Although WTCS Cagliari will be the headline event this weekend, there are plenty of international races taking place around it.
With a Continental Championship to follow, as well as Continental Cups taking place in three different continents, the coming weekend offers one of the clearest demonstrations of the globalised state of elite triathlon.
Oceania
The racing will kick off Down Under with the final race of the Oceania season. A star-studded field will contest the Oceania Championships over the Olympic distance in Port Douglas, Australia.
Fresh off his silver medal at WTCS Yokohama, Matthew Hauser will be the favourite to take the win. However, his compatriots Luke Willian and Jake Birtwhistle have Oceania Cup wins to their name this year. Similarly, Tayler Reid won a silver medal at the New Plymouth World Cup and so cannot be discounted.
Thus while Hauser will be the favourite, it will be no walk in the park.
Hayden Wilde, Brandon Copeland and Callum Mcclusky will be starting in Cagliari instead.
On the women’s side, Nicole Van Der Kaay will look to continue her sparkling form that has seen her win three Oceania Cups plus the New Plymouth World Cup already this year. Her closest rivals for the win will be Charlotte Mcshane (who is on a two race winning streak) and Ainsley Thorpe.
Natalie Van Coevorden and Kira Hedgeland will be absent as they race in Cagliari.
Port Douglas will also host a range of U23 talents. Dylan McCullough stands out among them and could be a dark horse for the overall win. With a fairly small field taking on the Olympic distance, there should be scope for him to push the pace in the swim and force a small breakaway. The likes of Hauser should be able to keep up with him in the water which could also alter the race dynamic.
Oscar Dart has a recent win in Subic Bay to his name and has been building into his season nicely. Likewise, Luke Bate and Saxon Morgan will be gunning for big performances.
The Junior athlete Bradley Course will also look to turn some heads. In six weeks he will tackle the World Junior Championships in Hamburg so Port Douglas offers a good hit out.
The U23 women will also challenge for the win. Ellie Hoitink is probably the best placed among them to do so following her recent medals in Subic Bay and Busselton. Both Brea Roderick and Charlotte Derbyshire will be in the mix for medals too.
Jessica Ewart-McTigue might just be the most interesting name to watch after she gave Mcshane a minor scare in Busselton.
Africa
The African Cup in Yasmine Hammamet, Tunisia, will highlight the action on the continent this weekend. After his win in M’Diq and impressive showing at Bundesliga Kraichgau, Tim Hellwig will be racing again.
He looks to be the pick of the field and will look to use his speed on the run to seal victory. After a win in Pokhara earlier in the year, Bob Haller will probably be the closest challenger to Hellwig. All things considered, Haller would be best served by trying to attack on the bike rather than letting Hellwig control a running race.
To that end, Haller could find support from Neilan Kempmann. The young German had an impressive showing in Kraichgau and has the strength on the bike to be handy support for any attack. Indeed, Kempmann has the all-round skillset to contend for a medal.
Tanja Neubert and Finja Schierl will look to fight out the medals in the women’s race in Tunisia. Both looked in great form in Kraichgau and can be expected to bring that to bear this weekend.
Further down the start list, Imene Maldji is a promising young Algerian and she could have an outside shot of making the podium.
An African Junior Cup will also run concurrently to the Senior race. While there are only four women due to start, the men’s race is headlined by three Tunisian talents.
Zakaria Chtioui won the event in 2022 and will be looking to stamp his authority over the proceedings. He will have to overcome Mohamed Aziz Hamdi and Dawser Rezgui, the silver and bronze medallists from the 2022 African Junior Championships.
Europe
Alongside Cagliari, Europe will hold both a Senior and Junior Continental Cup.
In Olsztyn, Poland, the entire top-5 from last year’s World U23 Championships will suit up to fight it out once more. Connor Bentley will lead the way after his recent win at the European Cup in Caorle. Given how good his running looked in Italy, he should be confident of taking home another gold medal.
However, Gergely Kiss has looked in top running form this year. After logging a number of top performances over the winter, including a 3000m indoor PB, his run will certainly be up there with Bentley’s. Hamish Reilly, Eric Diener and Maxime Fluri will also look to contend for the win.
Diener was among the top performers at Bundesliga Kraichgau while Fluri recently recorded personal bests over the 5km and 10km.
After his win at the European Cup in Melilla, Louis Vitiello cannot be discounted. Likewise, Casper Stornes, the winner of WTCS Bermuda in 2018, will be a threat.
With Maxime Hueber-Moosbrugger, Simon Henseleit and John Reed all starting, the fight to make the top-10 could be intense.
On the women’s side, Selina Klamt will arrive in Poland after a win in Caorle and will be among the favourites. Kristelle Congi will likely provide the greatest competition to her after impressing at the French Grand Prix in Fréjus.
Lotte Miller and Jule Behrens will also be two women to keep an eye on in Olsztyn.
Racing will also take place via the European Junior Cup. Margareta Vrablova will be racing yet again and wears number 1. Meanwhile Márton Kropkó number will wear number 1 in the men’s field.
Asia
The action will conclude on Sunday with the Asia Cup in Osaka, Japan. The runaway favourite in the men’s race is Jumpei Furuya after his dominant win in Taizhou last weekend. That being said, he will be racing over the Sprint distance in Osaka and so might not be able to fully utilise his bike strength.
However, his run has also been firing lately and with home support behind him he should take the win.
Another face to keep an eye on will be the Asian Junior champion, Amu Omuro. After a solid start to his season, Omuro will be able to stack himself up against one of Japan’s best triathletes.
In the women’s race, a tight battle can be expected between the likes of Yuka Sato, Minori Ikeno and Sarika Nakayama.
Sato has all of the experience but Ikeno and Nakayama are rising stars in the Japanese camp.
