Courtesy: USAT

Jarrod Shoemaker nabbed his first podium finish at an ITU World Cup event, finishing second (1:47:37), just four seconds behind 2004 Olympic gold medalist Hamish Carter of New Zealand, at the Edmonton BG Triathlon World Cup.

Shoemaker held off fellow American Hunter Kemper by two seconds. Joe Umphenour also had a strong race for the U.S., finishing in sixth place with a time of 1:48:02, while Brian Fleischmann placed 11th with a time of 1:48:38.

The men's race unfolded as expected with a large group containing Carter, Kemper, Bevan Docherty (NZL), Fred Belaubre (FRA), Filip Ospaly (CZE) and Martin Krnavek (CZE) exiting the swim together and onto the bike. The chase pack with the likes of Shoemaker, Matt Reed (USA), Paul Tichelaar (CAN) and Terenzo Bezzone (NZL) eventually caught the leaders at the half-way point of the bike and it became a running race. Carter and Kemper quickly moved to the front, pacing off one another, while Shoemaker, Ospaly, Krnavek and Tichelaar trailed close behind.

It was the halfway point where Shoemaker made his move, bridging the gap to Carter and Kemper. It was Carter who made the last move, however, and was able to pull away on the final lap to take the gold.

Shoemaker, the reigning U23 world champion, had a break out race with his first podium finish at an ITU World Cup Race. Finishing with his strongest discipline, Shoemaker electrified the crowd taking it all the way to the wire.

"I had the swim I wanted, the bike I wanted. I had a terrible transition but on the run I was finally able to have my race," said Shoemaker.

Kemper, who led most of the race, regained his number one world ranking with his third place finish.

"I had a good start, led the whole second part of the swim, stayed in the big pack on the bike but the run let me down," said Kemper. "The other competitors had a good run and I'm very happy for Jarrod and our American men's team."

Men's Top 10
1. Hamish Carter NZL 1:47:33; 2. Jarrod Shoemaker USA 1:47:37; 3. Hunter Kemper USA 1:47:39; 4. Frederic Belaubre FRA 1:47:47; 5. Filip Ospaly CZE 1:47:52; 6. Joe Umphenour USA 1:48:02; 7. Paul Tichelaar CAN 1:48:07; 8. Samuel Pierreclaud FRA 1:48:09; 9. Terenzo Bozzone NZL 1:48:24; 10. Martin Krnavek CZE 1:48:26

Other American finishers:
29. Victor Plata 1:50:31

On the women's side, Emma Snowsill (AUS) showed her strength right from the gun, winning the 2006 Edmonton BG Triathlon World Cup in a time of 1:56:49, 49 seconds ahead of her countrywoman Emma Moffat (1:57:38). Samantha Warriner of New Zealand placed third with a time of 1:57:51. Rebeccah Wassner led the Americans, placing ninth in a time of 1:59:22.

Snowsill led out of the swim and was on her own for the first four laps of the six lap bike course until she was caught by the large chase pack containing Moffat and Warriner. This group continued to put time into the rest of the field and came out of transition together onto the run course.

The group quickly spread out on the run course with Snowsill taking the lead and never looking back.

Women's Top 10
1. Emma Snowsill AUS 1:56:49; 2. Emma Moffat AUS 1:57:38; 3. Samantha Warriner NZL 1:57:51; 4. Andrea Whitcombe GBR 1:58:02; 5. Nadia Cortassa ITA 1:58:23; 6. Rina Hill AUS 1:59:01; 7. Lauren Groves CAN 1:59:09; 8. Kiyomi Niwata JPN 1:59:15; 9. Rebeccah Wassner 1:59:22; 10 Beatrice Lanza ITA 1:59:48

Other American Finishers:
18. Jasmine Oeinck 2:01:38; 20. Becky Lavelle 2:02:05; 21. Margaret Shapiro 2:02:16; 31. Julianna Batizy-Morley 2:09:09

JUNIOR RESULTS
American junior athletes were also in action this past weekend in Edmonton. Defending World Junior Champion Steven Duplinsky of Kensington, Md. won the junior race (750m swim, 20k bike, 5k run) in a time of 55:41, beating second place by almost a minute. Willy Pickhardt of Fayettetville, Ark., was third overall in a time of 57:16.

Top 5 Finishers:
1. Steven Duplinsky USA 55:41; 2. Blair Peters CAN 56:40; 3. Willy Pickhardt USA 57:16; 4. Andrew McCartney CAN 57:20; 5. Willie Bell CAN 57:26