Yohan Diniz of France and Belarussian Rita Turava added the European Cup Race Walking titles to the titles won in Gothenburg last summer with decisive victories over 20km at the European Cup Race Walking in Leamington on Sunday.

Men 20km

The last event of the 2007 European Cup Race Walking proved to be a fitting finale.

The fastest and most unpredictable race of the day was a triumphant return to Leamington for Yohan Diniz of France, ranked only 14th fastest on previous best time for 20km and, as a specialist at 50km having won the European Championship in Gothenburg, took the title with a UK all-comers record and the third fastest 20km walked in the World this year. 

He had perhaps a touch of added confidence in having won the Leamington Grand Prix held on the same course last June - but in time, on a hot day, of only 1:23:19. For Leamington 2007 he faced competition that included the Olympic Champion Ivano Brugnetti and the leading Russian walkers including European silver medal winner Valeriy Borchin. Hwowever, Diniz surprised even himself by removing well over a minute from his personal best. 

"I knew I could beat 1:20:00 today - but had no idea I could beat 1:19:00", he said afterwards. "I'm a little bit surprised", he shrugged in Gallic style tinged with more than a little understatement.

Feeling the effects of a recent altitude training camp in South Africa, and with the motivation and confidence brought about by his champion success last summer, Deniz took on the pace right from the off, and held a 4 second lead over the Brugnetti by 5km.

Unlike for the previous women's race the field strung out around the circular lap, as seven walkers got to the quarter distance in under 20 minutes, with Diniz taking the pace at 19:53 - three second ahead of fastest man in the field this year Valeriy Borchin of Russia.

Brugnetti, together with Robert Heffernan of Ireland, was only four seconds back, just ahead of Ivan Trotski and Siarhei Charnou (both of Belarus).

At 10km Diniz and Brugnetti were stride for stride - both reaching 10km in a fast 39:35, and Borchin still tracking three seconds back.

In cool but bright conditions, Borchin looked to be feeling the heat as Diniz maintained his upright style (and wearing in his professorial glasses) whil Brugnetti looked in impassive, Milanese style behind shades. So close that Diniz should know that was he was allowing him to make the pace.

As the pace accelerated Diniz tested out the Italian with feints at an attackk, but any lead was short lived and at 14km both were still together. 

There was scrap going on behind as Heffernan and Trotksy chased Borchin, while Igor Yerokhin tracked behind the, at times, physical battle for the bronze.

In the 15th kilometre Diniz made another move, opening up a 3 seconds gap over Brugnetti - whose expression for the first time betrayed stress at the pace (a 19:46 5km split). Borchin was third at that point, 31 second behind the leader and fifteen seconds up on Heffernan who marginally held fourth.

A kilometre lap further along Diniz doubled his lead over the Italian and by 42s over Borchin, who's own margin over Heffernan was cut by 4 seconds. 

At 17km Diniz had a 10 second advantage, and Borchin started to slow - allowing Heffernan to gain to within two seconds of the medal position. 

A lap later Deniz's lead was 25 seconds, but the medal positions were winding up even more.

At the bell, Diniz was 33 seconds clear, Brugnetti clear for silver but three were still battling for the bronze - Heffernan, Trotsky and Yerotkin.

Diniz made time to grab a flag to celebrate a lá Gothenburg, and Brugnetti duly claimed silver but the fierce battle for third came to a sprint - with Igor Yerotkin out-kicking Trotski and Heffernan.

In by far the best quality 20km walk seen ever in the UK the first nine finishers completed the race inside Francisco Fernandez's UK all-comers record and the winning time has only been exceeded on one previous European Cup.

Diniz was obviously very happy - and the only question mark on his mind afterwards was whether to aim for just 50km or make the most of his new found 20km pace at Osaka for the World Championships.

Women's 20km

Eschewing her regular tactic of dominating from the start - such as in the IAAF challenge series and last year's World Cup - title holder Ryta Turava of Belarus played a waiting game to win the women's 20km at Leamington.

Making it a race of two halves, she held back before pulling out a 21 second margin after 10km to win in 1:27:52.

She has dominated in Europe over the last two years - making the other leading women walkers look pedestrian by applying her superior pace from the start but today she sat on the shoulder on European silver medalist Olga Kaniskina of Russia, only reaching 5km sheltered in a pack of roughly 20 athletes.

The difference was the present of the young Russians - with 22 year old Kanishkina having achieved a nine second faster personal best than Turava's at her home championships last year, perhaps causing Turava to pay her extra respect.

Turava, with a best in Sesto this year of 1:27:10 had almost a 2 minute advantage on Kanishkina on this year's form, however.

"Turava's a modest person - and modest about her achievements", described Elena Ginko of her compatriot afterwards.

Elena Ginko's previous best performance this year is a respectable 1:31:55 and was disqualified in the Coppa Sesto San Giovanni on 1 May, but she was also in the leading pack looking to back up Turava

As the pace wound up at 10km, with a 22:15 5km split, the front pack was still made up of 14 of Europe's top walkers but Turava was simply holding fire, and a 21:28 5km split to 15km both resulted in her gaining a one second margin over Kanishkina, who held a ten second advantage over Ginko - surprisingly in a medal position.

The race was on. While Turava remained comfortable Kanishkina's facial expression became pained as she struggled in to remain in contact with the Belarus champion. A superb 20:58 last 5km by Turava couldn't be matched by the Russian, and with 12 placed Sniazhana Yurchana backing up her and Ginko, Belarus claimed a the team award over Russia and Spain.

"We  always planned for a medal not thinking it would be first commented Ginko of her surprsie team win'.

50km Men

The 50km showed that supreme speed endurance, and lessons learned from experience, will outmatch plain endurance as Russia's Vladimir Kanaykin claimed a last gasp win in the Men's 50km walk at the 7th European Cup in Leamington.

Kanaykin, right, who holds the world best for the 35km walk, won the 2002 World Junior Championships and took the silver medal at the 2004 World Junior Championships, but had yet to translate that promise in senior international competition, despite several faltering attempts.

This year the Mordovian walker has worked on his technique and applied his supreme pace at the right time this time to win in a time of 3:40:57. Having held back his natural inclination to push the pace, staying in the second group early on, he produced a decisive turn of speed in the late stages of the race, timing it right to only taking the lead in the 46th kilometre.

"For me the race started at 40km and I felt good," said Kanaykin, after finishing the race with a flourish.

Pointing to a frightening future for his rivals he suggested the twenty two year old added "I feel I can definitely improve".

For Nymark, a time of just one second outside his personal best in the World Cup last year was a perfect execution of his plan to steadily increase the pace but he suffered from an usually slow beginning for the World Class field.

The Norwegian was determined not to repeat his experience last summer in Gothenburg where he lost out on a medal after leading for most of the European Championships 50km.

"I should have been able to go below 3:40:00, but not off such a slow initial pace." said a rueful Trond Nymark.

Still, it was by far the highest quality 50km race, with twenty five race walkers finishing under 4 hours with a winning time more than five and a half minutes inside the UK all-comers record set 22 years ago by Hartwig Gauder in the 1985 IAAF World Race Walking Cup in St. John's, Isle of Man.

On a crisp, bright and early start, European championship bronze medallist Yuri Andronov of Russia took on the pace heading a four strong Russian team with Trond Nymark on his shoulder on lap one - out a 23:11 first 5km.

Nymark, right,  made his first move at 9km, and he upped the 5km to 22:38 to ahead of a group including Denis Langlois of France, Marco De Luca of Italy and a trio of Russians Oleg Kistkin, the 2005 European Cup winner Alexey Voyevodin and European Championship bronze medalist Yuri Andropov.

Vladimir Kanaykin moved up to just behind the leaders after hanging back in a second group including Jesus Garcia and Santiago Perez of Spain.

Reaching half way together with the all four Russians now back together Nymark made another move, producing a 5km split 21 seconds faster than the Russians, which extended to a lead of 34 seconds by 35km. 

The decisive moment of the race came with 3 hours on the clock as Kanaykin made his bid. Putting in a staggering 20:59 5km split, well inside world record pace. 

Knowing he was being caught, Nymark, attempted to respond from the front, but simply did not have that kid of raw speed to draw upon.

The experienced Voyevodin, who had shepherded his teammates early in the race, led that charge a from a minute behind by 45km, with his Oleg Kistkin, with no 50km so far recorded, in his shadow.  

Kanaykin raced passed as Nymark tried to respond. "At Gothenburg last year I showed I have the strength at a steady pace but just can't match that type of maximum speed' admitted Nymark. I has nothing more to give'.

At 48km Nymark lost 10 seconds in one lap after being passed, and by the end Kanaykin had time to grab a Russian flag as he celebrated a 34 second victory. 

The final podium position was gained by 24 year old Kistkin, who out-sprinted Voyevodin in the final straight.

The previous champion will have been satisfied in a victory in the team race - Russia finishing all four walkers in the top five, while Spain (Jesús Ángel García 6th place, Santiago Pérez 7th and Francisco José Pinardo 10th) were second and France (Eddy Riva 11th, David Boulanger 12th and Denis Langlois 20th ) also made the podium. 

A shining human interest story out of many in an epic event followed further back. The Irishman Jamie Costin, finished in 15th place in a new personal best time of 3:53:30 to complete his recovery from a serious car injury sustained in Athens, one week prior to the 2004 Olympic Games.

Provisional Leamington results.

20km Men
 50km Men
Women 20km
Junior Men 10km
Junior Women 10km