With two wins from his previous two international appearances, Miguel Hidalgo has something of a hot hand right now. Indeed, his wins at the Brasilia World Cup and the Pan American Games make him the favourite at the upcoming World Cup in Vina del Mar.
His two recent victories both came over the Olympic distance. That itself is a sign of Hidalgo’s development. At the end of last season, he noted that his strength lay more in Sprint events and that he needed to work towards the longer format. With Olympic distance wins under his belt, he appears to have cracked the code.
To go with that, Hidalgo also finished 6th at WTCS Pontevedra and 8th at the Paris Test Event, both of which were over the Olympic distance. He has the form behind him and with Vina del Mar taking place over the Sprint distance he will be racing over his old preferred format.
His speed should not go overlooked either. Hidalgo finished 7th at WTCS Hamburg this year in the Super Sprint eliminator format.
In all likelihood, then, the Brazilian athlete will probably be in the mix at the business end of the race this weekend and few will bet against him.
One athlete that could trouble him is his teammate, Manoel Messias. A World Cup himself, Messias did not have the best race at the Pan American Games. He nonetheless ripped the fastest run split of the day by over a minute.
If he can keep within contact of the lead into T2, he could overpower most of his rivals over the 5km run.
Crisanto Grajales will also be racing after winning the Weihai World Cup and finished 3rd at the Pan American Games. He also finished 4th in Brasilia.
Grajales’ run has proven a real weapon over the last few months and he should be able to run Messias and Hidalgo close in Vina del Mar. However, aside from a win at the Americas Cup in Ixtapa earlier in the season, his performances over the Sprint distance have not quite matched his Olympic distance displays.
As a result, there is a chance Grajales might not have the top end speed required to fight for the win.
Last year’s gold and silver medallists from the Vina del Mar World Cup return this time round. David Castro Fajardo came out on top in 2022 after an epic showdown with Diego Moya.
Castro has since won the European title and the Huatulco World Cup. Meanwhile, Moya will have the same home advantage that he thrived upon last year. On the note of home advantage, another Chilean athlete will be worth watching.
Gaspar Riveros beat Moya at the Pan American Games (hosted in Chile). He will thus be confident of another big performance in front of his compatriots this weekend. Having finished 6th at the Games, perhaps a top-5 finish will beckon for Riveros.
From further afield, Samuel Dickinson will look to build upon his bronze medal at the Tongyeong World Cup. After struggles with injury this year, the Sprint distance may be better for him at this point as he continues his comeback.
Dickinson was a big driving force in the breakaway at Tongyeong and could make something similar happen in Vina del Mar if he is not guarded closely.
In Alessio Crociani, another World Cup medallist, Dickinson could have an ideal breakaway partner.
The Americas champion over the Olympic distance, John Reed, leads a large American team. Such was the dominance with which Reed won his title in Veracruz, he can be counted among the preliminary favourites this weekend. He is armed with blistering run speed and if he executes his race plan he could find himself in the mix for the win.
After such a long season, though, the race could equally be ripe for an upset. In that regard, Mathis Beaulieu could be worth keeping an eye on.
The Canadian Junior athlete has already won a Senior race this year; he took 1st place at the Americas Cup in Sarasota. A silver medal behind Grajales in Ixtapa followed and then he won the bronze medal at the World Junior Championships in Hamburg.
He has not raced internationally since his weekend in Hamburg. However, Beaulieu has the running speed to contend for a high finish this weekend. With nothing to lose, he might uncork something special.
TriStats Predictions
- Miguel Hidalgo
- David Castro Fajardo
- Manoel Messias
- Mathis Beaulieu
- Diego Moya
