The World U23 Championships are perhaps the premier opportunity for young athletes to broadcast their talents and set themselves up for a successful career in elite triathlon. Winning or even medalling at U23 Worlds is a strong marker of potential and the men starting in Abu Dhabi will be presented with a great chance to make a step forward.
Paul Georgenthum is a name that automatically jumps out from the page by dint of his 2nd place finish at WTCS Hamburg in 2021 with one of the best run splits of the day. However, he has not quite backed up that result yet, so while he probably has the best solo performance of the field, he has not yet found the consistency of some of the other athletes.
Instead, Georgenthum’s compatriot Valentin Morlec may be the athlete to go into the race as the favourite. Having placed 9th at the 2021 U23 World Championships in Edmonton, he has followed that result up with a 16th at WTCS Abu Dhabi in 2021 and 19th at WTCS Hamburg in 2022. Morlec is one of the better swimmers in the field and is well-rounded in the other two disciplines so could be a major threat.
Wearing number 1 in the race will be Jamie Riddle of South Africa. Riddle comes into this race on the back of a breakout year in which he took 2nd at African Championships in Agadir, 6th at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and a best WTCS finish of 15th in Hamburg in July.
Earlier in the year, Riddle also took two victories and African Cup races in Troutbeck and Nelson Mandela Bay. He is one of the best swimmers in the field and has regularly shown his cycling strength this season. The only question mark over Riddle is his run speed. If he can manufacture a breakaway, it might not matter, but there is a chance Riddle may just be pipped at the end of the run.
Nicolò Strada’s best 2022 result is his 13th place at the Bergen World Cup. He is a strong swimmer, perhaps even the fastest in the water of the field, and at U23 Worlds the race often plays out slightly differently to a WTCS or World Cup race, favouring stronger swimmers as the field is not as deep and it is harder to regain lost time in a bike pack. An aggressive swim and bike can result in a breakaway and Strada is one athlete with the ability to push such a breakaway and potentially hold on against a small group.
One athlete the likes of Strada will be pushing to avoid is Aram Michell Peñaflor Moysen. He came 4th in Tongyeong where he had the 3rd fastest run split, while his run at WTCS Cagliari was also strong. His problem in Cagliari was that his bike and swim were not quite at the same level as his run which left him 38th overall.
After being lapped out of U23 Worlds in 2021, Peñaflor Moysen will have something to prove but his form is highly promising. He finished 8th in Huatulco earlier this year and 9th at the recent Viña del Mar World Cup. A season of racing World Cups and making his WTCS bow could mean a stronger version takes the start line. With his run speed, anything is possible on the day.
Gergely Kiss came 3rd at European Cups in Tiszaujvaros and Alhandra this year, logging very good run splits at each. After his fellow Hungarian Csonger Lehmann took the men’s World U23 title in 2021, he could keep the title in Hungary if he is able to utilise his run speed.
When it comes to consistency, an athlete to note is Andreas Carlsson. In his first year at the Senior level he has logged 14th in Huatulco, 19th at the European Championships in Munich, 21st in Valencia, and 26th on his WTCS debut in Cagliari. Across the board, he is solid. He maybe doesn’t quite have a weapon split to fall back on like some athletes, but he has been much more consistent than most athletes of his age. In a field not quite as deep as he has confronted at most races this season, he may be able to take control of the race a little more and could have a breakthrough performance.
The final athlete to note in our preview is Dylan McCullough. Earlier this year he finished 7th in the Commonwealth Games, 13th at the Arzachena World Cup, and logged two 3rd places in Oceania Cups (in Mt Maunganui and New Plymouth). While his best WTCS finish is currently 30th, last year he placed 12th at U23 World Championships and on balance seems a much stronger athlete this year so can be expected to go better.
One point to acknowledge, though, is that McCullough has only raced once since the Commonwealth Games and started his season early. On the one hand he will have trained for months for this race and should be in prime condition. On the other, he may arrive in Abu Dhabi a little undercooked. Trying to race in March and November in the same year is a real challenge and sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn’t. That fact alone makes it hard to predict exactly how McCullough will fare.
There aren’t a lot of WTCS or World Cup medals among this men’s field which highlights the entire point of the race from a developmental perspective. It could therefore come down to whichever athletes are able to best execute their race plan and fall back on the experience they have already gained.
Valentin Morlec is probably the best bet of the field given his strength across the board and over the past year has on balance been one of the more consistent athletes that will start in Abu Dhabi. This field, however, is truly intriguing as the winner could come from anywhere and it would not be a surprise to see an athlete not listed here storm to victory.
TriStats Predictions
- Valentin Morlec
- Jamie Riddle
- Aram Michell Peñaflor Moysen
- Paul Georgenthum
- Gergely Kiss
