Ashleigh Gentle wins her second T100 Triathlon World Series race in London

By Ayisha Gulati

Ashleigh Gentle exceeded her own expectations of the race in London as she secured her second victory of the T100 Triathlon World Series.

After four races, the Australian now sits at the top of the leaderboard after asserting her dominance in Singapore in April followed by victory at the ExCeL centre.

She praised the crowd support as well as her new training regime, but insists she still has more to give before the series Grand Final in November.

“It’s pretty surreal,” the 33-year-old said. “I probably raced a bit better than I thought I was going to so to come away with the win is amazing.

“I take quite a lot of confidence from that race because I exceeded my expectations today.

“I’m really motivated to get back into work leading into the next race in Ibiza because I feel like I can go to another level there and that excites me.

“But I will celebrate this one first!”

Gentle performed consistently across all three disciplines, but only took the lead in the second half of the 18km run at the end of the race.

Despite her strong run, she accredited her performance to her swim and cycle, something she said she has been working on.

“I’m really happy with my swim and bike today,” Gentle added. It was about getting off the bike and seeing what happens with the run at the end.

“I’m really glad that despite a really strong bike I still ran the way I did.

“The riding has definitely taken priority in my programme the last few weeks, but I didn’t think I’d see the results of that so quickly.

“I’ve adapted well to a new training stimulus quite quickly and converted it into the race.

“Hopefully a few more weeks of bike practice leading into Ibiza and I’ll be even stronger.

The London crowd were full of support for fan-favourite Gentle, something that blew her away and spurred her on to keep going.

“It was crazy out there,” she added. “I had so many people out there supporting me so it was awesome.

“So many people came out here to watch and I was getting a lot of cheers on the course which definitely helped.”

The fifth race of the series will be in Ibiza on 28-29 September, where Gentle will be hoping to make it a hat-trick of wins.

She is enjoying competing in the 100km distance and hopes there is more to come from her middle distance performances.

“I’m very happy,” she added. “To already have two wins on the board is a pretty perfect situation, it couldn’t be better. I’ve had a lot of success over the 100km distance and I really enjoy it.

“If you enjoy what you’re doing, it’s pretty easy – well not always easy! But to get training and to stay motivated when you love what you do.

“It doesn’t make it easier on the race course because that was exceptionally painful, but I am proud of myself.

“I’ve still got a whole season of this T100 series and I definitely feel like I’ve always got one eye on the Grand Final at the end of November.

“My heart is at the T100 series, that’s where my priority is.”

The first London T100 Triathlon weekend on 27-28 July is entirely free for spectators and includes a dedicated T100 Watch Party venue at the ExCel London Exhibition Centre for the very first time. Where fans will be able to see the world’s best triathletes come past at least 10 times during the 100km race format (2km swim, 80km run, 18 km swim). As well as being able to follow them live, out on the course, thanks to a big screen.