Round 5 of the Contact Tri Series takes place in Kinloch, Taupo this weekend, an event that also carries national age group sprint titles and for the elites, ITU Oceania Sprint titles and valuable ITU points with Kris Gemmell, Debbie Tanner and Kate McIlroy amongst the high profile Kiwis on the start line.
 Kris Gemmell(Photo: David McColm / ITU; click to enlarge) |
 Debbie Tanner(Photo: Delly Carr / ITU; click to enlarge) |
Both the men's and women's elite races have attracted strong fields with over ten countries represented on the start line. One of the more fascinating visitors is Kiwi born Aussie Chris McCormack, the Ironman legend (three time Hawaii champion) has spent the past year back on the ITU circuit as he tries to book a place at the London Olympics. 'Macca' is using Kinloch to search for more of the leg speed required to compete over the shorter distances and will be a huge attraction on Sunday.
However it is the Kiwis who will take favouritism into the event as they too eye up London and in particular the Sydney World Champs Series race in April that doubles as the final qualifier for the Games. The Tri NZ High Performance squad will travel from Wanaka where they have been in camp at the Snow Farm for 6 weeks preparing for a busy and important year.
Leading men's hope on Sunday Kris Gemmell (Palmerston North) has been head down in training since winning the Barfoot and Thompson ITU World Cup race in Auckland in November.
"I had a few weeks off after Auckland to recuperate and since have pretty much been in base training mode for the London Olympics here at the Snow Farm in Wanaka for the past 5 and a half weeks, a beautiful part of the world and somewhere it is real easy to get back into training mode and get focused.
"Kinloch does have some ITU Points up for grabs so they are the focus, which was in part what led me to not run in Wanaka. It was a case of looking after a few niggles and not pushing too hard while also getting in a good build up for this weekend but I wanted to support Doddsy and the race in Wanaka as well.
"I have won the standard distance nationals 5 times but never won the sprint title at the elite level. It is something I like doing and have spent a good part of my career doing this type of race in Europe racing in club competitions and I always enjoy Takapuna each year over a similar distance.
"But there is a big contingent of Australians coming over chasing those ITU points so it won't be easy and the course at Kinloch is a tough one. Racing over this short distance hurts too; there is no letting up from the gun with a nasty hill on the bike so I'll be looking to force the issue there. My aim is to place as much pressure on the field as possible on the bike and come off with a bit of a lead and sort ourselves out over the 5km run."
James Elvery will also be amongst a large contingent of Kiwis lining up in the men's race but has a few bumps and bruises to overcome in his first race of the season, especially in the swim.
"I crashed quite hard landing on my head in the (cycle) tour last week and have some problems with my neck, ribs and back which has put the brakes on my swimming. So my only concern going in is how close I'll be to the front of the race out of the water. There are some good internationals lining up who swim well. I doubt I will be off the front out of the swim like last year, and will need to work hard on the first lap. I need a good solid race to stack my ITU points to get a start in Sydney."
Meanwhile in the women's race, world number 17 Kate McIlroy, Debbie Tanner, Nicky Samuels and Teresa Adam head the Kiwi contingent up against a strong Dutch team and a horde of Aussies.
Tanner had issues with her running last season and has been working hard in the off season for another Olympic campaign after she finished 10th in Beijing in 2008. After some time off it has been hard work in training towards that goal.
"For me racing in January is a bit different, I haven't raced the NZ season in a long time as I am usually in a big base phase but with Olympic qualifying in April in Sydney this year I need to be fitter and faster sooner so yeah, Wanaka was awesome and a good hit out and I was happy.
"We are still clocking up some big miles but I'm going into a little taper this week for Kinloch, with it being the Oceania sprint champs. We have had some awesome training here, great crew, variety of weather up the mountain, some snow in the middle of summer, it did though work in perfectly with a rest day and then we have had some of the hottest days of the summer with over 30 degrees.
"Everything I do right now is focused towards Sydney, all these Contact sprint races and then the standard distance racing is part of a pathway to Sydney and qualifying for the Olympics, that is our last chance to qualify so that is really the goal. Training is going awesome, everything is on track at the moment so I am just keeping my head down and working hard and looking forward to a good race this weekend."
The elites get underway at 12.45pm on Sunday (women) and 2.00pm (men) with racing expected to be over in just less than an hour (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run).
Racing begins at 6am on Sunday with the Erin Baker standard distance event, followed by Contact Trophy sprint nationals (age group) and Contact 3:9:3 (beginners) and the day ends with the children's Contact 1:2:1
For elite entry lists, click here.
Contact Tri Series: Kinloch
Featuring the ITU Oceania Elite Sprint Championships
Sunday 5 February
1:2:1 Registration Collect from Timing Tent from 10am
- Erin Baker – standard Men 6:50am
- Women & Teams 6:55am
- Contact Trophy - Sprint Men 13-34 10:00am
- Men 35-49 10:02am
- Men 50+ 10:04am
- Women 13-39 10:06am
- Women 40+ 10:08am
- Erin Baker Prize-Giving 11:45am Western end of transition
- Contact 3:9:3 Men 11:20am
- Women's & Teams 11:22am
- Contact Cup (elites) Women 12:45pm
- Men 2:00pm
- Contact 1:2:1 Boys 3:30pm
- Girls 3:40pm
- Prize-Giving 4:00pm
No Late entries are being taken for any event.
