Karlovy Vary is home to one of the toughest courses on the international circuit. Racing in the city dates back to 1999 although it only actually became a World Cup event in 2017. Famed for its tough bike course, it is always a real test for the athletes that take it on.
The timing of this year’s iteration may have influenced the attendance of some athletes. The event falls only a fortnight before the WTCS Final. Taking on such a difficult Olympic distance race may therefore not line up with most athletes’ Pontevedra taper. In addition, it clashes with season finale of the French Grand Prix so limited attendance is expected from French athletes.
Despite having to jostle with other events, Karlovy Vary has nonetheless attracted an impressive array of athletes.
Who’s there?
Bianca Seregni, the silver medallist from last year, is the only returning women’s medallist from 2022. She also won a bronze medal at the event in 2021 and so will be among the favourites this time round.
A strong Italian team will line up alongside Seregni. They balance the experience of Verena Steinhauser and Ilaria Zane with the rising Costanza Arpinelli. Luisa Iogna-Prat, the Italian champion, will also be starting and should feature towards the front of the race.
Romana Gajdošová will be racing after earning a maiden World Cup medal in Yeongdo. She will be joined by Margareta Bicanova and Zuzana Michalickova.
The race winner in Yeongdo, Annika Koch, will likewise start. World Cup winners Lisa Tertsch and Marlene Gomez-Göggel will join her for Germany, as will Lena Meißner and Nina Eim.
Tamara Gorman will continue her comeback from a broke sacrum in Karlovy Vary. The week prior, she is slated to make her return to racing at the Valencia World Cup. Racing on consecutive weekends has an element of risk attached but also offers the chance to score some valuable points in quick succession.
Erica Ackerlund and Gwen Jorgensen complete the American women’s team.
The Norwegian duo of Solveig Løvseth and Lotte Miller will no doubt relish the bike course. With their cycling prowess, they could shape the race.
If they can resist the Norwegians on the bike, Jeanne Lehair (Luxembourg) and Audrey Merle (France) will be among the favourites to medal with their running speed. Both could have French Grand Prix commitments that weekend so it remains to be seen whether they will stick to Karlovy Vary.
Maria Carolina Velasquez Soto will be racing and will hope to continue a fantastic season. After a string of wins at Americas Cup events, she finished 10th on her WTCS debut in Montreal. As with Lehair and Merle, she will likely be a threat on the run. Yet her cycling should not be overlooked and may actually be her strongest discipline right now. While she does not have a lot of experience of racing in Europe, Velasquez could be a dark horse to win the race.
Ellie Hoitink will be the sole representative for Australia while Austria will be sending a trio of Therese Feuersinger, Julia Hauser and Lisa Perterer. Feuersinger recently impressed at both the Bundesliga and in the WTCS with her swimming speed. Perterer also nearly won the Austrian Road Race Championships and so her cycling should be among the best in the field. Hauser’s running carried her to a silver medal at the European Games so, on paper, Austria have all bases covered.
None of the men’s medallists from 2022 return this year. However, the winner in 2021, Lasse Nygaard Priester, will be back.
Racing alongside the German champion will be Valentin Wernz who won a bronze medal at the Yeongdo World Cup. A rapid trio of Jannik Schaufler, Jonas Schomburg and Johannes Vogel then comprise the rest of the German man’s team.
Switzerland will also be at full-strength in Karlovy Vary. All four of their WTCS regulars are due to start. Max Studer and Adrien Briffod have both finished in the top-10 at WTCS races this year. Sylvain Fridelance is also a reliable operator.
The youngest of the quartet, Simon Westermann, recently won Bundesliga Tübingen and is an athlete on the rise. The bike course should suit him well and he could end up as the best Swiss finisher.
World Cup winner and WTCS medallist Manoel Messias leads the Brazilian team. Kaue Willy, Antonio Bravo Neto and Miguel Hidalgo will be starting alongside him.
Spain, meanwhile, will be sending four World Cup medallists to Karlovy Vary. David Castro Fajardo, the European champion and winner of the Huatulco World Cup, could be in for a big result. Any of Sergio Baxter Cabrera, Genis Grau and Alberto Gonzalez Garcia could equally be in the mix for the win.
As with their women’s team, Norway have a collection of talented cyclists scheduled to race. Gustav Iden leads the way although Casper Stornes and Sebastian Wernersen will likely be in the thick of the action.
Gianluca Pozzatti and Nicolo Strada will look to score big points on the road towards Olympic qualification while Maxime Hueber Moosbrugger is the only French man due to start. Like Merle, though, he could be a late withdrawal if French Grand Prix commitments arise.
Main talking points
Home hopes
The Czech Republic will have no representatives in the men’s race. In the women’s event, though, they will have two athletes that could push for high finishes.
Petra Kurikova won the Pontevedra World Cup last season and will be looking to claim another gold medal. As it happens, Pontevedra represents her only international win to date. The way in which she won the race, though, with a perfectly paced 10km run to see off the likes of Lisa Terstch and Jolien Vermeylen, indicated that she will be more than able to do the same at other events.
This season, she finished 6th at the European Championships in Madrid on a course with a similar profile to Karlovy Vary. With World Cup success under her belt and an affinity for tough courses, Kurikova could be a medal contender.
Tereza Zimovjanova will also look to make the most of a home race.
To date, her season has not quite clicked into place. However, last year she finished 10th in Karlovy Vary while she also placed 7th at the Huatulco World Cup and 6th at the World Cup in Vina del Mar. A top-10 is therefore well within her capabilities.
Should the home crowds lift the Czech athletes, then, it is feasible that both could end up in the top-5.
The Pearson problem
In terms of pure talent, Morgan Pearson is probably the best (male) triathlete America has. One only had to look to his outstanding performance at last year’s WTCS Final for confirmation of that.
After almost a year away with injury, he returned at his first WTCS race back to storm to the silver medal with the best run split of the day.
However, that also encapsulates the Pearson problem. On his day, he can contend for WTCS wins and could take a run at the world title. However injuries have been an issue. After all, he missed almost all of 2022 because of it.
As a result, Pearson only has three scores from First Period of Olympic Qualification and one score in Second Period. That has put him 66th in the Olympic rankings, a standing that almost entirely derives from his silver medal in Abu Dhabi. Without it, he potentially would not be in contention to qualify for the Olympic Games next year.
Right now, Matthew McElroy is the only American man in top-30 of the Olympic rankings. Seth Rider is close in 38th, but the smart money is on America only sending two men to Paris next summer.
Which brings us back to the Pearson problem. As the only American male WTCS medallist since 2020, he may have the highest ceiling of the US men’s team. Yet his form in 2023 has not matched his abilities. In his two finishes, he recorded 44th at WTCS Yokohama and 31st at WTCS Hamburg.
He is also not on the start lists for the Paris Olympic Test Event so Karlovy Vary will be his next race.
On a single day race at the Olympics, maybe he can deliver. If he is to prove to the American selectors that he can be counted upon, though, or if he is to overhaul Rider in the rankings, he needs a string of results and fast.
The future of the British men
Britain will have four men starting in Karlovy Vary: Barclay Izzard, Jack Willis, Sam Dickinson and Marcus Dey. Dickinson has suffered with injury of late so it will be interesting to see how he gets on. However, there is a broader discussion to be had concerning the future of the British men’s team.
Izzard, Willis and Dickinson form the spine of their generation of British men (being born in 2001, Dey is arguably in the generation after). This cohort of British men are entering their mid-twenties and should be close to their prime years. Izzard was born in 1998 while Dickinson and Willis are a year older. None of them, then, can be classified as young or emerging athletes anymore. They are established professionals with years of experience behind them.
The big name in their cohort, Alex Yee (1998), has established himself at the top of the tree. While not everyone can run like Yee, the question remains whether any of his contemporaries will join him.
There are definitely signs to be optimistic. Izzard earned first ever top-10 WTCS finish in Sunderland as he took 8th place. He might be the next man to become a fixture in the top-10 of WTCS races.
The key point, though, is that one of this cohort will need to step up. Britain faces a struggle to qualify a third man for the Paris Olympics and their two spots are likely (at the moment) to be taken by Yee and Jonathan Brownlee. At some point, Brownlee will need to replaced (that day could even come after Paris next year).
The Izzard-Willis-Dickinson group should be the next cabs off the rank.
Last year, Izzard finished 4th at the Pontevedra World Cup, Willis finished 4th at the Miyazaki World Cup and Dickinson won a bronze medal at the Tongyeong World Cup. They have the talent to succeed at the next level. Now they are entering a period in which they have to do it on a regular basis.
Dickinson won in Karlovy Vary back in 2019 and could gun for another gold (injury permitting).
By the time the Los Angeles Olympics rolls around in 2028, this cohort will be into their thirties. By that point, the likes of Connor Bentley and Hamish Reilly, each World U23 medallists and four years younger, will be snapping on their heels.
The late-nineties class of British triathletes therefore needs to take their opportunity to solidify themselves at the world level. Otherwise this cohort runs the risk of slipping away as attention turns to the next generation.
Dangerous Derron
Julie Derron won in Karlovy Vary in 2021. Furthermore, she claimed consecutive silver medals at the Arzachena World Cup in 2021 and 2022. She also has a win at the Weihai World Cup.
The common theme to these medals is that Derron is exceptional on tough bike courses. Based on that fact alone, she will be one of the favourites for the win in September.
Her recent form is also very promising. In Sunderland, she logged a personal best WTCS finish of 7th.
At the same time, the entire Swiss women’s team could threaten the podium
Alissa Konig finished 4th at the race in 2021. This year, she claimed a silver medal at the European Cup in Melilla. Cathia Schär is the European Championships bronze medallist and tackled the climbing well in Madrid.
In her past three WTCS races, Schär has finished 12th (Montreal), 8th (Hamburg) and 9th (Sunderland) so is also in wonderful form.
Nora Gmür has also won European Cup medals in Olsztyn and Melilla this season. Her best World Cup finish to date came in Bergen last year where she finished 23rd on another hilly course.
While Derron may be the favourite of the Swiss contingent, any of the team could spring a big result.
You can view the full start lists for Karlovy Vary here.
