For twenty years, the German city of
Hamburg has been welcoming the top tier of international triathlon, but never
before has it hosted twice within the same Series calendar year. That is the
twist of fortune that came out of 2021’s pandemic disruption, the 2022 world
title chase kicking off here back in September and leading us back to what has
established itself as one of the most eagerly awaited stops on the circuit for
another almighty weekend of swim-bike-run in this magnificent city.
Once again the sprint-distance course
starts with a 750m swim in the Binnenalster lake that features a dark, 40m
tunnel section under the pedestrian bridge on the way back towards an imposing
transition area in front of the city’s iconic Rathaus. From there, it’s a flat
and technical 6-lap bike of 21km before the 2-lap run brings another 5km of
high drama to decide the medals. You can watch all the action unfold on
TriathlonLive.tv from 13.30pm CEST this Saturday.
Women's Preview
The first time Flora Duffy (BER)
lined up at the Binnenalster lake in Hamburg she was 18, starting her first
race as a senior after finishing in second place just weeks earlier at the
Junior World Championships and about to start her Olympic journey. Little could
she have imagined back then that 16 years later she will line up again in
Hamburg as the reigning Olympic champion, three-time World Champion and trying
to prove that, despite the bad luck of the last weeks, she is ready to fight
once again for the top of the podium.
Duffy’s journey to Hamburg has not
been an easy one. After finishing in third place in the first WTCS of the
season in Yokohama, she tested positive for Covid. She then raced in Leeds
where she was surprisingly dropped on the bike and finished in 7th place. The
Bermudian had a frustrating weekend two weeks ago when her bike never arrived
in Canada, where she was trying earn a slot on the Ironman 70.3 World Championships,
and now hits Hamburg, ready to prove once again that she is in title-winning
form.
Duffy wont be wearing the number one
this Saturday, that honour assigned to Beth Potter (GBR), currently standing in
second place on the Maurice Lacroix World Triathlon Championship Series
Rankings, and looking to land her first victory on the top tier events of World
Triathlon. The rapid runner knows that this course and format is just about as
suitable for her as can be, and won’t want to pass up the chance of a career-first
gold.
Both Duffy and Potter know that no
matter what they do this weekend, they won’t be able to leave Hamburg on top of
the rankings, with Georgia Taylor-Brown sitting comfortably in that position
even though she has decided to skip the race to focus on her preparations for
the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
Laura Lindemann will surely have the
extra motivation of the local crowds, pushing her to defend the title she won
in style last year, but she will have to share their cheers with several teammates
that have shown great performances this season; Anabel Knoll, Marlene
Gomez-Islinger, Lisa Tertsch, Nina Eim and Lisa Meißner will indeed be ones to
watch closely this Saturday.
The American squad has a fantastic
history of performances in Hamburg, but neither Taylor Spivey nor Summer
Rappaport have never won here. Both seem back in good form after dealing with
injuries and Covid recovery in the last weeks, and this would be the perfect
opportunity for them to return to podium positions, especially if it all boils
down to a running race with a big group finishing the bike segment together.
With Cassandre Beaugrand and Leonie
Periault also missing, this Saturday could be the perfect opportunity for
another French woman, Emma Lombardi, to step on the Hamburg podium. The current
U23 World Champion had an astonishing performance on her debut on the WTCS
circuit in Yokohama, where she finished in fourth place, and seems to be in the
perfect place to be among the top finishers here.
Another athlete that always enjoys
the incredible atmosphere in Hamburg is Natalie Van Coevorden (AUS). The Aussie
has raced nine times in the German city, and feels almost at home on this
technical bike course, after having fixed her residency in Hamburg two years
ago. Van Coevorden plans to finish her preparations for the Commonwealth Games
this week, and another top 10 would round off a consistent Spring, in which she
has grabbed enough points to be the first Australian ranked both on the Series
and on the Olympic qualification ranking.
The younger generation is still
coming in strong, and Hamburg has a long-lasting tradition of great
performances from young and fast athletes. Keep an eye on Alberte Kjær Pedersen
(NED), Sian Rainsley (GBR), Lea Coninx (FRA) and Maria Tome (POR), but it will
also be interesting to see how the great and much more experienced athletes
Rachel Klamer (NED) or Andrea Hansen (née Hewitt) will perform this weekend,
both of them with over eight participations under her belts.
The women’s race will get underway on
Saturday at 13.30h and you can watch the race live and on demand on
triathlonLIVE.tv
You can check the full start lists
here, and the current full Maurice Lacroix World Triathlon Championship Series
Rankings here. https://triathlon.org/rankings/world_triathlon_championship_series/female?mc_cid=a251d3e685&mc_eid=6139649918
Men's Preview
Wearing the number one will be Leo
Bergere, the king of consistency this season. The Frenchman has finished on the
podium in every race so far this year, but has still to land his first gold in
a World Triathlon Championship Series event - Hamburg looks like a race in
which he can definitely achieve that big milestone. It was right here in that
the current Maurice Lacroix Championship Series Ranking leader stepped onto the
WTCS podium for the first time back in 2019, and Bergere’s recent displays
suggest he is more than ready to fight for the win.
Bergere’s lead at the top of the
Series Ranking may allow him to race with less pressure this weekend in
Hamburg, but on his tail is New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde, another athlete that
has proven to be in great form finishing on the podium at the three previous
WTCS races: silver in Yokohama, gold in Leeds and silver again two weeks ago in
Montreal. Always one to watch over the sprint and super-sprint formats, the
Kiwi knows that if he finishes in the top 5 and ahead of Bergere, he will be the
new Series leader, precious extra motivation - if any were needed - for him to
collect his first Hamburg medal.
The battle between the two promises
to be an epic one, even more so taking into account some of the names on the
start list that will not make it easy for either of them. One of them will be
Vincent Luis (FRA), the two-time World Champion who knows what it is to win in
Hamburg, having done so twice before and being back on the city centre course
that suits Luis perfectly. This will be the tenth time that Vincent has lined
up by the Binnenalster lake, in which time he has collected two golds, one
silver and two bronze in the individual races alone. But after an unlucky
beginning of the season, he is more than willing to turn the cards and get some
good points to kick on to the second half of the season.
Hamburg will be the perfect set up
for the much-awaited comeback of one of triathlon’s super stars: Mario Mola
(ESP). The triple World Champion and recent father is back on the circuit after
the Tokyo Olympics having taken a few months off racing, but Hamburg is indeed
a course that he knows by heart, having won here three times before. He will
share the line up this Saturday with another legend of the sport that has a
history of big performances in Hamburg, Richard Murray (NED), back on the
circuit after a heart surgery a year ago.
The German squad will be a strong
one, with Lasse Luhrs, bronze medallist in WTCS Leeds, leading a young group of
athletes that will count on the extra push of the local crowds’ support. Tim
Hellwig - winner in Hamburg last year -, Jonas Schomburg, Lasse Nygaard
Priester and Valentin Wernz complete a roaster of young talent that will be
ready to show all their cards this Saturday in Hamburg.
Looking for redemption after a 4th
place in WTCS Montreal and a 8th place in WTCS Leeds will be Jelle Geens (BEL),
who seems to be right back in form after the injury that kept him out of the
first races of the year. With a technical bike course that suits him perfectly,
Geens already knows what it is to podium in Hamburg and celebrate with a beer
shower, and he is thirsty for more.
Also with a previous podium in
Hamburg under his belt is Vasco Vilaca (POR), one always to be considered for
the podium, and it was in the famous Hamburg city centre blue carpet where
Antonio Serrat Seoane finished in the top 5 of a WTCS race for the first time
less than a year ago. The young Spaniard has since then hit the top 5 on a few
occasions, but never been on a WTCS podium yet. Along with him, teammates
Roberto Sanchez Mantecon and Alberto Gonzalez Garcia will try to improve their
rankings after some great performances in their last races.
For the stars and stripes of USA,
Chase Mcqueen - remember, he is not related to the famous actor -, Kevin
Mcdowell, Seth Rider and Marc Dubrik will be trying to get enough points to
ensure that they have as many athletes as possible in the top 30 of the Olympic
ranking, which would grant them the maximum of three male slots for the Paris
2024 Games.
Excellent swimmers like Mathew Hauser
(AUS), Jamie Riddle (RSA) and Mark Devay (HUN) will try to make an impact on
the race from the first strokes, while fast runners like Jacob Birtwhistle
(AUS), Manoel Messias (BRA) or Jawad Abdelmoula (MAR) will surely try their
chances if it all comes to a run race with a big pack dismounting their bikes
all together.
The men’s race will get underway on
Saturday at 15.30hs local time, and you can watch live and on demand on
triathlonLIVE.tv. Check the full start lists here.
Current standings in the Maurice
Lacroix rankings.
ABOUT WORLD TRIATHLON
World Triathlon is the international
governing body for the Olympic and Paralympic 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 para triathlon 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.
www.triathlon.org
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