The third World Cup race of 2024 will represent a new step in triathlon history. For the first time, the racing will take place indoors at the novel indoor event in Lievin, France.
Lievin has previously hosted an indoor European Cup to great success. The dedicated arena is laid out with a pool at its heart and an indoor track surrounding it. The athletes will tackle heats over a shortened distance for the indoor event before the top qualifiers return to contest the final.
The World Cup next month therefore promises a day of action and with the new format there could be a few surprises to come.
Who’s there?
The new event has attracted plenty of stars, including a full-strength home French team.
On the men’s side, world champions Vincent Luis, Dorian Coninx and Leo Bergere will all be starting as they look to impress on home soil. The Lievin World Cup will be one of the few opportunities to race before a home crowd on the road to the Paris Olympics and they will look to get a taste of the pressure that will inevitably come at the Games.
Also racing for France will be Paul Georgnethum, Yanis Seguin, Nathan Grayel and Antoine Duval.
Hungary will be well represented with a five man team. Csongor Lehmann will go for a World Cup win for a third straight year while Bence Bicsák, Gábor Faldum, Márk Dévay and Zalán Hóbor will also be racing.
The German squad will be made up by Tim Hellwig, Lasse Lührs, Lasse Nygaard Priester, Eric Diener and Jan Diener while Britain will also send five men. World Cup winner Hugo Milner will be starting, as will Barclay Izzard, Christopher Perham, Jack Willis and Samuel Dickinson.
A Dutch quintet will be led by the World U23 Championships medallist Mitch Kolkman. Gjalt Panjer, Nils Van Lanen, Victor Goené and Hugo Jan Bosscher comprise the rest of the team.
The European Games champion, Vetle Bergsvik Thorn, will lead a Norwegian trio that also contains Sebastian Wernersen and Casper Stornes. Meanwhile, Luxembourg will be represented by Gregor Payet, Stefan Zachaeus, Aurelien Carre and Bob Haller. Sweden will also send two men in the form of Andreas Carlsson and Gabriel Sandör
James Edgar, Kyotaro Yoshikama and Alessio Crociani, Felix Duchampt, Vitali Vorontsov, Nicolas Probert Vargas, Jamie Riddle and Mateusz Gluszkowski make up the sole male starters for their respective countries.
The women’s field has also attracted a full-strength home team.
WTCS medallists Cassandre Beaugrand, Emma Lombardi and Leonie Periault are all due to start, as are Audrey Merle, Sandra Dodet and Celia Merle. They will have their work cut out against a formidable German team that includes Laura Lindemann, Nina Eim, Lisa Tertsch, Lena Meißner, Marlene Gomez-Göggel and Anabel Knoll. World U23 champion Selina Klamt is among the younger contingent in the German squad, as are Finja Schierl and Tanja Neubert.
In addition, Georgia Taylor-Brown headlines an impressive British line-up. She will be joined by Vicky Holland and Jessica Fullagar.
Further WTCS star power is added in the form of Taylor Spivey as the American makes a rare World Cup appearance. She will be joined by World Cup medallist Gina Sereno on the US team.
Zsanett Kuttor-Bragmayer, Karolina Helga Horváth and Zsófia Kovács will race for Hungary while the European Games champion, Solveig Løvseth, and Lotte Miller will race for Norway. Slovakia will send Ivana Kuriackova and Zuzana Michalickova and Ukraine will hope for big results from Maryna Kyryk and Sofiya Pryyma.
Jolien Vermeylen, Julia Hauser, Petra Kurikova and Margot Garabedian are among the only female starters for their teams.
Main talking points
French Grand Prix stars
A number of stars from the 2023 French Grand Prix will be racing in Lievin. Nathan Grayel was instrumental in Saint-Jean-des-Monts Vendée Triathlon’s championship success last season and will get his chance to prove himself at the World Cup level.
Similarly, Yanis Seguin and Dorian Coninx will race after winning Grand Prix medals in 2023. Sandra Dodet, Audrey Merle and Celia Merle have likewise been noteworthy performers in the French league. Dodet, for example, won the season opener last year.
Given that Dodet and A. Merle are also World Cup winners, they could be two to watch.
Rising youngsters
Plenty of budding stars will be starting in Lievin. Several will be making their first major forays into the Senior level having moved up from the Junior ranks at the turn of the year.
Pelayo González Turrez of Spain, a European Junior Cup winner in 2023, is among the leading young faces. Zalán Hóbor of Hungary made his World Cup debut last year. After significant success at the Junior level (including European Junior Cup wins and a medal at the European Junior Championships), he could impress.
Aurelien Carre of Luxembourg and Noémi Van Der Kaijj of Switzerland are likewise two further athletes that will use Lievin as a chance to test themselves having aged up.
There will also be some Junior representation. One of the standout names in this respect is Sonja De Koning. The European Junior Cup medallist will make an early World Cup appearance. Alongside battling athletes over a decade older than her, she will face the challenge of besting her sister, Barbara De Koning.
Growing the sport
Lievin will also see some representation from a couple of countries seldom seen at the World Cup level.
Albion Ymeri of Kosovo will bring a new country into the fold on the men’s side. As the defending national champion, he will aim to put his best foot forward for Kosovo triathlon.
Moreover, the Central African Republic has entered two athletes. Lysa William Gbonguio and Carole Nadia Gbonguio will be the first representatives of the country at the World Cup level. Both are still young, being born in 2005 and 2009, respectively. Nevertheless, their presence could be a stepping stone on the expansion of the sport.
You can view the full start lists here.
