The third World Cup weekend in a row
sees attentions switch from Spain to the beautiful Czech town of Karlovy Vary,
and a tough Olympic distance course that has become an athlete favourite on the
circuit over the past six years.
It’s all about the challenge held in
those hills, starting with a tight 1500m swim before the 6.5km point-to-point
bike segment from Rolava Lake swees down into the town centre, followed by
seven laps of intense riding. Each exit of transition is followed by a sharp,
cobbled climb and eventually a fast, curved descent back into the town centre
and with high probability of some rain, things could get interesting where the
surface gets wet, while the dim lighting of the tunnel section heading back to
the blue carpet requires full concentration.
The 10km run packs rolling climbs
over mixed surfaces that will grind down tired legs over four laps, before the
final lift of the crowds that always fill the main square. As always, you can
watch every minute over on TriathlonLive.tv, with the women going out at 10am
and the men at 3pm local time CEST.
Women's Preview
Back wearing the number one after her
brilliant win last year is Switzerland’s Julie Derron. A minute back out of the
water 12 months ago, she then set a lightning tempo on the bike to get right
into contention before a gutsy run sealed the gold. Second in Arzachena this
year and a first WTCS top 10 in Leeds showed she has carried that form into
2022 and now knows exactly what it takes to podium here.
Looking to halt her march will be
USA’s Summer Rappaport, returning to Karlovy Vary for the first time since
2017’s third place. After last year’s demolition of the swim by the eventual
bronze medallist Bianca Seregni, Rappaport’s equally powerful stroke could see
her form a formidable early break with the Italian, who scooped another bronze
in Huatulco in June and now stands 35th in the world rankings.
The World Cup winner last weekend in
Valencia was Germany’s Lisa Tertsch, and the 23-year-old is in a purple patch
of fine form right now over both distances having scored a first WTCS podium
with bronze in Hamburg and silver in Pontevedra. With a lot of racing under her
belt, this will be another massive test after last year’s disappointment of not
finishing.
The same can be said of the test
ahead of teammate Nina Eim, whose only World Cup podium to date was back in
2019 despite regularly being in contention over the closing stages, and she is
surely due to convert her consistency into another medal soon.
Tertsch was able to outrun Leonie
Periault over the final 500m in Spain, but with the French star’s return to
full fitness seemingly now complete, this could be the ideal course to test her
stamina heading into the end of the season.
Japan’s Yuko Takahashi returns to the
blue carpet with confidence high after an excellent race in Bergen. This will
be her first taste of the Karlovy Vary challenge and it is one that could suit
her powerful riding style.
Tenth last year, Luisa Iogna Prat was
part of the lead bike group then just fell away on the run but, like fellow
Italian Seregni, has every chance to make an early impact again with a strong
swim, while Erika Ackerlund (USA) will be aiming to get on that front pack out
of the water this time around after chasing her way to 8th twelve months ago.
A brilliant display in Bergen
delivered the current Junior World Champion Tilda Mansson a surprise win in
Norway, so all eyes will be on the 18-year-old as she looks to continue the
impressive form that has also seen her hoovering up Junior European Cup golds
all year. The jump to standard distance was far from easy in Pontevedra,
however, and Karlovy Vary represents a significantly different course to those
she is used to as a Junior.
Brazil’s Vittoria Lopes returns to
the blue carpet for the first time since Hamburg and will relish the
opportunity to deploy her imperious swim over the technical 1.5km opening
segment, while teammate Luisa Baptista will want to put last weekend’s
disappointment behind her and revel in the Czech challenge.
Women’s World Triathlon Cup Karlovy
Vary
Sunday 11 September
Full start list click here. https://triathlon.org/events/start_lists/2022_world_triathlon_cup_karlovy_vary?mc_cid=2af25d4502&mc_eid=6139649918
Men's Preview
Peru, Ecuador, Mexico, and now this
year Italy and Spain, Manoel Messias has finally discovered his World Cup
podium potential outside of the Americas and produced an outstanding bike and
run to outpace Mario Mola and win gold in Valencia last weekend. As an
appetiser for what’s ahead in Karlovy Vary, that performance was hard to top,
but this will be the 25-year-old former Junior World Champion’s first taste of
life in the Czech hills, and he tackles it wearing the prestigious number one
cap and knowing a stiff test lies ahead.
Sure to be ready to tackle the race
head-on is another former Junior Champion, Hungary’s Csongor Lehmann. Making
the step up from U23 in style, Lehmann kicked on to his first World Cup podium
here last year and, on a course he knows and that suits his racing well, will
surely be among those challenging for the medals once more.
Matthew McElroy and Seth Rider lead
the American medal hopes, McElroy back to his best with a 14:29 time over the
5km in Valencia to run himself into third and will be ready to test himself
over a very different kind of race. For Rider, a return to the top 10 in Bergen
will have been satisfying, a first World Cup podium still his primary target
after plenty of success in the USA Mixed Relay team.
Italian duo Nicola Azzano and Nicolo
Strada will want to deploy their swim prowess to its fullest across the 1500m
opener and try and carve out a significant advantage over the bike into town,
and with the likes of Chile’s Diego Moya – involved in a crash that ended his
Valencia challenge before it got going – looking to end his European tour on a
high, there could be an opportunity to really dictate things up front.
It was in 2020 that Hungary’s Mark
Devay looked well set to challenge for the medals before crashing at the end of
the bike, and the Hungarian will doubtless be another pushing the pace off the
front to try and maximise the advantage onto the run just as he did two years
ago.
Casper Stornes and Vetle Bergsvik
Thorn are the two Norwegians who will be fired up from their Bergen weekend and
hungry to get stuck into a bike course that should suit them well: it was here
five years ago that Stornes scored his first top ten finish in a World Cup and
he will want to attack the 40km ride from the outset.
Jan Volar and Radim Grabik will be
looking to give their fans plenty to cheer since both have shown good progress
over the years on the course, and with each pass of the grandstand across bike
and run will be assured of a huge lift from the crowds.
Fifth in the Commonwealth Games at
the end of July, Grant Sheldon (GBR) has scored back-to-back podiums in Karlovy
Vary. Bronze in 2019 and silver last year, a good position out of the water
will be crucial if the 28-year-old is to complete the set, and no doubt he will
have been meticulous in his planning of how to do just that on a course he now
knows like the back of his hand.
Long overdue a first podium, it was
here that Germany’s Jonas Schomburg came closest back in 2017 and we could see
him attack hard again off the bike on Sunday, while compatriot Lasse Luhrs
scored a first WTCS podium in Leeds and could run himself into contention.
Men’s World Triathlon Cup Karlovy
Vary
Sunday 11 September
Full start list click here. https://triathlon.org/events/start_list/2022_world_triathlon_cup_karlovy_vary/546969?mc_cid=2af25d4502&mc_eid=6139649918
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