Yesterday we had a first look at the start lists for WTCS Yokohama.
One of the biggest names in the sport, Flora Duffy, was scheduled to make her first start of the season. However, a day later she has been substituted out. In Duffy’s place, fellow Bermuda athlete Erica Hawley will be racing.
Prior to WTCS Abu Dhabi in March, Duffy noted that she would skip the season opener in order to build into her campaign gradually. Furthermore she intended to give a knee injury sustained in autumn 2022 more time to fully recuperate.
After Yokohama, there will still be five opportunities at which Duffy can score points prior to the WTCS Final in Pontevedra. As one of only three Olympic distance races during the regular season, though, Yokohama offered more points than three of those five remaining races (Montreal, Hamburg and Sunderland).
As a result, she will likely have to be on near-perfect form for the rest of the year if she hopes to win a fifth world title. At the same time, her focus could be further afield with the goal of defending her Olympic title in Paris next year taking primacy. When push comes to shove, a second Olympic gold may be the priority with this year’s WTCS being sacrificed in its pursuit.
For Erica Hawley, Yokohama now offers a great opportunity to build her fledgling WTCS career. To date, she has made three appearances in the Series, with her most recent being a 45th place in Abu Dhabi in March.
Her best result remains the 42nd place she logged on debut in Edmonton in 2018. Since then, she has made great strides and recorded top-15 finishes at the World Cup level. A personal best could therefore be in store for Hawley in Yokohama.
In addition Alex Yee, the race winner from WTCS Abu Dhabi has withdrawn from Yokohama. He has been replaced on the start list by Jack Willis.
Similarly to Hawley, Willis is fairly inexperienced in the Series having only made his debut in Abu Dhabi in November. Of greater intrigue, he is currently ranked 52nd in the individual Olympic rankings. If he could boost that to inside the top-30 over the coming year, Britain could earn a third male slot for the Paris Olympics.
Yokohama will thus be a chance for Willis to boost his chances of making an Olympic debut next year. It would be no surprise to see British Triathlon add him to multiple WTCS start lists going forward.
As for Yee, he will surrender his lead of the Series at Yokohama, putting him in the same boat as Beth Potter. After his imperious display in Abu Dhabi, though, he will be confident of holding his form at the subsequent races.
