Overshadowing home country hero Javier Gomez’s 10th World Cup win and the heart stopping duels for Olympic selection among the athletes for Great Britain and Germany was the brightest shooting star at the Madrid World Cup.

By now she has earned the right to be known by a single instantly recognizable name – Vanessa – just as Madonna, Jordan, Oprah, Pele, Dylan, Caesar, and Napoleon were known in their realms.

At just 22 years of age, Portugal’s Vanessa Fernandes established herself as a triathlon immortal and heavy Beijing Olympic favorite with her smashing sixth straight victory at the Madrid BG World Cup in Spain.

Since her inaugural World Cup win in Madrid as an 18-year old in 2003, no other woman has won at Madrid. With this win, Fernandes won a record 20th ITU World Cup, breaking a tie with Australian great Emma Carney at 19 wins. Earning further glory, Fernandes’ 20th World Cup title in 31 starts gives her an overwhelming winning percentage of 65 percent. And even giving away the first 12 World Cup seasons in which she did not compete, her 20th victory the 200th World Cup in history gives her a winning percentage of 10 percent.

For the record, Fernandes’ rode to a 2 minute 30 second bike breakaway with Daniela Ryf of Switzerland and Helen Tucker and Hollie Avil of Great Britain before jetting away on the run like Big Brown’s rocket sled ride down the homestretch at the Preakness Stakes last week. Cruising along with a 34:44 run, Fernandes soaked up the moment in the finish chute before crossing the line in 2:04:46 with a 63 seconds margin over runner-up Tucker, 21 more seconds over third place Ryf and 30 more seconds over 2007 Under 23 World Champion Hollie Avil.

Only Australia’s three-time World Champion Emma Snowsill, who defeated the great Fernandes at the season opener in Mooloolaba, stands as a plausible rival this August in Beijing.

Behind Fernandes, two desperate battles were waged for precious Olympic slots.

Among the women of Great Britain, 2007 Under 23 World Champion Avil, who broke into the World Cup circuit in Fernandes fashion this spring with two straight podium finishes, teamed up with Fernandes, Ryf and fellow Brit Helen Tucker to put the boot to the rest of their rivals with a smashing 2 minute 30 second bike breakaway that left fellow Britons Kerry Lang, Jodie Swallow, Andrea Whitcombe and a recovering from injury Liz Blatchford in their dust. The break gave Avil and Tucker virtually sure nomination for the Games. When Blatchford and Whitcombe dropped out, Lang out-hoofed Swallow 37:23 to 38:32 to possibly make her bid for Great Britain’s third women’s ticket to Beijing.

In the stretch, Tucker out sprinted Ryf for second while Avil took a solid fourth.

With Ricarda Lisk and Anja Dittmer sewing up the first two German women’s Olympic slots at the 2007 ITU World Championship in Hamburg, Madrid was a do or die shootout for Olympic veteran Joelle Franzmann and relative longshot Christiane Pilz.

After a waiting game ride in the big chase pack, Franzmann broke out to an early lead on the run. By 6 kilometers, Pilz finally caught her rival and they ran elbow to elbow until the final lap, when Pilz took off on her way to a 35:29 run that brought her home in 7th place. Franzmann, her dream broken, ran home 11th with a 36:26 run.

Soundly defeated after a brave effort at the US Olympic Trials in Tuscaloosa a month ago, Mary Beth Ellis finished 17th and first American at Madrid, 56 seconds ahead of 19th place finisher and Tuscaloosa Trials winner Julie Ertel. Rebeccah Wassner came off her strong second place finish at St. Anthony’s with a 13th fastest 35:55 run to finish 22nd.

Madrid BG Triathlon World Cup
Madrid, Spain
May 25, 2008
S 1.5k/ B 40k/ R 10k

Results

Elite women

1. Vanessa Fernandes (Por) 2:04:46
2. Helen Tucker (Gbr) 2:05:49
3. Daniela Ryf (Sui) 2:06:10
4. Hollie Avil (Gbr) 2:06:19
5. Lisa Norden (Swe) 2:07:35
6. Elizabeth May (Lux) 2:08:00
7. Christiane Pilz (Ger) 2:08:05
8. Carole Peon (Fra) 2:08:16
9. Eva Dollinger (Aut) 2:08:19
10. Emma Davis (Irl) 2:08:45
11. Joelle Franzmann (Ger) 2:08:52
17. Mary Beth Ellis (USA) 2:10:30
19. Julie Ertel (USA) 2:11:26
22. Rebeccah Wassner (USA) 2:12:33
35. Margaret Shapiro (USA) 2:15:54

DNF include:

Heidi Grimm (USA)
Jenna Shoemaker (USA)