The first WTCS race of the season has already seen a swathe of changes to the start lists. Among the two biggest recent withdrawals have been those of the defending women’s world champion, Beth Potter, and the winner of last year’s women’s race, Sophie Coldwell. The absence of Hayden Wilde also ensures that the men’s victor from 2023 is likewise absent.
With regards to Yokohama, Potter likely came to the same conclusion as her closest rival from 2023, Cassandre Beaugrand. Considering she has Olympic qualification already sewn up and her eyes on Paris, the long distance travel to Japan may have been a commitment too far amid her preparation for the summer.
Coldwell is in a different boat. She claimed her first ever WTCS win with a spectacular performance in Yokohama last year. This season, however, she will likely conserve her energies for WTCS Cagliari a fortnight later. Cagliari will be a decisive selection race for the British Olympic team. Two slots remain after Potter claimed the first berth and Coldwell will be up against 2020 world champion Georgia Taylor-Brown, who did not enter Yokohama, and Kate Waugh, who remains on the start list for Yokohama.
Taylor-Brown won the two previous iterations of WTCS Cagliari and will be a formidable opponent to overcome. Meanwhile, Waugh proved her Olympic credentials with a silver medal at WTCS Pontevedra in September. Her choice to race Yokohama indicates that she may be seeking additional proof alongside any possible Cagliari result to sway the British selectors. In tackling both races, while Taylor-Brown and Coldwell prioritise only the latter event, Waugh is certainly taking a risk.
In the place of Potter and Coldwell, former world champion Vicky Holland and Sian Rainsley, the winner of the Hong Kong World Cup, have been added to the British line-up in Yokohama. They will be joined be Waugh and Olivia Mathias, both of whom were on the original start list.
Meanwhile, Pierre Le Corre is also out of Yokohama. The French WTCS race winner has struggled with injury since the turn of the year. He qualified for Paris after winning the bronze medal at the WTCS Final in Pontevedra however he still has to prove his fitness this season to confirm his place on the French team. He will therefore be nervously sweating the performances of former world champions Leo Bergere and Vincent Luis in Yokohama.
Alex Yee and Barclay Izzard have also been withdrawn from the event by the British federation. In their place, Jonathan Brownlee has been added. As previously noted, with Cagliari being a crucial race for the British team, the withdrawal of Izzard in particular indicates that he is prioritising that event.
Elsewhere, Brandon Copeland, Jacob Birtwhistle and Callum McClusky have been added to the men’s start list as Australia hunts a third men’s Olympic slot. In addition, Kevin McDowell and Seth Rider will now be starting for America. Both will have shots of booking second men’s place on the American Olympic team, although they will realistically need a podium result to guarantee their selection for Paris.
