from Triathlon.org…
ITU celebrates a major anniversary this weekend at the Madrid BG Triathlon World Cup as the event is the 200th world cup in ITU history. Since humble beginnings in 1991, the world cup series has come a long way with more prize money, much more competitive fields and high stakes that include coveted Olympic qualifying points.
This Sunday the world’s best flock to Madrid for the sixth straight year to challenge the tough course, a favorite for many triathletes including Vanessa Fernandes. The world champion has made the Madrid course her personal playground for the past half decade, winning every year since 2003. It will be a tall order for the other women to break the Fernandes stranglehold on the event. New Zealand’s Andrea Hewitt has performed well on the Madrid course and has been runner-up to Fernandes for the past two years. Swede Lisa Norden is enjoying a career year, already with a pair of world cup podiums and a bronze at the European championships.
Adding to the lustre of the event is Olympic qualifying spots at stake for both the German and British teams. For the Germans, just one spot remains and it will be a fierce battle between Joelle Franzmann and Christiane Pilz. Whoever cross the line first can book her ticket to Beijing. Franzmann is seeking her third trip to the Olympics while Pilz is racing for her first Olympic berth. In 2004 she was forced to miss the Games after sustaining an injury shortly before the opening ceremonies.
Beijing slots are also up for grabs for the British team as well. Top-8 finishes will essentially ensure that athlete a coveted Olympic spot. At first glance, Hollie Avil appears to be the early favorite for the first British women’s spot. Last year’s junior world champion has only raced in two world cups, but was on the podium for both; bronze in Ishigaki and silver in Tongyeong. Andrea Whitcombe, who is 19 years Avil’s senior, will also one of the top contenders. She was an Olympian in 2000 for track & field and was controversially relegated to being the reserve athlete for the 2004 Athens Games. Click here for full women’s start list
As the last major tune-up before the BG Triathlon World Championships in Vancouver, Madrid will attract a host of serious contenders on the men’s side as well. Spain’s Javier Gomez enters as the pre-race favorite despite a disappointing 7th place finish at the recent European Championships. Madrid was the site of the first of Gomez’s nine world cup titles in 2006. Last year Gomez seemed to have the win in hand but couldn’t shake Czech Filip Ospaly in the run and had to settle for silver. Ospaly won’t be back to defend his title but Gomez won’t have to look past his own teammate for fierce competition. Ivan Rana is a world champion from 2002 and has been on the Madrid podium for the last two years.
With Olympic spots on the line, the Madrid BG Triathlon World Cup will contain fascinating races with in a race. For the German team, Andreas Raelert, Maik Petzold and Christian Prochnow will battle for the final Olympic spot and join Daniel Unger and Jan Frodeno on the team. Like the women’s race, the first German across the line earns a trip to Beijing.
For the British team, Tim Don needs a top-8 in Madrid for an automatic Olympic berth. Don has been in solid form so far in 2008, taking bronze in Mooloolaba and winning Tongyeong. Will Clarke is tentatively penciled in for Beijing after a top-8 performance at the Olympic test event last year and will be keen to tighten his hold on that spot this Sunday. Other Brits aiming for Beijing via Madrid are Oliver Freeman, two-time European champion Andrew Johns, Stuart Hayes and the up and coming Alistair Brownlee, the 2006 junior world champion. Click here for full men’s start list
Another interesting battle looms between American Matt Reed and Russian Dmitry Polyansky in the race for top-8 countries. Only eight nations may send the maximum of three men to Beijing and going into Madrid, the U.S. sits in 9th place, just behind Russia. Team USA needs either Reed or Hunter Kemper to chase down Polyansky in ITU’s Olympic rankings. Currently Polyansky holds 2499 points while Kemper is at 2359 points and Reed sits at 2304. However, the Russian is maxed out on results (best nine results in the second period of Olympic qualifying can count), which means he must drop his lowest score to count a higher score. Reed, however, has not reached his maximum yet so any points he picks up in Madrid he will keep.
