Wellington's world number 10 triathlete Kate McIlroy is aiming up at back to back wins on the Contact Tri Series calendar when she lines up in the latest round at Wanaka this Friday evening, with Nicky Samuels and a host of emerging triathletes looming as the main dangers.
McIlroy won at Pegasus last weekend and was impressive in doing so, but this week faces the added uncertainty of coming down from altitude where she is training with the Tri NZ high performance team at the Snow Farm.
"It has been a good week up here at Snow Farm, the first five days at altitude in this training camp have gone well, and it has been a solid week of training," said McIlroy.
"It does provide for some uncertainty though when it comes to racing, coming down in the middle of a training block at altitude means this is effectively another training day and to be honest I am not sure how I will respond to racing but it will be a good hit out, a good test to see where things are at after five days up the mountain.
"I'm up here to increase the red blood cells so I can race better, go faster for longer, but we are still working out the best formula for me up here, so it is a bit of an experiment to see how I respond to coming down, racing and then going straight back up."
McIlroy is however looking forward to the large crowds and great atmosphere that accompany the Wanaka event each year.
"It is a real buzz in town, our race being the night before Challenge Wanaka so there are a lot of triathletes here. Plus the course is set up perfectly for spectators, a criterium style course which makes it exciting and for the spectators they can pretty much see the run the whole way around the course. The sprint is also that much quicker, the pace is on the whole way, I'll go as hard as I can and see how I go."
Samuels meanwhile is of course relishing the chance to race in her home town of Wanaka and will be in action both on Friday night in the Contact Tri Series race but also on Saturday in Challenge Wanaka.
"I started back on a training programme mid December and have just been repeating the same week since then. Slowly building up my base fitness and finally with the help of some altitude training starting to feel like an athlete again. I'm definitely not race fit but I'll be there racing on Friday night.
"Having a race in your home town helps to showcase our sport and what it's all about. For me it's going to be a hard training race and is going to be a real shock to the system but hopefully shock the body in the right direction to continue my preparations for another year.
"It's a big weekend of action and it's great to be part of it. I'll be up early on Saturday to help Simone Maier (an athlete I have been coaching) prepare for her race in the pro field for Challenge Wanaka and I'm also racing for one of two Lake Wanaka Tourism teams in the half iron distance team's event."
McIlroy and Samuels won't have things all their own way with a host of U23 and U19 elites on the same start line, including Rebecca Kingsford (Tirau) who was second at Pegasus last weekend, Maddie Dillon (5th U19 elite 2012 world champs) and Penny Hayes (Rakaia) who is sure to be amongst the leaders out of the water.
Contact Tri Series, Wanaka
Friday 18th January
11.30am to 1pm Late registration – Challenge Wanaka Marquee
1.15pm Contact 1:2:1 for children
1.40pm Contact 3:9:3 men women and teams
2.40pm Contact Trophy Sprint women/women's and mixed teams
4.20pm Contact Trophy Sprint men/men's teams
6.00pm Contact Cup Sprint Women – U19/U23 and elite
7.10pm Contact Cup Sprint Men – U19/U23 and elite
