The Spaniard followed on from his impressive win in Mooloolaba, Australia, last week with another fine performance in New Plymouth to pip compatriot Javier Gomez on the line and continue his perfect start to 2014.

There was little to split the 75-strong field of men as they clambered out of the water to begin the 20 kilometre bike route.

It was not until the run where Mola and Gomez began to assert their dominance and, like in so many ITU races, the pair began to pull away from the main pack.

It wasn't until the run where Mario Mola and Javier Gomez began to pull away from the field, followed closely by Joao Silva ©ITU


Maybe slightly surprising for Gomez however, was when Mola continued to pull away, forging a gap between himself and his compatriot which would prove impossible to bridge.

An impressive "Mola kick" as the finish line approached assured the 24-year-old victory as he crossed the line in a time of 52min 30sec, three seconds ahead of Gomez and 26 seconds ahead of Portugal's Joao Silva in third.

"It was perfect for me, I felt good on the swim and then I knew I had to be careful on the bike because there are a lot of guys racing here and the course was a bit tricky and a lot of corners," said Mola.

"But I did what I was supposed to do, what I had in my mind before the race.

"Then on the 5km of the run, I was lucky to have the win.

"Congratulations to Javi and Joao for the race, I have a lot of respect for Javi so I feel very happy to be able to have this race.

"I'm also really happy to have raced with or against Javi, that's always great."

Gomez's silver marks the first time he has failed to win in New Zealand, following wins in New Plymouth in the 2008 World Cup, Queenstown in the 2003 Under-23 World Championships and Auckland in 2012 and 2013 as part of the World Triathlon Series.

Katie Hursey showed again why she will be a major contender in the 2014 triathlon season with victory in New Plymouth ©ITU



The women's race saw America's Katie Hursey improve on her silver medal from last week's race to claim her third career World Cup title.

The young American was competing in just her 12th ITU World Cup race and once again proved why she will be a major contender in the 2014 triathlon season.

After securing a place in the 13-strong lead group on the bike, which had moved a remarkable 40 seconds ahead of the rest of the field, Hursey showed again how strong she is on the run, bursting out of the gates to take an early lead on the road.

The rising star continued to lead on the run, pulling away from the field to break the finish tape in a time of 57:27 to secure her second successive podium and her first win of the season.

"It was great, it's a beautiful place, it started off well on the swim and I was happy to get on the first bike group from the start and once we were there it was cool watching the numbers go up to the next group so I knew that if I stayed relaxed on the bike - and it felt really good today - that I could run well," Hursey said.

"I got off and I tried to keep a steady pace and it worked.

"It worked out today, it was a good day."

Behind Hursey, the battle for medals came down to a sprint finish between New Zealand's Andrea Hewitt and Great Britain's Jodie Stimpson.

Riding off the crowd, Hewitt had enough in the tank claim the New Plymouth silver, with Stimpson taking bronze.

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