Press release courtesy of Triathlon Canada
Desirae Ridenour wins Americas Cup gold, Sophia Howell silver and Martin Sobey Bronze
KELOWNA, B.C.—Desirae Ridenour continues to roll in 2025, winning back-to-back Americas Triathlon Cup races on home soil while also leading a triple medal triumph for the Canucks on Saturday in Kelowna, B.C.
Ridenour, who also won three weeks ago in Montreal, was back on top at one of the most historic Canadian triathlons, winning the women’s elite sprint distance race with a time of 59:55.
“I’m super happy to come away with the win. I tried to keep it as smooth and relaxed as possible because I did not taper into this race and I’m a bit tired from training through,” said Ridenour, who became the first Canadian woman in more than 10 years to win a World Cup triathlon earlier this season.
Racing in her home province, the 25-year-old was spurred on by family and friends cheering her on along the 750-metre swim, 20-kilometre ride and five-kilometre run course.
“The swim was pretty good. There were four of us near the front and I draft behind one of them. Onto the bike, two of us put most of the work in and the others sat on us a bit. The last lap, I tried to conserve my legs a bit for the run,” she said.
Mission accomplished.
The member of Canada’s 2023 and 2019 Pan Am Games Teams charged out of second transition and never looked back.
“I got onto the run and just ran away,” added Ridenour. “It’s amazing to be racing in my home province with family and friends here to watch. It was a good day to have a good day and I’m happy I was able to take the win.”
Canada’s Sophia Howell was the next best finisher, 31 seconds behind Ridenour. Howell, of Airdrie, Alta., won the battle for the silver medal with a time of 1:00:26.
Joy Gill, of the United States, was third at 1:00:45.
Meanwhile, Martin Sobey completed Canada’s full set of medals in the men’s Americas Triathlon Cup race under the intense heat in B.C.’s interior.
The 29-year-old from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island battled through the difficult conditions and a deep international field to take the bronze with a time of 53:30.
“I’m based in Victoria now, so it was to fun to be able to drive down to Kelowna for this race being close to home, and bring the family,” said Sobey. “I knew the bike (course) was super technical, so I thought there was a small chance to get a small group away, so I pushed hard in the swim. I came out of the water third so for me that was a solid swim that set up the day.”
It sure did.
The determined Canuck charged out of first transition with a group of eight who worked together, hammering the pace on the field of 63 athletes through the streets of Kelowna, and set up the foot race to the finish.
“We pushed hard on the bike and we were able to hold off the rest of the field,” added Sobey. “The run was really about who had the best legs. I was a little gapped out T2 but worked my way back towards the front and then I had a pretty epic sprint with my fellow Canadian Pavlos (Antoniades) for third.”
Antoniades settled for fourth place with a time of 53:30.
Complete Americas Triathlon Cup Results
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