Mario Mola is a man under pressure as the ITU World Triathlon Series heads to Rotterdam for the Grand Final this weekend and the battle to win the title could well go down to the wire in the Netherlands. Mola is in a strong position at the summit of the men's WTS rankings with 3,701 points and he only needs to finish fifth or better on Saturday to be crowned world champion for a second year running, although his recent form is a cause for consternation...
Mola started the 2017 campaign in red hot form, winning titles on the Gold Coast, as well as in Yokohama, Hamburg and Edmonton, to set a blistering early pace that suggested this would be his year. However, his form has cooled in recent weeks as a mixture of injury and illness has contributed to a disappointing fourteenth place finish in Montreal and he could then only finish seventh in Stockholm, where he cut a forlorn figure prior to the swim as he lined himself up at one end of the pontoon before watching the stronger swimmers of Richard Varga and Jonathan Brownlee line up at the other.
The 27-year-old had been tactically outfoxed in the swim discipline, which has never been his strongest suit, and he was always playing catch-up from there as Brownlee went on to claim the title in Stockholm and the Brit ensured he maintained his proud record of having won at least one WTS event every year since 2011.
Mola fought back well to eventually finish seventh in that race but it leaves him with a slender advantage of 340 points over his nearest rival, Javier Gomez, the legendary Spaniard, in the WTS rankings after eight events, with only Rotterdam left to go.
Gomez Looms Large
With 1,200 points on offer for the winner this Saturday, Javier Gomez knows that he is in with a genuine chance of overhauling Mola to become the International Triathlon Union WTS champion for a sixth time in his career following his successes in 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2015. The most decorated ITU racer in history has already won WTS events in Abu Dhabi and Montreal this year and it was an ominous sign for the rest of the field that the 34-year-old was showing off his credentials over longer distances when winning the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Chattanooga, USA, on Sunday.
How much will that race have taken out of him? It remains to be seen but there is no doubt that the course in Rotterdam should suit an athlete who traditionally prefers Olympic-distance races...
Who Else Could Pip Mola To Become World Champion?
One of Mola's training partners, Richard Murray, is currently third in the WTS rankings, 504 points adrift of the leader, and the South African will be desperate to finally become world champion following several near-misses in recent years. The 28-year-old has been admirably consistent when finishing no worse than seventh in the five WTS events he has contended this year and, like Gomez, he heads to Rotterdam with a recent win under his belt after landing the TriBundesliga Grand Final in Binz, Germany, at the weekend.
Meanwhile, Fernando Alarza is then fourth in the WTS rankings, 529 points behind Mola, and he is looking to regain some confidence after seeing his form tail off dramatically since crashing out of the bike leg in Hamburg earlier this season.
Kristian Blummenfelt trails the WTS leader by 530 points following his brilliant runner-up effort in Stockholm, where he pipped Pierre Le Corre to silver in a breath-taking sprint finish. A powerful rider, the Norwegian will enjoy the conditions in the Netherlands and the 23-year-old could prove to be a dark horse as he bids to win a WTS event for the first time in his career.
It was of course Jonathan Brownlee who took gold in Stockholm last time out and that victory propelled the 2012 world champion to 2,806 points in the WTS rankings, a full 809 points behind Mola. The Brit can still mathematically become world champion but it looks a tall order and he has admitted that his title hopes are as good as over following a frustrating, injury-ravaged 2017 campaign.
For now it is Mola who is in the box seat but it is shaping up to be an intriguing finale to another fascinating WTS season in Rotterdam.
