COMMONWEALTH GAMES

Gentle push for golden surprise

ASHLEIGH Gentle says she will use the element of surprise to dethrone the world’s most dominant triathlon force, Flora Duffy, and open Australia’s gold medal account at the Games.

Gentle and Duffy are expected to play out one of the most hotly contested battles of the Games tomorrow.

Duffy has won the past two World Triathlon Series crowns, along with the 2015 and 2016 World Cross Triathlon Championships.

Outside of a recent crash at WTS Abu Dhabi, only one person has beaten the Bermuda representative in the past 19 months — Gentle.

After watching Duffy produce the same swim-bike breakaway throughout that period, forcing Gentle to play catch-up after her weakest leg of the multisport, the Gold Coaster said she is ready to shake things up in what could become the biggest race of her career.

“It’s obvious what she will be doing,” the 27-year-old said.

“There are no surprises with her so I think that’s an advantage to me. I know that is her tactic and she has used that every time she has raced to try and get away from me.

“I have been working on a few things to make sure I am as close as possible and if I’m in that group getting off the bike I feel as though I’ll have the best chance [at winning].”

Gentle said posting her first win over Duffy in Montreal last August instilled in her mind that she was no better than the Australian.

“She is a dual world champion so she has those two titles and she has obviously a very fierce competitor,” Gentle said. “But I think that last year I started to believe in myself a little bit more and I’ll be going out there on Thursday with the mindset that I’m no lesser athlete than her.”