Triathlon: Docherty turns tables in another tight finish

Sentimental favourite Bevan Docherty wins by the smallest margin. Marty Melville / Getty Images

Training partners Bevan Docherty and Kris Gemmell yesterday produced another thrilling, gut-wrenching New Zealand one-two finish in the season-ending ITU World Cup race in New Plymouth.

The popular quinella handed yet another message to their Commonwealth Games rivals.

Hopes of a winning start to the day for the huge local crowd quickly disappeared when top New Zealand hope Sam Warriner missed the crucial break in the women's race and finished midfield, well behind impressive winner Vanessa Fernandes.

But nothing could have prepared the crowd for what was to follow.

With Olympic champion Hamish Carter on the sideline, sentimental favourite Docherty stormed home to edge Gemmell by the barest possible margin in yet another of the sport's dramatic finishes.

The charge to the line at Ngamutu Beach was reminiscent of last year's Olympics where Carter just grabbed gold from Docherty.

Carter, Docherty and Gemmell will next race at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. On what the New Zealand trio have shown in the past year or so, who would bet against a shot at the medals trifecta?

The 1500m swim, 40km cycle and the first 9.9km of the 10km run were mere appetisers as the wildly enthusiastic crowd awaited the dramatic sprint to World Cup glory.

The lead changed repeatedly on the testing run with Estonia's Marko Albert, Australian Greg Bennett, Briton Tim Don and world No 1 Hunter Kemper all in or near the lead at times and looking likely.

But when it got really serious it was Docherty who first showed out. Then Rasmus Henning (Denmark) and later Gemmell took turns at the head of the 50-strong field.

The lead changed constantly. No one willing to give even a centimetre in the hectic last kilometre. Henning, hoping to celebrate his 30th birthday in style, edged ahead but was dragged back. Then Gemmell surged and hit the front but it was Docherty who waited for the money run, hit the front and made the last 100m his own as he held on.

As his rivals collapsed around him, Docherty surveyed the carnage and joked by saying "four months drinking rum does have an effect on you" - a reference to the break he took after chasing Carter home in Athens.

"When I started back I set myself two goals: to win selection for the [Commonwealth] Games and to win this race," said Docherty. "I have now done both."

While there had not been much time for friendly banter when it got serious, Docherty said once he and Gemmell established a break on the run they had tried to work together.

Gemmell bounced back from a broken foot earlier in the year and more recently a debilitating illness following his swim in polluted water at a race in Hungary.

"I gave it absolutely everything as you could see," said Gemmell as he recovered in the medical tent. "We tried to put on a show for the New Zealand public. It was a great race. A hard race. We rested up a bit and then went for it. I had a go but it was not quite good enough."

For American Kemper it was a bitter-sweet finish to his year.

He was happy to finish as world No 1 and pick up the healthy cheque. "But," he added, "you always want to get on the podium. I tried to win. It has been a long year."

The women's race was not quite as dramatic.

There was the usual shuffle out of the water with World No 1 Annabel Luxford first on to the bike but she was soon hunted down and a bunch of 11 rode together.

Becky Lavelle led out on to the run with Fernandes and world champion Emma Snowsill slow out of transition.

That quickly changed with this pair racing through the field and joining Luxford in setting the pace.

With 6km to run, Fernandes edged away and cleared out to beat Luxford, who took the overall top spot, by 1m 13s, with fellow Australian Snowsill 7s away.

Warriner finished 19th, six and half minutes behind Fernandes and just half a minute ahead of second New Zealand Andrea Hewitt who impressed for one so young in her first test at this level.