A series of wholesale changes have taken place amid the start lists for WTCS Sunderland.
After illuminating the recent WTCS Montreal with a breakaway on the bike alongside her fellow American Summer Rappaport, Taylor Knibb will not be racing in the UK. In both of her appearances in the Series this year (Yokohama and Montreal), Knibb has been a key part of the breakaway. Her absence therefore removes one of the biggest driving forces at the front of the race.
In Knibb’s place, Gwen Jorgensen has been substituted into the event.
Sunderland will mark her second WTCS race since making her comeback. Although her first race back did not go to plan (she was lapped out of WTCS Cagliari), the 2016 Olympic champion responded by winning a silver medal at the Huatulco World Cup.
In the intervening period since Cagliari, Jorgensen has been at work on her cycling. Among her recent exploits, she took 3rd place at the Colorado State Crit Championships.
With Sunderland taking place over the Sprint distance, Jorgensen should also feature much more prominently. At both Huatulco and the New Plymouth World Cup, she showed her speed over 5km still holds up against world-level opposition. Naturally, the competition in Sunderland may be a little more intense with the likes of Beth Potter, Leonie Periault and Cassandre Beaugrand to contend with on the run.
Nevertheless, if Jorgensen can navigate the swim and bike (as she has done without issue on multiple occasions over the Sprint distance this year) she should be able to score some valuable points.
One athlete that will not be standing in Jorgensen’s path is Sophie Coldwell.
The winner in Yokohama and runner-up in Abu Dhabi, Coldwell has been enjoying a spectacular season to date. Despite a slightly sub-optimal day in Montreal, she remains very much in the running for the world title. However, the Brit will not be adding any further points in Sunderland.
She has withdrawn from the event and has not been replaced on the start list by anyone from the British team. As a double medallist at WTCS Leeds, Coldwell has a record of performing on British soil and could have been counted upon to drop a big performance in Sunderland. With her out, the field looks a little more open.
On the note of British entries, one major name has dropped out of the men’s field.
Alex Yee will no longer be starting. With wins in Abu Dhabi and Cagliari to his name, Yee is in prime position to make a move for the world title. Even with only two races to his name, he ranks 6th in the WTCS standings. Everyone ahead of of him has at least three scores, giving Yee scope to move up.
However, there may be a risk of Yee repeating the mistake of 2022 that cost him the world title. Last season, he raced the minimum required races to hit his quota before the Final. Wins in Yokohama, Montreal and Cagliari last year seemed to presage a path to the crown. Yet in his fourth and final race of the regular season, he slipped to 5th in Bermuda. When subsequently only managed 3rd at the Final in Abu Dhabi, Yee lost what had looked like a sure-thing after his first three races.
Without Sunderland, Yee is in the same boat in 2023.
He will race at WTCS Hamburg and then the Paris Olympic Test Event to give him his required four scores before the Final in Pontevedra. Having won the first two races of the season, there is every chance he wins them both. Still, the spectre of last season looms and it will only take one underperformance or one crash to lose the world title.
When the start lists first came out, Yee was the only British man listed. His withdrawal, though, has been counterbalanced by the addition of three others. The World U23 champion, Connor Bentley, will be starting, as will Jack Willis and Barclay Izzard.
All three will therefore have the opportunity to perform in front of a domestic crowd. Furthermore they can use the chance to accrue points towards their Olympic qualification ranking. Should any of them break into the top-30 of the rankings, Britain will receive a third men’s Olympic slot.
Among the other notable changes to the Sunderland start lists, Noelia Juan has been added. She will be the second Spanish woman to start alongside Miriam Casillas Garcia. In Montreal, Juan achieved her best ever WTCS finish so look for her to build upon her recent run of good form.
Meanwhile, Noah Servais has replaced Marten Van Riel for Belgium. Van Riel has enjoyed a strong return to the WTCS after his lengthy injury absence and will now take the chance to recalibrate ahead of his next block of racing. At the same time, Servais finds himself in a similar position to the new British male faces. If he can score some big points, a top-30 in the Olympic rankings could soon be within reach.
Mario Mola, Brock Hoel, Valentin Wernz and Darr Smith are among the other men to have been added to the start list. Mola’s history of the Sprint distance makes him a vaunted opponent. Of that quartet, though, Wernz may be the man to watch. In Cagliari, he finished 13th to take his best ever Series finish and could be knocking on the door of a first ever top-10.
Check out the latest start lists here.
