The final World Cups of the Olympic qualification window will take place as a double header in the middle of May. The first of the two races will be the classic stop in Huatulco, Mexico.
With its reputation for brutal conditions and a fast Sprint distance course, Huatulco usually offers lively racing. With the close of Olympic qualification likely on the minds of the athletes starting this time, it could throw up some of the tightest finishes of the season.
Who’s there?
Returning to defend her gold medal from 2023 will be Anahi Alvarez Corral. The rising Mexican star will look to once again deliver in front of a home crowd. Based on previous results, she certainly has the running speed to win the race. The question will be whether she can position herself in the first half of the race in a way that lets her unleash her top speed.
Luisa Baca Vargas, Mercedes Romero Orozco, Natalia Casas and Sofia Rodriguez Romero will also be part of the squad of eight women starting for Mexico and will look to win medals of their own.
From the neighbouring American team, World Cup medallist Gina Sereno heads up a group containing Erika Ackerlund, Michelle Stratton, Lydia Russell and Tamara Gorman. From further north, the Canadian team will consist of Anja Krueger, Maria Carreau, Sophie Howell and Desirae Ridenour.
Former WTCS race winner Rachel Klamer will lead a team of three women for the Netherlands. Robin Dreijling and Barbara De Koning will be joining her in Huatulco. Hungary will also be sending three women; Zsanett Kuttor-Bragmayer, Karolina Helga Horváth and Márta Kropkó are the names to watch in this regard.
Austria and South Africa will each be sending sizeable squads. For the former, Lisa Perterer has long enjoyed the hot climate in Huatulco and has performed well there before. As a World Cup medallist from 2023, she will likely lead the quintet that also includes Sara Vilic, Julia Hauser, Therese Feuersinger and Tanja Stroschneider. For the latter, African champion Vicky Van Der Merwe will attempt to translate her sensational regional form to the world stage. Shanae Williams, Amber Schlebusch and Bridget Theunissen comprise the rest of the team.
Alberte Kjaer Pedersen and Anne Holm will start for Denmark while Sara Guerrero Manso and Maria Casals Mojica will be racing for Spain. Norway have also entered two women with Solvieg Løvseth and Lotte Miller.
Maria Tomé, Raquel Solis Guerrero and Romina Biagioli are among a small group of athletes that are the lone female entries for their countries.
On the men’s side, Rodrigo Gonzalez leads a mostly young Mexican team. In total eleven men will be starting for the home team. Among them, Osvaldo Darell Zuñiga Fierro is a rising youngster and could be one to watch.
Both the American and Canadian teams will be sending significant contingents. The 2023 Americas champion John Reed headlines the American team and will be joined by Ka’eo Kruse, Nicholas Holmes, Reese Vannerson, Keller Norland and Ryan Luczak. Canada will be represented by five men with each of Liam Donnelly, Brock Hoel, Filip Mainville, Clayton Hutchins and Mathis Beaulieu looking to make a dent.
Hungary have an eye-catching team with World Cup winner Csongor Lehmann, WTCS medallist Bence Bicsák and World U23 medallist Gergely Kiss starting. Kiss’ successor on the World U23 Championships podium, Mitch Kolkman, will also be in attendance as part of the Dutch team. Richard Murray, Gjalt Panjer and Donald Hillebregt complete the rest of the Dutch squad.
Casper Stornes, Vetle Bergsvik Thorn and Sebastian Wernersen will race for Norway. After Thorn and Stornes made the podium at the Lievin World Cup, they will look to add further World Cup medals to their account. Meanwhile, Henri Schoeman, Nicholas Quenet, Dylan Nortje and Jamie Riddle will race for South African.
Spain (Genis Grau and Pelayo Gonzalez Turrez), Denmark (Valdemar Solok and Oscar Gladney Rundqvist) and Austria (Martin Demuth and Alois Knabl) will each have two male starters in Huatulco. Finally, Luke Bate, Erwin Vanderplancke and Diego Moya are among the lone male representatives for their respective countries.
Main talking points
Mixed Team Relay
Huatulco will have an additional dimension this season as it also hosts the Olympic Qualification Event for the Mixed Team Relay. Any country that has not already booked its place at the Games will therefore be in the hunt for a final slot in Mexico.
With qualification on the line, it is no surprise to see that several countries have rolled out their big guns. For instance, Hungary are flying Csongor Lehmann out in the hope for a similar impact as that provided by Vasco Vilaca on Portugal’s relay at the Napier Mixed Team Relay Event. With Vilaca in the team, Portugal sewed up Olympic qualification.
Other teams will look for a similar impact from their stars. Denmark will likely trust anchor duties to Alberte Kjaer Pedersen while Rachel Klamer will probably assume the same for the Netherlands. Moreover, Norway will back Vetle Bergsvik Thorn to deliver a big boost to their relay aspirations.
With the relay coming before the individual event in Huatulco, some athletes may find their priorities have already been achieved before the World Cup begins.
Junior showdown
One name that stands out on the men’s start list is Joao Nuno Batista. The reigning World Junior and European Junior champion will be making his World Cup debut and, given the brilliance of his performances in 2023, could spring a surprise on a few of his more established fellow starters.
Batista is still in the Junior ranks this season and so could prioritise defending his world title. Equally, he could take a leaf out of Tilda Mansson’s book and push to win a World Cup as a Junior. Historically, Huatulco has favoured fast runners and Batista certainly does not want in that regard.
He will also be up against a couple of other noteworthy youngsters. Reese Vannerson, the newly-crowned Americas Junior champion, will be racing. A World Junior medallist in 2022, Vannerson is also eligible for the Junior ranks this year and may present one of the greatest challenges to Batista on the World Junior scene. Whoever comes out on top in Huatulco could therefore score an early psychological win.
In addition, Mathis Beaulieu will also be starting. While has graduated from the Junior ranks, he won bronze behind Batista at the World Junior Championships in 2023. Look for Beaulieu to get his own back over Batista in the World Cup.
Family matters
Honduras will be represented by two athletes in the women’s race in Huatulco: Camila Victoria Alcala Rosales and Julia Maria Alcala Rosales. The elder of the two, Julia Maria (born 2001), represented Mexico internationally between 2018 and 2019. As such, racing in Huatulco may offer a semblance of home advantage. With Huatulco being her World Cup debut, the race will likely be a very useful learning experience for her in the early stages of her Senior international career.
It will also be interesting to see how the younger Alcala, Camila Victoria (born 2005), fares. She won the Americas Junior title in 2023 but did not race at the equivalent event in 2024. Instead, she opened her season at the Americas Cup in La Paz, finishing 11th.
The younger Alcala is still eligible for Junior competition this year and so may target the World Junior Championships later in the year. For now, though, she will be making her World Cup debut too.
With both Alcalas making a new step in their careers, their moment will be heightened by the fact that they will making it together. Once the race begins, though, they will no doubt look to get the better of one another.
View the full start lists here.
