2008 BG Triathlon World Cup season kickoff: Mooloolaba Preview

From the ITU site…

Strap yourselves in and get set. The 2008 BG Triathlon World Cup series kicks off this weekend on Australia’s Sunshine Coast. More than 150 elite athletes from 38 countries will sprint into Mooloolaba’s beach, officially signaling the start of the 2008 season. Elite women start at 11:05am on Sunday morning and men at 1:40pm (all times UTC/GMT +10).

In the women’s field, all eyes will be on reigning world champion Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal and her continued assault on triathlon history. A win in Mooloolaba would make her number one amongst all-time world cup winners, surpassing Australian great Emma Carney who will be in Mooloolaba to see first hand if her record will or won’t fall. Not only would Fernandes become the first triathlete to reach the 20-win plateau, she will also become the first to win at least one world cup in six consecutive years.

Last year Fernandes came into Mooloolaba looking to break Carney’s consecutive win record but that was derailed by her chief rival, Emma Snowsill. The three-time world champion opened her season with a win but didn’t taste victory for the rest of the year, despite silver medals at Ishigaki, Hamburg and Beijing; all to Fernandes’ golds. She’ll again be Fernandes’s greatest threat to history in Mooloolaba this weekend.

A host of other Aussies will also be aiming for the podium as it signifies an important race for selection on Australia’s Olympic team. Last year’s runner-up Erin Densham, 2006 Mooloolaba winner Annabel Luxford and last year’s world number two Emma Moffatt will all be looking to impress Aussie selectors.

A loaded international field will also contest the season opener including American Laura Bennett, bronze medalist at Hamburg and Beijing, Olympic bound Debbie Tanner of New Zealand as well as former European champions Michelle Dillon of Great Britain and German Anja Dittmer. The women’s event also includes last year’s Under23 world champion Lisa Norden and newly crowned African champion Mari Rabie of South Africa. An interesting inside battle will be between Kiwis Andrea Hewitt and Nicky Samuels, both vying for the third spot on the New Zealand Olympic team.

Click here for complete women’s start list

Javier Gomez, who has finished the last two years as world number one, headlines a highly competitive men’s field. He’ll be eager to avenge his sprint loss to Australian Brad Kahlefeldt last year. Kahlefeldt will be part of a powerful home team that welcomes back triple world champion Peter Robertson and Greg Bennett to the world cup circuit. The Aussie men need a string of solid world cup performances to qualify a third man for the Olympics.

The stellar men’s field includes Kazakh veteran Dmitriy Gaag and Kiwi Bevan Docherty, Olympic silver medalist in Athens who has already pre-qualified for Beijing. Also on the start line for New Zealand is Shane Reed, the newly crowned Oceania champ who secured his country a third Olympic spot. Reed will be looking to be first Kiwi across the line to make that spot his own.

A strong British contingent that includes three world champions from 2006, Tim Don (elite), Will Clarke (Under23) and Alistair Brownlee (junior), is also Down Under seeking to open the world cup season with a win. Last year, in just his second world cup elite appearance, Brownlee broke through for a silver medal in Rhodes, Greece. The teenager will likely be racing in several world cup events with the hopes of earning a coveted spot on the British Olympic team.

Click here for complete men’s start list

Don’t forget to log onto triathlon.org for live coverage from Mooloolaba! Click here for the start time in your area

Click here for more on the Mooloolaba BG Triathlon World Cup

Click here for the 2008 BG Triathlon World Cup series calendar

Click here for a complete review of the 2007 BG Triathlon World Cup series

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