52 minutes and 31 seconds, he looked as if all he had done was take a leisurely stroll down the Corniche.
It had not been easy, though, as Mola only really broke away from the others halfway through the five-kilometre run and was trailed closely by Vincent Luis and Richard Murray, who finished second and third respectively.
Soon after that trio was established Mola kicked for a final sprint and came home 13 seconds ahead of Vincent.
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“Well, I am tired and I will be more later but right now my happiness is bigger than tiredness,” he said. “I’m very happy with how everything went today.
“It wasn’t easy at all. We had to push a lot and work a lot. I had an OK swim, not the best one but I managed to stay in the first group on the bike, which was my intention before race.
“Then I knew how strong Vincent and Richard were in the sprint finish so I had to make my move. It worked today.”
A little like the rivalry between the Brownlee brothers, that between Mola and Gomez is an affectionate, almost familial, one.
Mola looks up to Gomez as a mentor – at 25 he is six years younger – and the pair spent time together in Abu Dhabi during their stay.
“I have a very good relationship with Javier and I have learnt a lot from him,” Mola said.
“He has been an inspiration and it is a positive thing that after everything he has done, to have him so close.
“Yes, you want to achieve what he has done, but that’s very difficult because he has been winning races and winning for a long time. Hopefully I can follow in his footsteps and be close to what he has done.”
Gomez’s short-term preparations for this race had been hit by flu and a glute injury, which slowed him down here. He ended nine seconds behind Brownlee, though their personal little battle was hardly as epic as the memorable London finish a couple of years ago.
Brownlee had a mistake-strewn race, including crashing into a fence on the 20km cycle.
“I don’t know what happened,” he said. “At the start of the swim I got nailed. I don’t know what the other guys were doing, they just seemed determined to get on top of me. I don’t know what happened.
“They literally just dived on top of me at the start and I had to swim really, really hard. Then, on the bike I crashed into the fence and made a right mess of it.
“It was just messy. I messed up everything I possibly could really but this is what the first race is about, getting those mistakes out of the way.”
osamiuddin@thenational.ae
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