Shoemaker (1:49:44) held off two-time Olympian Hunter Kemper (Longwood, Fla. / Colorado Springs, Colo.) by 13 seconds, with 2004 Olympian Andy Potts (Princeton, N.J. / Colorado Springs, Colo.) another 22 seconds back. "It's pretty incredible. It hasn't sunk in yet. I had a really good swim, and all six of us were in that front pack. I knew it would come down to the run, so I tried to stay safe on the bike," said Shoemaker, the 2005 U23 World Champion. "I knew the guys were going to be on. It was a tough, tough race. Everyone was out there going for it."
The race went well for all six U.S. athletes early on. Potts led the 85 competitors out of the water but was closely followed by the top international athletes, including current world No. 1 Gomez, Docherty, and 2000 Olympic gold medalist Simon Whitfield (Canada). Kemper and Brian Fleischmann (Jacksonville, Fla. / Colorado Springs, Colo.) were also in that group, with Matt Reed (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Shoemaker, and Doug Friman (Alameda, Calif. / Tucson, Ariz.) close behind.
Being in the first pack was the key for Shoemaker, who came into the race with a history of falling behind early on the swim, working with the chase group on the bike, and trying to use his strong run to move through the field. With Kemper and Potts competing for that first Olympic spot, Shoemaker needed to keep them in sight to have any chance.
After the first lap of the bike a chase group of 30 riders caught the 31 leaders to form a huge pack for the remaining five laps of the 40k leg, and bringing the race down to the 10k run. More concerned with being the first American to finish than those battling it out ahead, Shoemaker and Potts were among a group of 10 other athletes 18 seconds off Gomez's lead after the first lap, with Kemper and Reed just a few meters behind, and Friman and Fleischmann nearly a minute off the pace.
Shoemaker slowly started to move ahead of Potts on the third of four laps, with Kemper keeping pace a few meters back. Kemper, finally returning to health after a nagging hip injury this season, moved past Potts entering final lap, but didn't have enough to catch the young New Englander down the stretch.
With his spot secure, Shoemaker's next objective is to improve enough to challenge the best in the world for a position on the Olympic podium next August. "I still have a lot of learning to do. I'm happy it happened, but I know I need to go out there and race a bit more and keep working on my swim and feeling more comfortable on the bike; gain some power," said Shoemaker. "Obviously my run is alright. I just need to keep working. Nothing is a given. I just want to perform as well as I can next year. I need to keep driving."
2007 Beijing BG Triathlon World Cup - Final Men's Results:
- Javier Gomez (ESP) 1:48:41
- Courtney Atkinson (AUS) 1:49:03
- Bevan Docherty (NZL) 1:49:08
- Kris Gemmell (NZL) 1:49:15
- Simon Whitfield (CAN) 1:49:18
- Ivan Rana (ESP) 1:49:23
- William Clarke (GBR) 1:49:26
- Brad Kahlefeldt (AUS) 1:49:34
- Frederic Belabure (FRA) 1:49:36
- Jan Frodeno (GER) 1:49:44
11th - Jarrod Shoemaker 1:49:44
15th - Hunter Kemper 1:49:57
18th - Andy Potts 1:50:19
35th - Doug Friman 1:51:06
46th - Matt Reed 1:52:17
51st - Brian Fleischmann 1:53:16
For full results, schedule, race reports, athlete quotes and high-resolution images, visit the ITU's Online Media Centre. Beijing was the first of three Olympic Qualifying races for U.S. athletes over the next nine months. The triathlon team will have a maximum of three slots per gender based on country and athlete rankings, which will be finalized after the 2008 World Championships in Vancouver.
After this weekend, the next male and female triathlon team members will be selected in a similar manner at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials at the Honolulu Triathlon on April 26, 2008. The final members of the team will be selected following the Hy-Vee Triathlon in Des Moines on June 22, 2008. These final slots will be determined on a points system that takes into account the athletes' best two finishes over the three races. The points system will also determine the team's male and female alternates.
About USA Triathlon: USA Triathlon is the national governing body for triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon and winter triathlon in the United States. USAT sanctions 2,000 races and connects with more than 100,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. For more information, please go to USATriathlon.org.
