The wheel of triathlon continues to turn and more international events are coming thick and fast. In addition to the World Cup in Tiszaujvaros (for which you can read the women’s preview here and the men’s preview here) and Bundesliga Düsseldorf, this weekend there will be events in Africa and North America.
Montreal will host a double header of the third stop of the World Para Series and an Americas Cup. Larache, Morocco, will hold an African Cup. To cap it all off, alongside the World Cup, a European Junior Cup will also take place in Tiszaujvaros.
Read on to find out all you need to know about this weekend’s action.
Larache
At a home African Cup in Morocco, Badr Siwane wears number 1 and will look to give the local fans something to cheer. In the absence of Tim Hellwig, the winner of the African Cups in M’Diq and Yasmine Hammamet, the field is quite open. Up against Siwane will be the likes of Henry Räppo, the recently-crowned Baltic champion, and Dylan Nortje, who won a silver medal at the African Cup in Troutbeck.
After his recent win at the Danish Championships, Valdemar Solok will also be making his first international start in over a year. A combination of injury and then mental struggles waylaid Solok for much of 2022 and he will be looking to make the most of his return.
On the women’s side, number 1 will be taken by Brea Roderick. The New Zealander is fresh off making her WTCS debut in Montreal, where she finished 34th. To date, Roderick has not won an international race but that could well change this weekend.
There will be a definite Antipodean tinge to the women’s race in Larache. Eva Goodisson, Tara Sosinski, Chloe Bateup and Jessica Ewart McTigue are among those starting and each could trouble Roderick. Sosinksi was particularly impressive on her way to victory at the Asia Cup in Lianyungang. Meanwhile Ewart McTigue won a silver medal at the Oceania Cup in Busselton and finished 10th at the French Grand Prix in Metz.
Juri Ide, whose longevity never ceases to amaze, and Asia Mercatelli, last year’s Italian champion, should also be in the mix for medals. With the race being over the Sprint distance, though, their rivals from Australia and New Zealand may have the upper hand.
Montreal
Montreal will entertain a World Para Series stop as well as an Americas Cup.
In the former, Lionel Morales (PTS2) goes again after his win at the World Para Cup in A Coruna. Having taken down Geoffrey Wersy, a new French rival awaits in the form of Stephane Bahier.
Paralympic qualification points are on the line and another win could put Morales firmly in the box seat to make next year’s Games.
Alexis Hanquinquant, the top-ranked Para-triathlete in the world, will be starting in Montreal to add some stardust to the event. Leading the candidates to take the Frenchman down will be Jeremy Peacock. Likewise, Nils Riudavets Victory should be in contention after his win in A Coruna.
Tight races can be expected throughout the event. In the men’s PTWC class, another showdown is on the cards between Howie Sanborn, Jumpei Kimura and Nic Beveridge. Moreover Hailey Danz and Melissa Stockwell will go head to head in the women’s PTS3 race. One important point to note is that there is no female PTS3 category at the Paralympic Games. Instead five athletes in that class will qualify for the PTS4 race. Only one per country can make it via that route so Danz and Stockwell will in essence be battling for one Paralympic slot.
In the Americas Cup there will be a heavy local presence with Aiden Longcroft-Harris, the winner of the Americas Cup in La Paz, heading the cohort.
From further afield, Carlos Javier Quinchara Forero of Colombia will be racing as will Eloi Adjavon of Togo. Adjavon is a part of Team SPIX and will be hunting points to go towards his world ranking. He needs to bump his current ranking of 460 into the top-180 to potentially take a New Flag slot for Africa at next year’s Olympic Games.
Emy Legault is the big draw in the women’s race. The World Cup medallist recently finished 40th at both WTCS Yokohama and WTCS Montreal. A fast 5km from earlier in the year, in which she clocked 16:26, showed that she will be a real threat over this weekend’s Sprint event.
To take the win, Legault will have to overcome the likes of Minori Ikeno, Olivia Cummings and Erica Hawley. A young compatriot of hers, Noemie Beaulieu, could also put herself in the mix for a medal. Beaulieu, last year’s Americas Junior champion, has not raced internationally since making her World Cup debut in New Plymouth in March. If things go her way, though, she could upset her more experienced teammate.
Tiszaujvaros
In keeping with the format at the World Cup, the European Junior Cup in Tiszaujvaros will also be contested over a semi-final/final format.
In both the men’s and women’s races, a big home contingent will seek the gold medals. Zalán Hóbor is an obvious favourite on the men’s side after his recent silver medal at the European Junior Cup in Wels. Similarly, Gyula Kovács can be confident after he won the European Junior Cup in Olsztyn. The Hungarian team, though, has contenders throughout and the likes of Gergő Gyula Soós and Márton Kropkó should also be prominent at the front of the race.
The main talking point in the women’s race is Fanni Szalai. The precocious youngster returns after her unbelievable win at the European Junior Cup in Caorle. Although she was only born in 2008, she has already proven that she should not be underestimated, especially over the Super Sprint format. With a domestic audience to roar her on, she could well win another European Junior Cup.
The full Hungarian World Junior Championships team will also be starting. With Lili Dobi, Nora Romina Nádas, Laura Inez Papp and Sára Lehmann racing, there will be plenty of talent ready to push for the win.
The winner of the British performance assessments, Lawrence Martindale, will lead the charge against the home team. A nasty bike crash in Caorle essentially put paid to Martindale’s hopes of qualifying for the major Junior championships of the summer. Tiszaujvaros will nonetheless offer him a chance to test himself on his journey back. He will be joined by Will Bloom.
Isabella Hayes of Britain will also be worth keeping an eye on after impressing at the French Grand Prix recently. In Metz, she was the top Junior finisher in 24th place. Like Martindale, injury has proven disruptive for Hayes this season and so she will be looking to take something away from her summer. Emily Crookes will also be racing for Britain.
A notable South African team will in attendance, including the country’s male representatives for the World Junior Championships, Shaun Wolfaardt and Kyle Erskine. Christian Hattingh will be another athlete from South Africa with a good shot of denying the Hungarian team a sweep of the medals. Kadence Ribbink and Lomé Gouws will be starting from the South African women’s team.
On a final note, keep an eye out for Hanna Månsson.
The younger sister of the Swedish prodigy, Tilda Månsson, Hanna Månsson recently finished 5th at the Swedish Championships at the Senior level despite only being born in 2008. If the example of her sister is anything to go by, in a few years she could become a major threat to the podium at the Junior level. Although it would be unwise to expect much from her international debut, it will be worth keeping tabs on her over the next couple of seasons.
