Four World
Champions past and present feature, Flora Duffy and Katie Zaferes among those
ready to challenge in the morning’s women’s race before Vincent Luis and
Alistair Brownlee join the men taking to the start line at the other end of the
island where the Brit won in 2019. It’s another sprint-distance affair, and a
beach-start gets the 750m swim underway ahead of a 20km bike with one major
climb and descent on each of the three laps to really test the riders. The
two-lap, 5km run also begins with a climb before gradually descending back to transition
and finishing up in the Parco Riva Azzurra, with both races broadcast live on
TriathlonLIVE.tv.
Women’s race
SAT 10
October 10.30AM CEST
First into
the water will be the Elite women, with the 2019 World Champion Katie Zaferes
wearing the number one and looking to land a first podium of the year. A
5th-place finish at WTS Hamburg was followed by 11th in Karlovy Vary a month
ago, and the American will want to wrap up 2020 with the kind of crisp
performance that was the hallmark of her title-winning season last year.
Like
Zaferes, Flora Duffy will no doubt view the bike climb more as an opportunity
than an obstacle after she tore up the testing Karlovy Vary ride on the way to
gold. Now back to full fitness, the Bermudian has clearly been loving her racing
and has to be among the favourites again this weekend.
Rachel
Klamer would love to mark her 30th birthday with a return to the podium. The
Netherlands’ number one made her last World Cup podium in Cozumel in 2015, and
it was also over the sprint distance that she scooped WTS gold in Abu Dhabi in
2018, so a good swim here and exiting T1 in touch with the likes of Duffy will
be a top priority.
A home World
Cup for their first races of the year will suit Italy’s Alice Betto, Ilaria
Zane and Angelica Olmo, while it was Verena Steinhauser who made a splash for
the Azzurri in the Czech Republic last month with a top-10 finish.
The Belgian
duo of Claire Michel and Valerie Barthelemy look set to challenge once again,
both equally at home over this distance as the Olympic and no strangers to the
World Cup podium, along with Japan’s hugely experienced Ai Ueda.
Iceland’s
Edda Hannesdottir and Estonia’s Kaidi Kivioja represent the ASICS World
Triathlon Team in Italy, the development squad members both placed well in Cagliari
two years ago and now seeking the form that could book them a place at Tokyo
2020.
A strong
Spanish contingent includes Miriam Casillas Garcia, Sara Perez Sala and Anna
Godoy Contreras, with Garcia’s 7th place in Karlovy Vary a timely confidence boost
and reminder of what she can do at this level.
Natalie van
Coevorden continues to fly the flag for Australia with the majority of athletes
unable to travel from the region, and Germany’s Lisa Tertsch will again be
dangerous over the final 5km if she can find herself near the front out of T2.
For the full
start list, click here. https://www.triathlon.org/events/start_list/2020_arzachena_itu_triathlon_world_cup/352549?mc_cid=688ecce0d3&mc_eid=6139649918
Men’s race
SAT 10
October 3.30PM CEST
All eyes
will be on race number one Vincent Luis as he looks to make it three wins from
three after the return to racing and send out yet another massive statement to
the rest of the men’s field ahead of next year’s Tokyo Olympics. The Frenchman
has been in incredible form to lead from the front in both WTS Hamburg and
Karlovy Vary, but a quick scan of some of the names likely to be going just as
hard in Sardinia suggests he may not have things all his own way on Saturday
afternoon.
That list
once again includes Henri Schoeman, the South African making his long-awaited
first start of the year. The Olympic bronze medallist will be eager to find out
exactly where his race fitness is after a prolonged absence from the action,
starting with a 750m swim that has been his hallmark over recent seasons and
offers an immediate chance to test the likes of Luis in the water.
Alistair
Brownlee was one of the few to keep up with Luis in Hamburg and will want a
repeat of his gold in Sardinia last year, the new-look course arguably even
more suited to his aggressive biking style. The same could be said of Kristian
Blummenfelt, hungry for a strong showing after illness cut him short in Karlovy
Vary and an unbelievable leg in the Hamburg Mixed Relay World Championships.
Blummenfelt’s
teammate Gustav Iden was no slouch over that super sprint either and along with
Jelle Geens will be a major threat if well-placed out of the final transition
and out onto the 5km run. The Belgian was the only athlete to clock under 31
minutes in the Czech Republic as he powered his way to third place.
In fact, his
nearest rival over that 10km was Richard Murray, the South African’s 31m06s
both a clear indication of his potential again this weekend if he can deliver
some magic on the other two segments, and of Geens’ incredible dominance of the
run.
Leo Bergere
returns after his first WTS podium in Hamburg, joining Luis, Pierre Le Corre,
Dorian Coninx and Simon Viain in a formidable French line up.
Elsewhere on
the start list, Sweden’s impressive talent Gabriel Sandor makes a first start
of 2020, Matthew McElroy leads the US charge for medals and former Cagliari
World Cup champ Delian Stateff and Alessandro Fabian will spearhead an Italian
team looking for some home glory.
For the full
start list, click here. https://www.triathlon.org/events/start_list/2020_arzachena_itu_triathlon_world_cup/352548?mc_cid=688ecce0d3&mc_eid=6139649918
ABOUT WORLD
TRIATHLON
World
Triathlon is the international governing body for the Olympic sport of
triathlon and all related multisport disciplines around the world, including
duathlon, aquathlon, cross triathlon and winter triathlon. Triathlon made its
Olympic debut in Sydney 2000, with a third medal event, the Mixed Team Relay,
added to the programme at Tokyo 2020, while paratriathlon was first added to
the Paralympic programme at Rio 2016. World Triathlon is proudly committed to
the development of the sport worldwide, with inclusion, equality,
sustainability and transparency at our core as we seek to help triathletes at
all levels of the sport to be extraordinary.
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