After a long break since the races in New Plymouth at the end of March, the World Cup returns.
The second instalment of the series will take place in Huatulco, Mexico, next month. The venue has long been a popular one having held thirteen previous iterations of the event.
Huatulco will also be among the first races in the Second Period of qualification for the Paris Olympic Games. For many athletes, then, it will be an opportunity to accrue some early points as the race to Paris enters its final twelve months.
Who’s there?
The original line-up for the American women in Huatulco was Kirsten Kasper, Gina Sereno, Erica Ackerlund and Katie Zaferes. Since, then, Gwen Jorgensen and Michelle Stratton have replaced Kasper and Ackerlund.
After not getting onto the start list in Yokohama, despite travelling out the city, Huatulco will be an invaluable chance for Jorgensen to score some points.
Perhaps the American to watch out for most, though, will be Gina Sereno. After winning a silver medal at the Viña del Mar World Cup in November, she is one of the most recent medallists to be racing.
For Zaferes, Huatulco also represents a chance to continue to build her World Ranking. However, plenty of dangers lie in wait.
The most obvious place to start on that front is Amber Schlebusch. Earlier in the season, Schlebusch beat Zaferes at the Americas Cup race in Sarasota. She then went on to win a silver medal behind Barbara De Koning at the African Cup in Nelson Mandela Bay. Having not featured on the world stage since 2019, she will be making her second World Cup start.
Emma Jackson will arrive in Huatulco having already won in Melilla earlier in the season. Similarly, Charlotte Mcshane took back-to-back wins in Subic Bay and Busselton. Ellie Hoitink, the young Australian, also medalled at both Subic Bay and Busselton and could be a factor.
Vittoria Lopes, Djenyfer Arnold and Luisa Baptista form a strong Brazil team that will push the pace in every discipline. Moreover Emy Legault and Amelie Kretz lead a deep Canadian team.
Legault was the silver medallist in Huatulco last season so look for her to make a big impact.
Furthermore Annika Koch returns to the site of her 2022 victory with WTCS winner Laura Lindemann and Celine Kaiser for company. Koch is a proven quantity over the Huatulco course while Lindemann has historically been one of the best Sprint distance racers in the women’s WTCS. Both will likely be in the mix for the win.
Maria Carolina Velasquez Soto won a bronze medal at the Viña del Mar World Cup last year so cannot be discounted. Equally, the women’s winner from New Plymouth, Nicole Van Der Kaay, will also be racing.
Finally, Romina Biagioli of Argentina will be racing off the back of a string of wins in Americas Cups, including in Viña del Mar last November.
On the men’s side, the Brazilian team look primed for a big performance. Miguel Hidalgo returns after his bronze medal last year. With his speed in the swim and bike, he will look to seize control of the race early on. One of his closest rivals for a medal will be his team mate, the double WTCS medallist Manoel Messias.
Hidalgo and Messias will be joined by Antonio Bravo Neto and Kauê Willy, each of whom have logged some good results already this season.
Ecuador will also harbour hopes of a big race. They will be led by Ramón Armando Matute and Juan Jose Andrade Figueroa, both of whom will be racing at the World Cup level after a number of impressive Americas Cup results. Matute recently won races in Salinas and Lima while his compatriot Andrade won in Manta at the end of 2022.
Both Spain and Germany will be represented by speedy quartets.
On the Spanish side, World Cup winners from 2022 David Castro Fajardo and Genis Grau are the most prominent names. Grau’s win actually came in Huatulco so expect him to put up a full defence. Alberto Gonzalez Garcia and the exciting young prospect David Cantero Del Campo will also be racing.
Lasse Lührs will lead the German contingent alongside Jonas Schomburg, Valentin Wernz and Tim Hellwig. After Hellwig’s recent win at the African Cup in M’Diq, so he seems to be in good form.
Tyler Mislawchuk won in Huatulco in 2019 and will almost certainly be a contender. He raced especially well at WTCS Abu Dhabi earlier in the year and it would not be a surprise to see him cross the line first.
Moreover Diego Moya and Jawad Abdelmoula are always threats over the Sprint distance while the New Zealander Kyle Smith will also continue his foray into short distance.
On the American front, Kevin Mcdowell leads a strong team. Darr Smith and Brent Demarest will both arrive in form but the most intriguing athlete to watch might just be Ka’eo Kruse. Still fairly new to the sport, Kruse will get his World Cup shot after some fine early season form in Americas Cup races.
Main talking points
Ferris’ big day
Forget the iconic ’80s film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Huatulco will see Joshua Ferris’ Debut.
The Australian youngster will be making his first ever World Cup start and will arrive in Mexico buoyed by his recent results. A win at the Asia Cup in Ipoh at the end of 2022 preceded a silver medal at the Asia Cup in Subic Bay.
At both races his running was brilliant. Classically Huatulco has been a course to favour fast runners above all else so Ferris should be able to make the most of his opportunity.
The question to ask is therefore simple. What is Ferris going to do?
(Just don’t expect him to get up in any parades.)
Mexican women to put on a show
In front a home crowd, look for the Mexican team to produce some big performances. After their recent results, the Mexican women’s team might just be the ones to lead the way.
Rosa Maria Tapia Vidal will be fresh off her silver medal at WTCS Yokohama. In addition Anahi Alvarez Corral won silver at Valencia World Cup last year and already has Americas Cup medals behind Katie Zaferes this season.
In total seven Mexican women are due to start. Amid the array of rising talent will also be the experienced Cecilia Perez who will be keen to reassert herself as a leading member of the group
Alongside fast running, Huatulco has also rewarded athletes able to cope with the heat. Seeing as that description pretty much covers the entire Mexican team on both fronts, it would be wise to expect some fireworks on the race course.
Can Duchampt rediscover his touch?
Between late 2017 to late 2018, Felix Duchampt hit five straight World Cup top-5 finishes, including silvers in Salinas, Chengdu and Tongyeong.
Since then, he has recorded some solid results, including a 5th place at the Tongyeong World Cup last year. In general, though, his form since 2020 has not quite matched the levels he showed beforehand.
As a proven performer at the World Cup level, Duchampt can bounce back into the medals. Already this season he has taken on several Americas Cup races so he should be fairly well prepared for lies ahead in Huatulco.
How will Van Der Kaay travel?
Van Der Kaay enjoyed crushing form in Oceania this year. First came three Oceania Cup wins and then she won the New Plymouth World Cup.
A 27th place at WTCS Yokohama was a little off her form going into the race. It could have simply been an off day in the rain. Alternatively, it could speak to something more.
Virtually all of Van Der Kaay’s best World Cup results have come in New Plymouth or Mooloolaba, Australia. Indeed most of her best performances have come in Oceania. Can she replicate her form in New Zealand and Australia further afield?
That itself is a little disingenuous. She recorded a 4th place at the Karlovy Vary World Cup in 2017 and a 5th place at the World Cup in Antwerp in 2019. Throw in her WTCS Hamburg silver from 2019 and it is clear that it would be wrong to suggest she can’t race outside Oceania; she patently can.
However given how exceptional her performances have been of late in Oceania, the question remains whether she will be able to bring that level elsewhere or if home comforts boosted her. There is nothing stopping Van Der Kaay from being among the best in the world. To do that, though, she will have to bring her best form to all conditions and courses.
You can view the start lists here.
