It is back to Japan that the World
Triathlon Championship Series heads on Saturday, when the familiar surrounds of
WTCS Yokohama provide the second stop of the year a full two months since a
memorable Abu Dhabi season opener.
There was much to take away from that
first race of 2023 in the UAE. Alex Yee was back on top form, Vasco Vilaça and
Manoel Messias joining him on the podium, but there was as much intrigue lower
down the leaderboard as a combination of bad luck and early-season cobwebs
conspired to leave the likes of Hayden Wilde, Jelle Geens and Gustav Iden
languishing well out of contention.
Add in the return to the blue carpet
of Kristian Blummenfelt, Marten Van Riel and Morgan Pearson to name just three
who get their first action this weekend, and WTCS Yokohama is set to deliver
fireworks once more. Full coverage on TriathlonLive.tv from 1pm on Saturday 13
May.
Vasco Vilaça wears the number one
Like Sophie Coldwell in the women’s
race, Portugal’s Vasco Vilaça wears the WTCS number one for the first time
thanks to a sparkling Abu Dhabi display, finishing second just off Alex Yee who
sits out the first Olympic-distance action of the year.
Even with injury keeping Vincent Luis
away, the French squad looks strong with 2022 World Champion Leo Bergere and
Dorian Coninx leading the line, Tom Richard also a WTCS top-10 regular in
recent outings and looking for a breakthrough moment after landing on his first
World Cup podium in Arzachena last year.
Coninx was out of the water first
with Luis in Abu Dhabi, Bergere uncharacteristically far back into T1 before
both clocked sub-15minute 5km runs in the heat. Les bleus won’t be holding
anything back.
The Riel deal returns
The returns to blue-carpet action of
Kristian Blummenfelt and Marten Van Riel are sure to impact the race,
Blummenfelt eyeing a second world title as he builds towards his Olympic
defence. Sickness forced him out of the season opener, silver in the PTO
European Open showed his form is back very close to where he would want it to
be.
For Belgium’s Van Riel, the
frustrations of an injury-plagued 2022 will hopefully be behind him at last. A
freak ankle injury sustained in WTCS Leeds ‘22 proved more serious than first
thought, the lack of run time since transferring to more in the saddle,
something the rest of the field won’t be eager to see the fruits of.
Another Belgian had a tough time in
March making up ground from the swim, and it is a rare occasion indeed that you
find the likes of Geens, Wilde and Iden collectively finishing higher than 30th
in the field. That will only leave them more fired up and eager to make amends
in this first Olympic-distance test of 2023, with vital ranking points to be found
in the hunt for this year’s title and, for Iden especially, Paris 2024
qualification points.
Pearson has a point to prove
Morgan Pearson is another who will be
itching to see where his form is after brilliance at the end of injury-affected
2022 then saw more delay and frustration through illness ahead of Abu Dhabi.
Clocking 29m15s for his impressive 10km burst in the Championship Finals put a
difficult year to bed in the finest fashion, though, and the American could
blow Yokohama apart here again just as he did in 2021, when bronze also earned
him a place as the first US male on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic start line.
Roberto Sanchez and Antonio Serrat
provide the Spanish threat, both with the potential to run their way into the
medals, while Henri Schoeman arrives off the back of his Arena Games Triathlon
world title and ready to build into another Olympic campaign after finally
putting successive injuries behind him.
Japan’s top-ranked men Kenji Nener
and Takumi Hojo have yet to score a top 10 on the course, Makoto Odakura the
most consistent of the home athletes in recent outings most notably 12 months
ago when he uncorked a vintage run to 9th place.
Can Tyler Mislawchuk make it back
onto the WTCS podium at the start of 2023? His confidence took a bit of a battering
after successive races and comebacks were best by bad luck, but redemption may
just await on the streets of Yokohama for this Canadian kicker.
The full men’s start list is here
https://triathlon.org/events/start_list/2023_world_triathlon_championship_series_yokohama/576164?mc_cid=425f40e50c&mc_eid=6139649918
WTCS Yokohama
13 May, 1pm local time
TriathlonLive.tv
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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
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