This was a tale of two protagonists. David Cantero del Campo (ESP) arrived in Tongyeong having won both the Valencia World Cup and the World U23 Championships, two races in which he definitively confirmed that he was the fastest runner of those heading into today’s Tongyeong World Cup. Meanwhile, Paris Olympian Dylan McCullough (NZL) was the first man on the pontoon after logging a recent best ever WTCS finish of 8th in Weihai. Having tasted defeat to Cantero on the U23 stage, though, a bill was left to be settled.

To enhance the already tantalising match-up, Tongyeong has been a course at which both running races and breakaways have materialised. The former would essentially hand Cantero the win, whereas the latter would put control back in McCullough’s hands. In the end, it was McCullough that seized the day in a spectacular two-man breakaway that saw him win a World Cup race for the first time and relegate his Spanish rival to the silver medal in the battle of styles.

In an early statement of intent, McCullough led the first lap of the swim from Igor Dupuis (FRA). However the field had barely broken up, leaving little scope for the breakaway he would have wanted. At the end of the second swim lap, McCullough would trail Brayden Mercer (AUS) and Maciej Bruzdziak (POL) as an increase in tempo put pressure on the rest of the field. A sharp T1 followed, as did an early surge on the bike, and suddenly McCullough and Bruzdziak were away.

At first the lead pair’s move seemed like akin to the early instability of a field before it comes together. Nevertheless, McCullough and Bruzdziak weren’t going to die wondering. After a lap of furious riding, they had earned a lead of over half a minute against a fairly small and disorganised chase group. Meanwhile, Cantero languished in the fourth pack on the road, around 75 seconds down on the leaders. At the end of the next lap, the front duo had extended their lead to 55 seconds in spite of the merging of the second and third packs. In the Cantero group, a frustrated Izan Edo Aguilar (ESP) broke ahead but received no support.

Frustration was the theme of the early stages of the bike with an irritated wag of the arm from Ben Dijkstra (GBR) here and a shout for others to follow his wheel by Jack Willis (GBR) there. All the while, McCullough and Bruzdziak progressed swimmingly.

Washing his hands of the chase pack shenanigans, Willis eventually set off after the lead pair on his own. However he was in a different postcode to them by this point. Behind, the chase and Cantero-Edo groups came together, albeit at a rather sedate pace. With Willis 2 minutes down going into the final lap, it was already clear that Cantero would have to out-run McCullough by an astronomical, comical, borderline diabolical amount to claim a third straight gold medal.

By this point, Bruzdziak had started to struggle but he did not throw in the towel and pulled a late powerful turn to maintain the lead. With that welcome assistance, McCullough led a chase trio of Willis, Roberto Sanchez Mantecón (ESP) and Blake Harris (CAN) by over 2min 30sec into T2, with the main pack over 3 minutes down.

And so, to the run.

Bruzdziak looked spent before he left the blue carpet after a brilliant effort while his New Zealand partner in crime powered clear. Then again, McCullough had been here before. At the end of last year, he held a healthy lead on the run at the Miyazaki World Cup following a similar breakaway move only for Hugo Milner to burst his bubble with a monster run split. A maiden World Cup medal was McCullough’s consolation that day. This time, he wanted it all.

Cantero certainly had a big run split locked and loaded and ran through the first of the four laps with the lightness of a man treading on clouds. He passed Harris and Willis in quick succession and caught Sanchez on the second of the four laps. Yet it was now unimaginable that he was going to catch McCullough. Thus the intrigue became the race for silver and bronze.

A yawning chasm separated Bruzdziak from the Spanish pair but they were closing fast. The Polish athlete gritted his teeth as the pain showed and Cantero cut Sanchez loose before chomping into the deficit to his opponent. In turn,  Sanchez came under pressure from Maxime Hueber-Moosbrugger (FRA). With a lap to go, Bruzdziak still held his position but Cantero had him right where he wanted him. At the same time, Hueber-Moosbrugger passed Sanchez and also threatened the podium. Then, on the final uphill section, Cantero got his man. All that remained to be seen now was whether Bruzdziak could hold off the Frenchman.

Leagues ahead on the blue carpet, McCullough embraced the crowd as he notched the first World Cup win of his career. After a wait, the day’s second protagonist followed with Cantero sealing an impressive 2nd place. Next over the line was none other than the unsung hero of the race. Turning back to check multiple times whether his eyes were deceiving him before issuing a bellow of joy, Bruzdziak held off Hueber-Moosbrugger to win a first senior international medal in a gutsy performance that deserved nothing less.

What they said

“I don’t normally like to lead the swim but I was feeling good and wanted to push the pace,” said McCullough. “Then I wanted to get on the bike and push the watts. We worked really well together and I’m glad it was just the two of us.” He also admitted that Miyazaki was playing on his mind. “I was hurting in the last 2.5km today, it’s been a long season. I really didn’t want that to be like Miyazaki last year so I dug deep and the gap was enough.”

“My first time here in Tongyeong,” said Cantero, “it was a good one but a really hard and tough race. I think on time with a 2 minute difference on the run I could take them (McCullough and Bruzdziak), but finally I got 2nd and I’m very happy with my performance. It’s the best way to end this good season.”

“It was difficult but I’m really happy with the result today,” said Bruzdziak. “I gave it my all. On the run I knew it was not my best leg. I felt really strong on the swim and on the bike. I knew I had to keep a comfortable pace on the first two laps on the run and then the last two I was shouting at my coach how many seconds were left to David. I was ready to give it all on the last lap because the guy is really fast. I have never been on a major podium before so it means a lot to be here and for me 3rd place is a win.”