Kitzbühel, Austria (July 20, 2008) - The final world cup before the Beijing Olympics and Switzerland's Nicola Spirig made quite a statement, winning today's Kitzbühel BG Triathlon World Cup. France's Carole Peon surprisingly took the silver medal while New Zealand's Sam Warriner came across for the bronze.

"It was an amazing race for me. It's just great to have a win again and it's fantastic. Today I felt good and I really thought no problems at all," said Spirig at the finish line. "I had a good feeling from the swim and on the bike. I had a bit of cold legs at the beginning of the run but after the first lap I felt really good," said Spirig.

The shape of the race changed early as world number one Felicity Abram pulled out after the first lap of the swim. The Aussie was attempting to compete in three world cups in as many weeks and didn't have the energy to complete today's race. Swiss Magali Di marco led the women out of the water, followed closely by American Sarah Groff and German Christiane Pilz.

On the technical 40-kilometer bike course, two packs came together early to form a 19-woman lead group. After a surprisingly strong swim, the Swiss cycling powerhouse Spirig attempted to breakaway from the group at the start of the third of eight laps. But it wasn't a race breaker as Spirig rejoined the leader by the end of the lap. The lead pack of 19 women built a sizeable 2:30 lead through most of the bike portion. Notables in the chase group included Erin Densham of Australia, Ai Ueda of Japan, and Austrian Tania Haiboeck.

At the start of the 10-kilometer run, Luxembourg's Elizabeth May and Spirig immediately surged to the front and opened up a slight gap on the rest of the field. But Peon and Warriner bridged up to them by the end of the first lap. Of the four women, Spirig and Peon took command. As they took the bell lap, they owned a 20-second lead and would have to battle each other for the win. As they reached the final 200 meters, Spirig surged ahead and sprinted away for her second world cup title. Peon happily took the silver, equalling her best ever world cup performance from last year in Cancun. Warriner held on for the bronze, the 12th world cup medal of her career.

Kitzbühel BG Triathlon World Cup
1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run
Elite Women - Unofficial Results

Gold - Nicola Spirig (SUI) 1:57:28 Click here for audio
Silver - Carole Peon (FRA) 1:57:35 Click here for audio
Bronze - Samantha Warriner (NZL) 1:58:04 Click here for audio
4th - Andrea Hewitt (NZL) 1:58:12.16
5th - Elizabeth May (LUX) 1:58:12.77
6th - Christiane Pilz (GER) 1:58:31
7th - Magali Di marco (SUI) 1:58 37
8th - Ainhoa Murua (ESP) 1:58:54
9th - Andrea Whitcombe (GBR) 1:58:57
10th - Debbie Tanner (NZL) 1:59:01