WTS racing 2017 - spoilers

68 lost souls

I thought it would be good to start a thread on this years racing as its kicked off today. Surely there must be some interest in it.

Today saw the first WTS race of the year in Abu Dahbi with the women's race and the women's finish did not disappoint a flat out sprint between Hewitt and Stimpson.

Well worth watching it,hoping there's many more close finishes like that this year

I was thinking about trying to do a preview like the cycling forum do for some races but want to see if there is interest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B7ou0NDxrA

EC1000

Must have been very frustrating for Stimpson to miss out on the Olympics - consistently there or thereabouts for the last few years.

68 lost souls

EC1000 wrote: »

Must have been very frustrating for Stimpson to miss out on the Olympics - consistently there or thereabouts for the last few years.

she is a solid performer and no doubt gutted to miss out alright. Team GB have really started turning out an extraordinary amount of talented athletes though in recent years so it is very highly contested for the places and a lot can also be down to luck/bad luck of the timing of injuries and form.

It's good to see the competition to even get a place at the Olympic site though as the over all level then gets pushed higher and higher. Amazing to see what the top athletes can do.

iAcesHigh

TBH triathlon on F1 course is just crazy fun for me, especially being really into F1 up until few years back I had my money on Stimpson winning the sprint, but I think Hewitt played it really smart (intentionally or unintentionally) and cought her "somewhat" off guard (you can see Stimpson looking next to her and trying to accelerate, but was late) - really looking forward to men race in 30ish mins

68 lost souls - that's great idea if you have time and will, would keep up discussing a bit ahead of the race as well

P.s. what about todays race - I would say Gomez-Mola-Murray, but can Mola potentially endanger Gomez?

68 lost souls

Well Gomez was in the lead group off the bike but had a very poor transition. Will be interesting to see how the run plays out, he can certainly make it up I'm sure

shotgunmcos

Delighted to see Hewitt win. Great to watch!

68 lost souls

Highlights on today BBC2 at 13:00 in case any one wants to watch on TV

catweazle

Stimpson while she has won a few is just short of being top class - i think her swim lets her down and if the lead pack has bikers like Spirig and Duffy in it she will struggle to make back the distance even though she is a great biker herself. I was surprised to say the least at the absence of Gwen, Jenkins and Spirig, just shows you how much attention I have been paying to it this year - its wide open this year so

Gomez always seems to start out great every year - great to see him back, he was poor today but the absence of Alistair this year should help Mola as its one less driving the bike ahead of him

I always liked the cycling forum previews of the tours, so go for it 68 lost souls

EC1000

catweazle wrote: »

I was surprised to say the least at the absence of Gwen, Jenkins and Spirig, just shows you how much attention I have been paying to it this year - its wide open this year so

Don't know about the other two but Gwen is gone for the year at least - not even sure if she was committed to returning after that.

catweazle wrote: »

...the absence of Alistair this year should help Mola as its one less driving the bike ahead of him

Unless Mola sorts out his swim he can never be sure of being at the pointy end on the big occasions. Murray in same boat.

RacoonQueen

EC1000 wrote: »

Don't know about the other two but Gwen is gone for the year at least - not even sure if she was committed to returning after that.

Gwen has said the reason for having a baby now is so that she is back fit to race next season so she can start getting ready for 2020.
Didn't get to watch the end of the women's race so was avoiding this thread but gave in now - rare for me to watch women's sport but always find women's ITU more engaging than the men's

peter kern

EC1000 wrote: »

Don't know about the other two but Gwen is gone for the year at least - not even sure if she was committed to returning after that.



Unless Mola sorts out his swim he can never be sure of being at the pointy end on the big occasions. Murray in same boat.

if they could sit in a boat for the swim that should work very well for both ;-)
at the end isnt that what tri really needs ... some people that swim from the front, and then some people that are the fastest runner that hunt the leader down ( or not )after the swim portion.
you could not really write a better script , for a sport that is not that attractive to watch.
anyway the things i found intersting is the few breakthrough perfomances by the likes of benson , billngton. vilic ( and in a way rebecas spence with a top 10 place after not being considerd for kiwi rio team and chose not to fill a slot they had )
as a nation its very interesting to see whats happening in austria right now. besides norway who is dong fantistic junior work right now.
and switzerland once again brings up -slowly- 2 new athletes into the worldclass level

spence raced 2009 in athlone ,and lets put it this way that was not even a great ager run she showed back them , for sombody like this to run a top 7 run in an solid wts race is pretty impressive in my books. ( since we are on flatlining it took 8 years ...)

68 lost souls

Women are off first 2:06pm - 3:15pm Race Start - ITU World Triathlon Women and men then 4:06pm - 5:00pm Race Start - ITU World Triathlon

Television Coverage on Sunday 9th April BBC2 10:45 - 12:15 Highlights
Weather is hot and humid with 25 degrees and about 70% humidity. Could be a windy bike course with expected wind speeds of 23km/h Not too exposed though with buildings to protect but around the turning point there is a stretch at the coast which may be effected.

Swim will be no wetsuit 750m 1 lap course



Sheltered sea swim in the Coral sea with a big sand bar on the other side blocking currents.

Bike course is 4 laps of 5kms each. Very flat so climbing won't have any effect, expect it to be fast. In the womens race I expect Stimpson to push hard on this one to try and ensure she can have a gap on True, Hewitt and Ai Ueda who will all try and put it to her on the run. I would expect Alarza and Mola to be pushing it here on the mens side of things.

Elevation



Course



http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/ITU-WC-gold-coast-elite-bike-course

Run course is 2 2.5km laps out and back along the same stretch so it will be easy to spot those in the lead and trailing, will tactics play a part here as the front runner eye up those chasing them and wait to pounce at the right moment.

We have seen some great form by Jake Birtwhistle recently and I wouldn't look past him for a podium finish this week, even with a stacked field. I think it being a sprint distance is of benefit to him. My prediction is Gomez, Murray and Birtwhistle in the top 3. For the women Stimpson, True and Hewitt.



http://wts.triathlon.org/start_lists/2017_itu_world_triathlon_gold_coast/307173

http://wts.triathlon.org/start_lists/2017_itu_world_triathlon_gold_coast/307174

Official Womens preview on triathlon.org

http://www.triathlon.org/news/article/women_ready_to_sprint_in_gold_coast

iAcesHigh

great, thx for making this one! My guess would be Gomez with Mola and Murray fighting for the silver. On the women side,without Jorgensen and Jenkins I have a feel Hewitt is inally getting top spot here so Hewitt-Stimpson-True seems plausible

68 lost souls

Well I just accidentally saw the women's winner thanks to triathlon.org for announcing it on Facebook. Also saw a clip of the start of the men's race and the wind certainly does look like it will play a factor, it looks to be adding a fair bit of chop and current to the water too

68 lost souls

Very impressive 16:37 run from Heweitt equals the course best

68 lost souls

Highlights on BBC 2 and BBC2 HD Sunday at 13:00, many of us will be in Carlow so don't forget to set record.

Current WTS Ranking - Top 3

Women -
Hewitt
Zaferes
Ueda

Men-
Gomez
Murray (Not racing this weekend)
Alarza

Female start list
http://wts.triathlon.org/start_lists/2017_itu_world_triathlon_yokohama/307210

Male start list

http://wts.triathlon.org/start_lists/2017_itu_world_triathlon_yokohama/307210

Forecast is for 20 degrees and raining.

Full map at - http://wts-assets.triathlon.org/yokohama/2017map_elite.jpg

Swim 2 x 750m laps off a pontoon
I expect the Plyanskiy brothers to lead out of the water with Schoeman not far behind and if Brownlee can get on their feet or hold close enough to catch up quickly on the bike it oculd be good for him. Varga should be up there too.

Bike 9 x 4.45km laps with a good number of sharp turns, caused trouble in 2015 for Marten Van Riel as the young leader clipped his pedals on a turn and lost his 30 second lead coming into T2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYxCHoLqMSY

The course is fairly flat but with rain expected that can add to the dificulty with the corners. Last time we had rain for the female race it grouped all the riders together and the lead bunch doubled in size. If the weather is the same we can expect similar unless Flora Duffy decides to push it herself. It could be a great opportunity for her but will be on the line the whole time knowing that her run can be caught by some strong athletes in the line up including Ai Ueda who will be trying to put on a show for the home crowd.
I woudl expect Andrea Hewiit to try and keep in the winning ways if she can but there will be plenty of comeptition for her including an in form Charlotte McShane, the americans Katie Zaferes, Krtisten Jasper and Summer Cook could work well together with Taylor Spivey working as a domestique of sorts I would imagine.

There is also a strong list of British females who have yet to show what form they are in on the WTS tour. They did however put on a good performance last week in China at the World Cup event and probably having stayed out there will not be as effected by jet lag as some of the others who may have traveled over later.

Run 4 x 2.5km laps with plenty of opportunity to spot the opposition and judge your pacing.
I think it could come down to a foto race if the bike course is wet.

Overall
In the mens race its the return of the younger Brownlee so expect it to heat up with a stacked field, despite the absence of Murray with the likes of Gomez, Alarza, Mola, Birtwhistle, Bishop, Schoeman, and Varga in the mix. We have an Irish interest in Russell White on his first WTS start of the year having qualified from Semifinal 1 in 6th at Chengdu an difnishing 17th in the final he will look to build on that. My guess is Brownlee, Gomez and Mola not in any particular order with Alarza and Schoemann taking 4th and 5th.

In the womens race Non Stanford will be hoping to start with a win and then Ueda, Hewitt, Zaferes and Vicky Holland fighting it out for the podium. I would love to see Duffy on the podium but it really depends on how the bike course works this year.

peter kern

serious write up well done
whats the storrey with ailleen she hasnt missed that race in many years.

68 lost souls

Thanks Peter. I believe she is injured, from her blog in March she had shin splints. http://www.blog.aileen-reid.com/#home

joey100

Gomez has had root canal problems during the week over there. Either he won't go well because of the impact it had on his system or the painkillers will still be floating around and he will destroy the field!

68 lost souls

joey100 wrote: »

Gomez has had root canal problems during the week over there. Either he won't go well because of the impact it had on his system or the painkillers will still be floating around and he will destroy the field!

Just saw his instagram post I'd say unfortunately for him it will be the first. Antibiotics will knock him back a bit. Been sick all week myself leading up to this weekends whiter affair in Carlow and know already how that's going to go.

Considering his bad luck last year hopefully it won't continue this season

68 lost souls

Well I was late in getting a chance to watch it but as I suspected the bike course caused a big shake up. There was a lot of action in both the mens and womens race due to the wet conditions and slippery road surface. Very lucky there were no major injuries after all the crashes, as Johny said in an interview afterwards he could have very easily broken both collar bone son his crash. There were 10 DNFs in the mens race alone. The determination of Johny was shown when he picked up his bike and ran to transition with it on his back but by the time he got there he was already about 1.2km down on the leaders.

There were a few fall sin the womens race too with No Stanford going down early. Flora Duffy showed why she rules the bike with a 2 person breakaway accompanied by young gun Sophie Caldwell who followed up a 3rd place in Cheng Du with a 4th place here at Yokohama. Caldwell showed impressive form pushing with Duffy. Duffy's lead was too great for Zaferes to bridge however despite dropping her glasses and going back to avoid a DQ for littering she manged to bridge up to second place and Kasper past Caldwell close to the end.

Our new series standings have Zaferes, Hewitt, and Kasper in the womens and then a Spanish 1,2,3 for Mola, Alarza, and Gomez.

pgibbo

How do people see it going this weekend? JB to take the win? How much will last weekend have taken out of AB?

Flora Duffy on the womens side followed by Non Stanford & Gentle.

P.

68 lost souls

Thanks P sorry I'm away at the moment so haven't had a chance to do a preview.

Leeds triathlon is always top of the cards for the Brownlees I don't see Ali being top 2 though. Johnny for the win alright.

The British women will want to come home with the win but the Leeds course is bike centric to give the Brownlees and advantage and so therefore Flora Duffy for the win.

Either way it will certainly be a cracking race.

RacoonQueen

Haven't watched any of the other races this year. Great to be able to sit down today and watch now.

What's the story with Aileen? Is she injured? Or finished with the WTS racing?

iAcesHigh

Another big one for the brothers, just great to see them pulling away in home town. I was quite sure this is going to be Johnny's race, but Alistair proved much stronger yet again, especially taking into account he was the one not giving up on the bike On the women side, I simply love Duffy and her all-in attitude on the bike. I simply can't imagine anybody else challenging her on these kind of races (Gwen is always an exception, of course)...

68 lost souls

haven't had a chance to breathe this week and racing in the morning so wont get to type up a full preview again unfortunately however WTS hits Hamburg tomorrow for a fast and furious sprint race.

Weather is to be good for racing with a chance of a few showers but mostly sunny and about 17-19 degrees.

In the women's rankings it's the Americans Kasper and Zaferes sitting 1st and second with Ashleigh Gentle in 3rd who I imagine will all be fighting it out for podiums with the best placed local being Laura Lindeman.

Men's sits as a Spanish 1,2,3 with Alarza, Mola and Gomez and I would expect a sprint race to be that sort of order again. Brownlees are sitting it out and have a lot to show still this year at ITU level so at the halfway point it is not looking like their year. We have Russel White racing to keep an eye on. A good bet for a podium would be Schuman again I reckon.

6 laps on the bike and 2 on the run could lead to a congested course, I wonder if anyone will miss count their bike again? Very technical could lead to some crashes.

Mixed relay world champs on the cards too will be good viewing

Highlights on BBC2 Monday at 14:00

shotgunmcos

Good Call on Lindeman. Would be interesting to see Gentle come off the bile with Duffy but loving Duffy's approach to the whole thing. It a long way to Japan and for others to improve their bike power/skills to a Nicola Spririg type level but also time for Duffy to eek out a few more seconds per run km.

Mens was as expected. 14:01 by Mola is sick considering he wasn't pushed

Why do we not have a team? Do we not have 4 good enough athletes? Even an U23 team? Are we aiming for Japan? How does one qualify for the Team champs anyway? I miss Aileen Reed for someone to genuinely root for in green.

pgibbo

Last race of the season. Grand final this weekend.

Can Gomez carry his form from the 70.3 worlds to Rotterdam? I assume Jonny B will be looking for another win here. Should be an interesting mens race.

Hard to see anyone beating Duffy on this technical course.

68 lost souls

Bad weather and a technical course my money is Duffy alright for the Womens.

I don't see Gomez taking the win, I would think Mola would be more likely a Spanish result but would certainly see a top 5 containing all 3 Spaniards. winning even on form after 70.3. Gomez hast been performing as well shorter. JB will be hungry for it alright but Murray will be running down the pack on the run if he can.