Fresh off the drama of the WTCS Final in Pontevedra, the first World Cup to be held in Morocco will take place this weekend. In the women’s race, several athletes will be looking to carry their Pontevedra form forward.
Maria Tomé arrives on the back of her silver medal at the World U23 Championships. The Portuguese athlete had the second fastest run split in her race in Pontevedra and will present a major threat. She also impressed on the French Grand Prix circuit this year and the Sprint distance is known to be to her liking.
Tomé, however, will face a formidable opponent in the form of Lisa Tertsch.
The German athlete will wear number 1 in Tangier and is on a high after finishing 4th in the WTCS Final and securing her spot on the German Olympic team.
Tertsch is a lightning quick runner and is a proven World Cup winner. Moreover, she won three Bundesliga golds over the Sprint distance over the course of the summer. She may therefore be the early favourite for the gold.
Rachel Klamer will be similarly buoyed by her 5th place in Pontevedra which booked her place on the Dutch Olympic team. Prior to that, she also finished 2nd at the World Cup in Karlovy Vary. Klamer is one of the few athletes starting with the speed on the run to challenge Tertsch.
Noelia Juan earned a personal best WTCS finish of 9th in Pontevedra. That represented the first time she had broken into the top-10 of a WTCS race. In July, she also finished 2nd at the World Cup in Tiszaujvaros, which was over the Sprint distance.
It is hard to argue with recent form so any of the names mentioned above could fight for the win. At the same time, it remains to be seen how the emotional come down from Pontevedra will play out. The highs of qualifying for the Olympics, World U23 medals and best ever finishes can sometimes yield subsequent lows and flat performances.
Meanwhile, someone like Marlene Gomez-Göggel will be itching to bounce back from a difficult day in Pontevedra. In September, she won consecutive bronze medals at the World Cups in Valencia and Karlovy Vary. As such, she is a reliable medal threat. However, after contesting three Olympic distance races in September, there may be a risk that some of her top speed has been dulled.
Tilda Månsson and Solveig Løvseth also did not have the best days in Pontevedra. Månsson finished 36th but is better at the Sprint distance at this stage in her career. Having won in Tiszaujvaros, she will be confident of exploiting the shorter event. Løvseth took 48th place in Pontevedra but is the European Games champion and medalled at the New Plymouth World Cup at the start of the season.
Neither Audrey Merle nor Mathilde Gautier were able to race in Pontevedra due to French rules on WTCS attendance. Nevertheless, they finished 4th and 5th, respectively, at the season finale of the French Grand Prix and arrive in Tangier in good form.
Merle won a World Cup at the end of 2022 while Gautier is the current European Super Sprint champion. Both have the ability to push for the gold.
One thing that should be noted, though, is that in the penultimate French Grand Prix race, in Quiberon, Tomé finished 4th while Merle finished 5th. Whether Tomé will get one over her French rival again remains to be seen. Given her recent form, though, it would be hard to bet against her.
TriStats Predictions
- Lisa Tertsch
- Maria Tomé
- Rachel Klamer
- Audrey Merle
- Noelia Juan
