TRIATHLON

World Cup series welcomes first standard distance course of season with the 2017 Mooloolaba ITU Triathlon World Cup

By International Triathlon Union

In the second stop on the 2017 ITU World Cup calendar, the elites head to Australia to compete in the 2017 Mooloolaba ITU World Cup. This year’s event marks the 13th time that Mooloolaba has appeared in the series, first appearing on the docket in 2005 and once again offering up the familiar standard-distance course on the Sunshine Coast.

Women’s Preview
While the women’s field consists of a small roster, it is full of current and rising talent. Making her 2017 ITU racing debut is Aussie Ashleigh Gentle, who tops the start list. Gentle had a standout 2016 year, making two World Triathlon Series podiums along with a silver medal at the Montreal World Cup. She also represented her nation for the first time at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. While she took third place in Mooloolaba in 2015, she has never won the home nation World Cup, so this weekend could be her opportunity to start off her year with a victory.

Australian compatriot Emma Jackson also stands near the top of women’s start list. She is a really strong cyclist, who’s signature move is to ride at the tail end of the leading pack, waiting to make her move on the run. While she has experience on the winning World Cup podium, she hasn’t seen the gold since 2014. She also hasn’t race in Mooloolaba since 2013, so she will also be looking for some home nation success.

Some other Aussie women to look out for this weekend are some rising talent that could start making some moves in the years to come. Natalie Van Coevorden is a strong swimmer that earned her first World Cup podium in 2013. Emma Jeffcoat has had several successes in the Oceania race scene and is could explode onto the ITU race circuit. While Jaz Hedgeland is another Aussie who has just missed out on some World Cup podiums, but has also had some strong performances in Oceania Cups.

After once again finishing first in the swim in WTS Abu Dhabi last weekend, Spain’s Carolina Routier is set to race her first World Cup of the year. While she is famously known as being one of the fastest women in the water, she has yet to win a World Cup in her career, and after getting a DNF in Mooloolaba last year, it could be the perfect location to snag her first gold.

Men’s Preview
The men’s roster is also carrying a lighter load, as only 26 men will toe the Mooloolaba start line. However, it is stacked full of men who have the World Cup podium experience but have yet to take the gold, meaning for one of them that could change this weekend.

Holding the number one position will be Mexico’s Crisanto Grajales. Grajales started out his ITU racing season in WTS Abu Dhabi last weekend, where he placed 21st. But if he is to follow the success he had in 2016, he is going to be a huge threat on Saturday. He made it onto his first WTS podium last year in Yokohama and then proceeded to make it onto his first World Cup podium since 2012. He is a strong runner, so must be watched on the last discipline.

Hungary’s Gabor Faldum knows what it takes to make it onto the World Cup podium, his last being for the bronze in Cozumel 2015, but he has yet to ever win the gold. So, the Rio Olympian will be vying for that first-career victory.

Australia’s own Drew Box made his first World Cup podium debut in Hautulco last year. So as Australia’s top man of the weekend, a home nation medal would be an opportunity worth seizing.

Two USA men to watch is Kevin McDowell and Tommy Zaferes. McDowell has been a rising talent for the men’s U.S. team ever since he took the silver medal in the 2010 Youth Olympic Games. He earned his first World Cup medal in Chengdu in 2014, but he also has never won a Cup before, so every race contested could be his first. Zaferes on the other hand is a talent that is selective when it comes to his racing. While he does not regularly compete on the calendar and instead could be seen supporting his wife Katie, on the special occasion Zaferes makes his grand appearance on the start line. He is excels in the water, so will most likely be one of the leading men in the water this Saturday.

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