American triathlon star Taylor Knibb was a class apart from the rest of the field in San Francisco, as the 26-year-old produced a perfect performance across the board to take the tape in California.
Out of the water at the front of the race, Knibb took off at the start of the bike and never looked back, opening up a huge lead before running home to victory.
In second place, Kat Matthews bounced back from her disqualification at IRONMAN Hamburg last weekend, with German Laura Philipp rounding out the podium.
Swim – Imogen Simmonds times it just right
Diving off the ferry, the conditions in San Francisco were slightly better for the women, who started 45 minutes after the men, but it was still a choppy day in the Bay, with home favourite Knibb going straight to the front.
With the beach in sight, it appeared as if Knibb would lead a small group, that also included Paula Findlay, out of the water. However, in a moment that took everyone, including the commentary crew, by surprise, Imogen Simmonds was suddenly in the lead.
The Swiss star, an incredibly strong swimmer, found the perfect current that set her on a beeline for the beach, as she flew by the front pack some 20 metres to her left and came out of the water with an advantage over the rest of the field.
Into transition, Simmonds was +0:13 ahead of Knibb, with Philipp, Matthews and India Lee a further ten seconds behind and Ashleigh Gentle and Paula Findlay within half a minute of the front.
Emma Pallant-Browne, Tamara Jewett, Lucy Byram and Laura Madsen were less than a minute back from Simmonds, as similarly to the men’s race, the faster swim conditions meant that the weaker swimmers lost less time than they usually would in the water.
Bike – Knibb utterly dominant
Out on to the bike, Knibb quickly reeled in Simmonds before blasting off the front, with the American opening up a 30 second gap over Philipp, Simmonds and Matthews over the opening lap. In fourth, Findlay was +1:06 down, with Lee, Gentle, Pallant-Browne and Madsen close behind.
By the halfway mark, the Olympic medalist’s lead had grown exponentially, with the gap back to Matthews and Philipp over two minutes, with Simmonds three minutes back in fourth and Findlay, rounding out the Top 5, more than four minutes in arrears.
Pushing on, Knibb continued to build an insurmountable lead on the bike, with the gap back to Matthews +4:33 coming into transition. In third, Philipp was +6:16 from the front, with Simmonds +6:38 down in fourth. Further back, a group of four made up of Findlay, Madsen, Lee and Pallant-Browne were nine minutes behind.
Gentle, who won the Singapore T100 in April, started the run +10:41 back on Knibb, with the Australian facing an uphill battle to get back into podium contention, as Matthews was six minutes up the road and Philipp in third more than four minutes ahead.
Run – Nobody can stop Knibb
On a mixed terrain course in San Francisco, Knibb continued to consolidate her grip on the race, as the American, often seen as an amazing biker above all else, demonstrated her prowess on the run.
Whilst Matthews made up a little ground, Knibb maintained the gap to the rest of the field, as Gentle, who we so often see run through in these races, struggled to make an impact over the first couple of laps.
In a season that has so far seen her dominate at IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside, finish on the podium at WTCS Yokohama and qualify for the Olympics in a second sport, Knibb added another stellar win to her resume with a flawless performance in San Francisco.
Taking the tape with a smile on her face, Knibb beat Matthews, who finished on her first ever T100 Tour podium, by almost four minutes. In third, Philipp, racing her first T100 Tour event of the season, was a further three minutes back from Matthews.
Rounding out the Top 5, Simmonds finished in fourth, just ahead of Britain’s Pallant-Browne, who had a great run to move through the field on the final discipline.
San Francisco T100 – Saturday June 8 2024
2km / 80km / 18km
PRO WOMEN
- 1. Taylor Knibb (USA) – 3:38:01 [17:23/2:09:32/1:07:00]
- 2. Kat Matthews (GBR) – 3:41:48 [17:35/2:14:18/1:06:00]
- 3. Laura Philipp (GER) – 3:45:07 [17:37/2:15:57/1:07:23]
- 4. Imogen Simmonds (SUI) – 3:47:22 [17:00/2:16:38/1:09:32]
- 5. Emma Pallant-Browne (GBR) – 3:47:56 [18:05/2:18:15/1:07:25]
