Non Stanford triumphs at World Triathlon Cape Town

It was a great start for Non Stanford to bring home a win at her first race of the season as she kicks off her campaign for the year which will culminate in her ultimate goal - gold at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. 

On what was a beautiful day in Cape Town, the traditionally colder water meant that wetsuits were required for the first time this year, so Non powered through the water in her Orca Alpha wetsuit to exit the water along with an approx 35-strong bike pack who were chasing swim leader Bermuda's Flora Duffy. Gaining a 30-second advantage over the pack after the first lap, by the final lap Duffy was being reeled back in by the chasing bikers and by the final kilometer they had caught up - so transition was pretty crowded! Right from the start of the run, Stanford took off with her fellow Brits as well as Duffy and Anne Haug from Germany. This pack stuck together till the final kilometre when Stanford dropped into another gear and entered the stadium solo to take the win, 7 seconds ahead of teammate Jodie Stimpson. This was the third consecutive year of a Brit winning World Triathlon Cape Town.

Stanford clearly had no grounds for the apprehension she felt going into the race - telling ITU Media: “I came in really apprehensive, some of my friends and family told me they were going to watch me on TV and I had to tell them they probably would not see me! But I was really shocked to be up there at the front. I was a little worried about the run because I did quite a bit of work on the bike, I thought I might pay for it, but it was just about going out there today and having fun and going through the processes. I didn’t really think about the outcome to be honest with you.”

Other Orca athletes racing at Cape Town included Italy's Alessandro Fabian who came 13th, Hanna Phillippin (GER) 14th, and Sophia Saller (GER) 29th.