First of all, what is a Sunderland?
After extensive research, we can confirm that it is in fact a town in the north of England.
Throughout the history of the WTCS, Britain has played host to a stop in every season except 2012 (when it held the Olympic Games instead). In the early years, the event took place in London, a run that included the 2013 Series Final. Later, it was moved to Leeds, the home of the Brownlee brothers and, for 2023, the event has been shifted further north to Sunderland. At the current rate, a future instalment at John o’ Groats will be on the cards.
This year’s race will be the final Sprint distance event at which athletes can score points towards their WTCS totals. With an eye on the world title, most of the leading contenders will be racing. At the same time, there are a couple of surprising missing names.
Who’s there?
Fresh off his win at WTCS Montreal, Matthew Hauser will head up the Australian team. So assured was his victory in Canada, it will be hard to look beyond him for another gold medal over the Sprint distance. Joining him in the Australian colours will be Brandon Copeland, Luke Willian and Jacob Birtwhistle.
The most obvious obstacle on the way to a potential Hauser win will be Alex Yee. The only unbeaten athlete in the WTCS this year, Yee will look to put on a show in front of a home British crowd. In 2021, he claimed his first WTCS win in Leeds however a crash ended his day prematurely at the event last year.
Curiously, he is the only British man on the start list this year. Several are on the wait list for the event. Nevertheless, it is a surprise to see so few athletes make the start line at a home race.
The third WTCS race winner of the year, Hayden Wilde, will also be in Sunderland. With Tayler Reid and Dylan McCullough alongside, Wilde will look to repeat his victory on British soil last year.
In Cagliari, Leo Bergere’s season showed a little more life as the reigning world champion won his first WTCS medal of the season. He will be returning to the Series in Sunderland after skipping Montreal and Hamburg. At last year’s event, Bergere also notably launched a breakaway on the bike with Vincent Luis. Over a new course, he could try a similarly funky move this time around.
However, he will not have Luis for company. With Pierre Le Corre and Tom Richard due to start, though, France will still have a strong squad racing.
After a silver in Montreal, Manoel Messias will look to make it three WTCS medals from the three Sprint events this season. On current form, it would be hard to bet against him. Miguel Hidalgo is currently the second Brazilian man on the start list.
The bronze medallist from Montreal, Jelle Geens, will also be racing. On the Belgian team, Marten Van Riel will look to exorcise some demons after a fall in Leeds last year catalysed a series of problems that waylaid his 2022 season.
Canada will have a strong duo racing in the form of Charles Paquet and Tyler Mislawchuk. The former finished 7th in Montreal while the latter won a silver medal at the Huatulco World Cup. On their day, both could trouble the top-5 in Sunderland.
Kristian Blummenfelt will be racing yet again although Norwegian athlete may warrant close attention. Vetle Bergsvik Thorn just claimed the European Games title and will be looking to continue his fine form in UK. Although the Olympic distance has generally suited him a little more, he does have a WTCS top-10 and a World Cup medal over the shorter format to his name.
Vasco Vilaca will look to bounce back from a crash in Montreal that derailed what was otherwise a promising position. After medals in Abu Dhabi and Yokohama, a spot of bad luck hampered him in his last two outings. If he can shake the misfortune, he should be able to put himself back in the mix for a medal.
The second Portuguese man will be Joao Pereira.
The German team also contains a couple of notable faces. Lasse Lührs will look to reassert himself as a WTCS medallist while Tim Hellwig will want to maintain his form after a fine showing in Montreal. Johannes Vogel will try to score some big points to break back into the top-30 of the Olympic Qualification rankings. And then there is Jonas Schomburg. If nothing else, expect him to fly into the lead out of T2. At this point, it is triathlon heritage.
On the women’s side, Britain will be have a formidable line-up.
With two WTCS wins to her name over the Sprint distance in 2023, Beth Potter will look to make it a hat-trick in Sunderland. Also starting will be Sophie Coldwell. Compared with her lightning start to the season in Abu Dhabi and Yokohama, Montreal was a drop in level for Coldwell.
A double medallist in Leeds, look for her to elevate herself in front of a British crowd.
Three younger faces will join Potter and Coldwell as Kate Waugh, Sian Rainsley and Olivia Mathias complete the team.
Meanwhile the three musketeers are back for France. In Montreal and Hamburg, France only entered one woman. However, in Sunderland, Leonie Periault, Emma Lombardi and Cassandre Beaugrand will be reunited as a trio.
Periault and Lombardi both have WTCS silver medals to their name this year so would be fitting for Beaugrand to join the party and claim a medal herself. As the winner of WTCS Leeds last year, she has form over the distance as well as in the UK.
Whereas France are sending a larger team this time, several countries have entered only one woman.
Maria Carolina Velasquez Soto will be Colombia’s only athlete after her impressive WTCS debut in Montreal. Likewise, Zsanett Bragmayer will look to build upon her sterling result in Montreal as Hungary’s only woman.
Miriam Casillas Garcia will be the only Spanish woman racing while Yuko Takahashi and Ekaterina Shabalina will be the sole athletes for Japan and Kazakhstan. After recently claiming the Danish national title, Alberte Kjaer Pedersen will be the only representative from her country.
The American team will not be sending their usual complement of five women. Instead, the US squad will consist of Katie Zaferes, Taylor Knibb, Gina Sereno and Erica Ackerlund.
Germany will have five women racing, although they too have a couple of changes from their familiar faces. Annika Koch will get another shot in the Series and races alongside Anabel Knoll, Lena Meißner, Gomez-Göggel and Lisa Tertsch.
Who’s not there?
The most obvious absence is that of Georgia Taylor-Brown. The winner of WTCS Cagliari would have been an automatic favourite and the organisers will be disappointed to miss out of the presence of one of the most recognisable triathletes among British audiences.
Two other medallists from this year’s Series, Taylor Spivey and Summer Rappaport, are also skipping Sunderland. In addition Kirsten Kasper is another American to pass on the event.
From the German team, Laura Lindemann and Nina Eim have also opted out of Sunderland. Although Lindemann has not quite hit her straps this year, she is a race winner over the Sprint distance in the WTCS and a proven danger to the podium. Eim has also logged some of the fastest splits in the Series this year and could have been an outsider for a medal.
On the men’s side, Dorian Coninx and Vincent Luis are too notable absences. Coninx enjoyed a fantastic start to his season but has since switched his focus from the Series to the Olympic Test Event. Luis is also still on the road back from a hip injury.
Aside from Coninx, Jonathan Brownlee is the only other athlete from the WTCS top-20 not to race. As with Taylor-Brown, his absence may be a disappointment to the organisers that were banking on his star power to draw crowds.
Main talking points
Lehair on the podium?
Jeanne Lehair will be the only athlete from Luxembourg racing in Sunderland. However, she is shaping up to be the likeliest athlete to win their first WTCS medal at the event. A 5th place in Cagliari preceded a 4th place in Montreal and she is edging ever closer to the podium.
At multiple races this year, she has been among the best runners and it seems like a matter of time before she puts herself into the medals.
Such is her form, the biggest thing that could stop her from taking a first medal in Sunderland could be her winning one in Hamburg two weeks earlier.
Eyes on Paris
With the Olympic Test Event not long after Sunderland, several athletes have skipped the WTCS race to prioritise the Test Event. For several countries, the Test Event will be the primary opportunity to seal qualification for next year’s Olympic Games and as such many athletes have opted to put all of their eggs in that basket.
At the same time, those that do race in Sunderland may train through the event. Given the important of Paris, the likes of Hayden Wilde can be expected to not fully rest for the quick trip to the UK.
As a result, an upset could be on the cards in both the men’s and women’s events.
Lührs back for a second WTCS medal
Lasse Lührs won his first WTCS medal in Leeds last summer as part of a breakout season. However, injury curtailed the start of his 2023 and he is still feeling his way back to top form.
A 10th place on his comeback in Cagliari was a strong result, although by his own admission the final 5km of the run were particularly brutal. Over the Sprint distance, he should be able to put himself into contention more without worrying about the fitness required for a second 5km.
Given his success in the UK last year, if Lührs can find a little more race sharpness over the next month he should be back in the conversation for a medal.
Where are the British men?
With Alex Yee serving as the only entrant for the British men, there will be some questions over where the rest of the team are. Several names, including Barclay Izzard, Max Stapley and Connor Bentley, are on the wait list and so could end up racing.
However, the start lists for Sunderland give the impression that the British team is deep into a transition phase. While Yee is carrying the torch, the days of full British men’s teams are currently on pause as the new generation finds their feet.
The talent is there, as evidenced by Bentley’s World U23 title, but it will take time for the rising faces to mature.
When the athletes race around Sunderland, then, there may be a little head-scratching within the crowd at where the men’s team have gone.
More Mexican success?
Let’s be clear from the start. Anahi Alvarez Corral probably will not medal in Sunderland. She has raced twice in the WTCS and at her only appearance in 2023 she was lapped out (in Cagliari).
Right now, her swim is her point of weakness in her skillset and that unfortunately comes up against an era of unprecedented aquatic speed in the women’s Series. With the likes of Sophie Coldwell, Lena Meißner and Vittoria Lopes racing, chances are Alvarez will not be in the main pack in T1.
However, she was so good at the Huatulco World Cup.
She obliterated the field on the run to win the race and if there is even the slightest chance that she unleashes a similar run in Sunderland she will need to be in the conversation for a high finish. Realistically, she will lose time before T2. But if she uncorks a similar performance to Huatulco she could storm through the field.
Moreover Mexico will have Rosa Maria Tapia Vidal racing. Her silver medal at WTCS Yokohama confirmed her arrival on the world stage. Aside from that, she has also been fairly consistent in 2023 with finishes of 16th, 10th and 14th in Cagliari, Abu Dhabi and Montreal. If she rediscovers her Yokohama speed, she will also be in the mix for a medal.
Both Alvarez and Tapia are young and so undulations in their performances are to be expected. Should Sunderland coincide with a high point, though, they could throw the cat among the pigeons.
View the men’s start list here and the women’s start list here.
