After a trio of Continental Cup races launched the 2024 triathlon season last weekend, the action continues this weekend with another triple header.
In addition to the Napier World Cup, racing will take place on three further continents, with Continental Cups at each.
Headlining the Americas Cup in La Habana, Cuba, will be Gwen Jorgensen. The former Olympic champion will be making her first start of 2024 and will look to test her fitness before tackling WTCS Abu Dhabi in March.
Last season, Jorgensen started her campaign with a similar early Continental Cup. She finished 3rd in her comeback event at the Oceania Cup in Taupo. After winning four World Cups in 2023, the American athlete will be the prohibitive favourite to claim the gold in Cuba, although she could be surprised by a couple of in-form names.
Roksana Slupek will be racing again having won last weekend’s Americas Cup in La Guaira. The Polish athlete is on a three race winning streak and could carry her momentum forward. Moreover, Elizabeth Carr will also be starting a week removed from her win at the African Cup in Troutbeck. Carr dominated the bike in Zimbabwe and could use the second discipline to her advantage once more this weekend.
Romina Biagioli, Ivana Kuriackova and Sinem Francisca Tous Servera will also be racing in Cuba while Anja Krueger will also be worth a watch after she earned a maiden Americas Cup win in 2023.
In the men’s race, Felix Duchampt will seek to add a win in La Habana to his victory in La Guaira. However, he will not have things all his own way. Juan Jose Andrade Figueroa, Aiden Longcroft-Harris and James Edgar are the Continental Cup winners that will pose stiff opposition to Duchampt.
Elsewhere in the world, Asia Cup action will unfold in Putrajaya, Malaysia. Julie Derron is the standout athlete on the start list. After claiming three WTCS top-8 finishes last season, she will attempt to get the ball rolling with a positive start to 2024.
At the same time, the Swiss athlete could be pushed by Bailee Brown of Hong Kong. Brown is within range of qualifying for the Olympic Games through the New Flag process and a win could boost her prospects immensely.
Among the men’s field, names like Junjie Fan, Robin Elg and Philip Pertl will likely contend for the podium. The biggest danger may come from Kyotaro Yoshikawa, though. Capable of producing fireworks on the bike, the Japanese athlete could light up the race.
Finally, the African Cup in Sharm El Sheikh is the third of the Continental Cups taking place. Whereas Brown will be hoping for New Flag points in Malaysia, her direct rival, Ekaterina Shabalina, will hunt for the win in Egypt. Shabalina will wear number 1 in Sharm El Sheikh and a win could all but lock in her Olympic spot.
However, with the likes of Julia Hauser, Minori Ikeno and Therese Feuersinger in the conversation for a medal, Shabalina will likely be pushed throughout the race.
In addition, Barbara De Koning will be starting. The Dutch athlete won a string of African Cup races in 2023 and could return to add more gold medals to her name. Notably, De Koning’s sister, Sonja, is also on the start list in Sharm El Sheikh. Sonja De Koning aged out of the Junior ranks at the turn of the year and was a European Junior Cup medallist last season.
A sororal race within a race could therefore be on hand.
On the men’s side, Ayan Beisenbayev will look at add another African Cup win after his success in Troutbeck last weekend. With the likes of Sylvain Fridelance and Gabriel Sandör up against him, though, he could be pushed all the way to the line.
