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ITU World Triathlon Series (spoiler alert)
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I'm not sure Australia will get a 3rd spot never mind chose Macca to race it!
Don't they need sexton to keep racing and doing well to get the third slot, and then what chose to give it to Macca over him !
Don't get me wrong I'm a Macca fan, but it seems unlikely now.
On the flip side if this does happen, it'll be a seriously epic Kona and indeed 70.3 Las Vegas we have to look forward to!
I heard in an interview that Macca will likely do both this year if Okympics falls through, indeed may do if it goes ahead also!
I think Australia are in a position at the moment to get the three spots. A good result could put them up to fourth place, however a good Canadian result could get them three spots and knock Australia down to two.0 -
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Both Aileen Morrisson and Gavin Noble Racing.
I think Aileen could/should podium this one with no densham, finlay, jenkins, mofatt, bennett etc...
The mens race shoul be hell for leather as a bunch of them still on the QF brink. Come on the Don!
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Nice taster in TE Mag about this race, looking forward to it..
Particularly interested to see how Murray and Verzbicas get on an of course our own Hope in Aileen... GO ON AILEEN!!!
Photo: Delly Carr / ITU Media
Hold on to your hats, this weekend’s ITU World Triathlon Series in Kitzbuhel could be the race of the season so far. With the Brownlee brothers and Javier Gomez squaring off for the first time this ITU year, it’s all about gauging pre-Olympic fitness levels.
The 2012 ITU World Triathlon Kitzbühel promises a nail biting weekend of racing. The women begin with Andrea Hewitt (NZL) up against the likes of Switzerland’s Nicola Spirig, Aileen Morrison (IRL) and Barbara Riveros Diaz (CHI). The men’s race certainly sees the strongest line up of the year with both Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee (GBR), Javier Gomez (ESP) and Alexander Bryukhankov (RUS) going head to head for the first time in 2012.
The magnificent Alpine landscape provides the location for the fourth round of the 2012 World Triathlon Series where athletes will begin with a dive into Schwarzsee lake for a two lap swim. The challenging bike course bends and climbs up to the Lebenberg and through the centre of Kitzbühel before a fast virtually flat run.
Elite Men’s Preview
Reigning ITU World Champion Alistair Brownlee (GBR) enters his first ITU race this season after sustaining an Achilles tendon injury in February. Last year’s incredible four WTS golds led to his 2011 World Champion crown. Now, attention will focus on whether he is back to full race fitness to reclaim his Kitzbühel titles from 2009 and 2011 and ascertain his position on the road to London 2012.
Jonathan Brownlee joins his brother in Austria following his consecutive back-to-back victories in San Diego and Madrid. The Brownlees will aim to keep up their joint podium run, first standing together in Madrid 2011, they have shared the podium in every single ITU race they have both competed in since.
Gomez has kept a clean sheet in 2012, claiming the European Championship title in his only ITU race this year. He is also familiar with the Kitzbühel podium, taking silver on the two occasions he competed in the race, in 2009 and 2010.
A trio of fierce Russians are sure to hold presence in the race, led by current world number one Bryukhankov and including Dmitry Polyanskiy and Ivan Vasiliev. The three took second to fourth positions respectively in Madrid last month behind Jonathan Brownlee, drawing strength as a team. Polyanskiy pocketed World Cup bronze in Banyoles this past weekend and Bryukhankov took silver in Kitzbühel last year.
Sven Riederer (SUI), who has already won silver in San Diego this year and bronze in Kitzbühel last year, is an ever present medal threat. Riederer was joined by reigning African Champion Richard Murray on the San Diego podium. The South African has been causing a stir on the world stage in 2012, also taking silver in Sydney.
Germany fields a group of triathletes with a proven track record. Jan Frodeno makes his first ITU appearance of the year and won bronze in Kitzbühel two years ago. Steffen Justus won his first WTS title in Sydney this year, which makes three medals in total. The pair are joined by Maik Petzold.
Frenchmen Laurent Vidal and David Hauss have both enjoyed World Cup victories this year. Vidal had Kitzbühel in mind conserving his energy on the last push to take silver in Banyoles at the weekend and he also has a bronze from Sydney, his second WTS medal to date after winning bronze in Kitzbühel in 2009.
Junior world champion Lukas Verzbicas of the U.S. burst onto the elite circuit last week winning his debut ITU World Cup race in Banyoles. Intrigue surrounds how the nineteen-year-old will fare as he steps into his first ITU World Triathlon Series race.
Following a successful start to the season with silver in the opening Mooloolaba World Cup, Australia’s Brad Kahlefeldt was forced to take a break from training when he was diagnosed with pneumonia after San Diego. He joins the Kitzbühel starting line-up back to full Olympic preparation.
Veteran Bevan Docherty (NZL) joins the field along with reigning Asian Champion Yuichi Hosoda (JPN), Kitzbühel 2010 winner Stuart Hayes (GBR) and Spaniard Mario Mola who finished just out of the medals in San Diego.
Elite Women’s Preview
Hewitt enters her third WTS of the year straight off the back of Banyoles World Cup where she finished fourth. After her bronze in Sydney, a medal this weekend will be Hewitt’s fifth in Kitzbühel. Switzerland’s Nicola Spirig has won her past two races, taking the most recent WTS in Madrid for the second year running and regaining her European Championship title in Eilat. Spirig has also finished on the podium in Kitzbühel before, claiming silver in 2009 and winning in 2008.
Barbara Riveros Diaz proved that her Olympic preparation is heading in the right direction with bronze in Madrid last month, along with Morrison whose silvers in Madrid and Ishigaki 2012 World Cup produced the best ever international results by an Irish triathlete.
Gwen Jorgensen and Sarah Groff, representing USA at London 2012 will both appear in Kitzbühel. Jorgensen enters the race straight off a victory at the Banyoles World Cup and also came fourth in Sydney WTS this year. She gained Olympic selection last year with an impressive display in London last year on the 2012 Olympic course finishing second. Groff climbed the ITU World Triathlon Series podium for the first time last year in Kitzbühel with bronze.
Of Jessica Harrison’s (FRA) four ITU races this year, she has finished in the unenviable fourth place three times. A podium finish in Kitzbühel would be Harrison’s second ever WTS medal after bronze in Madrid 2009.
Australia’s Ashleigh Gentle has shown good form in 2012, taking bronze in the Banyoles World Cup this past weekend and posting two top ten finishes in Sydney then San Diego. Japan’s Ai Ueda who took bronze at the 2012 Asian Championships will be in full Olympic preparation, but both Gentle and Ueda are yet to claim a WTS medal.
Familiar faces Emma Snowsill (AUS) and Lisa Norden (SWE) will also start in Kitzbühel hoping to improve on recent top twenty form. Norden has proved she is capable on this course with silver in 2010.
Other names to look out for are Vicky Holland (GBR), Alexandra Razarenova (RUS), New Zealand’s Kate McIlroy and Nicky Samuels and Austria’s strongest female in the line-up, Lisa Perterer.0 -
couerdelion wrote: »So are we expecting this to be an opportunity for someone to show the rest how great they are or for a cagey race where no one wants to show their hands > 50 days before the Olympic event?
I know what you're saying, but it's not as if the Brownlees or Gomez or the Russians ever go out there without any intention but to go hard and win.
I'm hoping Johnny throws his weight around and pulls this one out of the bag.
Prob most interested to see how Ali and Gomez do of course.
Sunday training done by lunch time so!
F1 will be just over also I think....
3 pm start - or is that local time?
Women's same but on Saturday0 -
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Well hard to see how A Brownlee is going to be beat in the olympics. Barring a major mishap gold all the way. Lost his goggles during the swim and still exited 4th..broke away on the bike was reeled in... exited t2 first and ran a sub 30 min 10km.....spectacular.
Are endless pools in your back garden the way to go??? 0 -
Watched this on the ITU playback the other night, trying not to see the results as I logged in.
A Brownlee was awesome. Just the look on his face in the last 2 km said it all, he wants it badly. I love how he almost seemed to be getting more energy from the pain. Swimming without the goggles, breakaway on the bike for 20kmand a sub30 run was just sheer class. Genuinely hard to see beyond him for Gold right?
Do you think Stu Hayes did his job?
Fair play to Gomez for digging in. The french and the Russians all look good too so it could be a good scrap for bronze...
Spirig looked good again too, her last 200m kick is a great weapon. I'd wonder if she is peaking too soon?! Norden looked really strong and has to considered a dark horse.
I hope to Jesus, Aileen makes the first bike pack in London. That has to be priority #1
Anyone fancy Hewitt to do it The camera man sure did, at least 3 close ups of her fine glutes on the pontoon
And what about Vebrickas, second fastest run split. He was loping along like a baby giraffe in full flight. . It will be interesting to see how his swim/bike progress next year.0 -
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This is it, the last of the World Series races before the race everyone has been talking about for the last two years! A sprint distance so should be a good opportunity for a final tune up and potential confidence booster.
Personally I am looking forward to Aileen maybe pinching it and going second in the rankings. In the mens I personally have a sneaky feeling that Gomez and Sven Riederer will put in strong challenges for silver in London (Ali B'lee gold obviously) so I am looking forward to seeing how they are going. Then it's time to see what Paddy Power has on offer....almost time to place our bets :cool:
Review here0 -
Well, well Murray just keeps on surprising! Big day for him, his interview after was very amusing, a bit like a child at christmas So Murray for the podium in London? Who knows...who knows! Noble 1:29 down, 41st place (that's mad isn't it? Very tight at the top!) I suppose one cannot read much into this race but it certainly passed the hour nicely and mae me pedal a bit faster to get home from my long easy spin in time for it 0
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