Central Asian Champs Samarkand
The racing in Uzbekistan will double as an Asia Cup, allowing for a number of additional athletes to contest the Olympic distance event.
The big talking point will be the battle between Ayan Beisenbayev of Kazakhstan and Jason Tai Long Ng of Hong Kong. At this moment in time, the pair are the front-runners to take the sole available New Flag slot for Asia at the Paris Olympics. Beisenbayev currently has the lead in the race but a big showing in Samarkand would help Ng close the gap.
Beisenbayev has been a consistent performer at African Cups this season, with a win and a couple of subsequent near-misses around the podium. Ng, though, finished 2022 with a 14th place at the World U23 Championships and has since logged three top-10 finishes from his four Asia Cup races in 2023.
Yet Samarkand will not be a two-horse race. Richard Varga stands out among the European contingent taking part. Similarly Federico Scarabino of Uruguay could shape the outcome of the race.
On the women’s side, Ivana Kuriackova pops up at yet another race. Having clocked so much travel already this year, it is hard to tell what kind of condition she will arrive in. If she can carry through her form from earlier in the year, another win could be on the cards.
She will have her work cut out against Tanja Stroschneider and Minori Ikeno. Stroschneider will likely be the biggest threat having taken on all three stops of the WTCS this season. After testing herself against the best in the sport, expect her to try to shape the racing in Uzbekistan.
Asia Cup Lianyungang
Samarkand will not be the only Asia Cup of the weekend.
Racing over the Olympic distance, Jumpei Furuya headlines the men’s field in China. After recent wins in Taizhou and Osaka, he will be looking to make it three on the bounce.
Furuya will have to contend with an in-form Oscar Dart. The Australian recently won the Asia Cup in Subic Bay and followed it up with a silver medal at the Oceania Championships in Port Douglas. Although Furuya is on paper the best cyclist in the field, Dart could certainly give him a run for his money throughout the race.
Two other young names to keep an eye on will be Nanhe Wang of China and Oscar Coggins of Hong Kong.
In the women’s race, Xinyu Lin wears number 1 and is realistically the favourite. The Chinese athlete recently achieved her best WTCS finish (a 34th in Yokohama) and has an Asia Cup win to her name this year. In a similar guise to Furuya, look for her to move against the field on the bike.
Meanwhile, Niina Kishimoto recently won in Osaka and Zsófia Kovács has three Asia Cup top-8 finishes plus a solid result at the New Plymouth World Cup to her name this year. Both will be direct challengers to Lin.
Baltic Champs Aluksne
In addition, Samarkand will not be the only championship event taking place.
In Latvia, the best of the Baltics will contest the Super Sprint distance to settle the regional championships. The hosts will have a few names to watch out for.
Baiba Medne is the most experienced of the Latvian crew; indeed she is the only woman due to start not born in the 21st century. With considerably more experience to call upon than her rivals, she will look to take control of the race from the start.
Perhaps two of the most intriguing Latvian athletes to start, though, are two Juniors, Beāte Bula and Beate Jansone. Jansone impressed in the heats at the European Junior Cup in Caorle, although she fell away a little in the final. Bula also had an impressive day at the European Junior Cup in Olsztyn.
Aluksne will present a different challenge but it should be one to which the young duo can rise.
Latvia’s hopes in the men’s race will largely rest on the shoulders of Artūrs Liepa. Liepa enjoyed plenty of success racing domestically in Latvia at the start of the season, competing in national championships in the pool and in athletics. However, in Aluksne he will have to find a way past Henry Räppo.
Räppo recently took a bronze medal at the African Cup in Yasmine Hammamet. His fellow Estonian, Gregor Rasva, could also trouble Liepa. Rasva finished 6th at the European Junior Cup in Olsztyn. Prior to that, he had some success in the heats in Caorle as part of a three man breakaway.
European Cup Rzeszów
Not far from Aluksne, another European race will be held in Poland. Rzeszów will give several athletes a chance to renew rivalries from Bundesliga Kraichgau, albeit this time over the Olympics distance.
After stellar performances for Trier, the Osterholt brothers, Cedric and Jonas, will be racing. So too will John Reed after a good showing in Kraichgau.
Simon Henseleit and Matthew Wright will both be racing after recent Continental Cup medals: Henseleit in Olsztyn, Wright in M’Diq and Sharm El Sheikh. Both can expect to feature heavily at the front of the race. With a large field of over sixty athletes, though, there will be plenty of men capable of upsetting the odds.
In the women’s race, Barbara De Koning unsurprisingly wears number 1 after her winning spree earlier in the year.
The trio of Iona Miller, Finja Schierl and Candice Denizot will provide stiff opposition to the Dutch woman. Moreover Sara Guerrero Manso is another that should quietly rise to the top of the race.
Americas Cup Chinchiná
Over in Colombia, a Sprint affair will take place. Perhaps the biggest talking point of the race, though, comes not from any recent triathlon results. Rather, Reese Vannerson needs to be discussed after his exploits on the track.
An 8th place at the North American Junior Championships in Sarasota stands as his only international result this year. Furthermore, last year’s World Junior bronze medallist was only born in 2005 and will still eligible for Junior racing next year. However his track speed largely negate his age and relative lack of triathlon racing this year.
Around Sarasota, Vannerson concluded his high school track career with some huge performances. First up, he clocked 8:49.10 in the 3200m – the fastest ever time run on Texas soil – to become the state champion. On the same day, he also took the 1600m state title with a time of 4:08.08.
To put that into context, Hayden Wilde’s mile best time on the track is a 4:05.49, which he ran in January 2021, two weeks before he clocked his 5000m PB of 13:29.
No one should expect Wilde-esque run splits from Vannerson any time soon, not least given his age. The potential is certainly there, though, for him to mature into a major threat. In Chinchiná he will have Andree Buc, this year’s South American Junior champion, as someone to measure himself against.
Meanwhile, in the women’s race, Maria Carolina Velasquez Soto is the overwhelming favourite.
After winning her first World Cup medal in November, she is currently on a three race winning streak at the Americas Cup level. Thus far in 2023, she has had the answer to every question posed to her. As much as Raquel Solis Guerrero, Liberty Ricca and Juri Ide will challenge her this weekend, then, Velasquez seems like a safe bet to secure the win.
