Here we
are. After two years, dozens of races and no shortage of drama, the last of the
Olympic ranking points will be awarded on Saturday at WTCS Cagliari and the
Paris 2024 picture will finally begin to clear for many, if not all, of the
athletes in Italy.
Not all,
because many of the teams’ selections will remain discretionary regardless of
results. So while athletes from Spain, GB, USA and even France can put
themselves right in the shop window for the selectors, even a podium is no
guarantee of their place on the 30 July start line on the Seine.
This will
be the third WTCS Cagliari, and surely the most dramatic. The 1.5km ocean swim
has historically proven one of the most challenging beach starts going, and it
has to effectively be negotiated twice over the two laps. From there, the 40km
bike is hard and rolling if not technical or hilly on each of the ten laps, the
10km run to the line likewise over four laps.
Eyes on
the prize, this is going to be unmissable. Tune in on TriathlonLive.tv from
3.15pm CEST on Saturday 25 May.
Pearson
flying high
Morgan
Pearson’s gold-winning run in Yokohama will have sent a stark reminder to all
his rivals that the American is a force to be reckoned with. Exiting transition
in 34th place, he picked his way to the front and stayed there, clocking a 10km
of 29:10, some 17 seconds faster than next best Miguel Hidalgo (BRA).
It was a
first Series gold for the 30-year-old, and a first for the US men in 15 years,
coming at the perfect time in his Olympic preparations. How he will stack up
against the likes of Hayden Wilde (NZL) and Alex Yee (GBR) this time around
will be fascinating.
Rivalries
fired back up
And it is
on Yee and Wilde that many eyes will be focussed this Saturday. Tokyo 2020
silver and bronze medallists, both elected to miss Yokohama and dial in their
training, both will be using Cagliari as a yardstick of the progress to Paris.
Neither will likely place excessive importance on the final result, both will
want to execute perfection in every department.
That is a
tall order, but the prize on 30 July couldn’t be any bigger and behind every
king there must be confidence. Yee has won twice in the city that nearly saw
his career ended before it began with that horrific bike crash in 2017. Wilde
was second 12 months ago, four seconds separated their runs, both will want to
top Yee’s 28:31 from last year.
Blummenfelt
ready to dig in
The man
who beat Yee and Wilde to be Olympic Champion at Tokyo 2020, Kristian
Blummenfelt was brutally honest in his reflections on 10th place at Yokohama a
fortnight ago. He and his rivals know all too well his ability to zone in on a
single-race target, however, and his title defence may well start in earnest
after Cagliari, back in the training centre, eyeing up the gains he needs to
make and methodically ticking them off.
For Leo
Bergere, scraping through the aftermath of the last-lap bike crash unscathed to
rescue a fourth place will have been a positive, but for the man chasing a home
Games appearance, a second WTCS Cagliari medal this weekend would mean a lot.
Teammate Dorian Coninx was less fortunate and misses out this weekend, while
Pierre Le Corre makes his first start of 2024 knowing that a medal would also
make a huge difference to his chances of an Olympic spot.
Beyond
Morgan Pearson, the performances to take from the fires of WTCS Yokohama were
Luke Willian, the Australian booking his Paris start spot with bronze and a
magnificent run, and Miguel Hidalgo. The young Brazilian knows exactly where he
needs to be to earn a first Series medal and the second-fastest run in Japan
suggested the path ahead is clearing. What a lift a podium in Cagliari would be
to his Olympic ambitions.
Add to
that list Canada’s Charles Paquet, a resurgent Marten Van Riel (BEL) and
Vincent Luis, the Frenchman hungry to show he too is fully worthy of a place on
the French Olympic squad and with one last chance to prove it after a solid hit
out in Yokohama.
Olympics
on the line
With
Antonio Serrat Seoane confirmed for Paris, two Spanish men can potentially join
him out of those starting in Cagliari. Alberto Gonzalez Garcia, Sergio Baxter
Cabrera or David Castro Fajardo must climb into the top 30 and join Serrat and
Roberto Sanchez Mantecon to secure three spots for the team, and all have
proven their potential at some point over the qualification period.
The race
to join Yee on the GB squad could also be decided in Cagliari, as Samuel
Dickinson, Barclay Izzard and Hugo Milner line up for the showdown. Jonathan
Brownlee lies in wait, too, though doesn’t join them in Italy, Max Stapley
taking the fifth spot looking to follow up his first World Cup gold in Chengdu
at the start of May.
For the
USA, Matthew McElroy, Darr Smith and Seth Rider are in the hunt for selection
alongside Pearson, Tayler Reid will hope to secure his Paris spot for New
Zealand, the unfortunate Dylan McCullough sidelined with injury, and Michele
Sarzilla and Gianluca Pozzatti will want to strengthen their grip on the two
Italian places for Paris.
FULL
START LIST
WTCS
Cagliari
25 May,
11am CEST
TriathlonLive.tv
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