New Zealand will be represented by six athletes at this weekend's ITU Mooloolaba World Cup on Australia's Sunshine Coast, with three men and three women lining up in the elite fields on Saturday.
Leading the way is New Zealand's second ranked male athlete Tony Dodds as he races two weeks out from the Barfoot & Thompson ITU World Triathlon in Auckland, and the Wanaka athlete is looking forward to mixing it with a strong international field after suffering more than his share of injury frustrations in 2014.
"I have been up at Snow Farm doing altitude training for the past three weeks, it has been a good block and has delivered some quality sessions where I was quite surprised at how I hit them.
"I haven't raced this season yet because of my Achilles injury at the end of last year so have had a massive summer of rehab which has been great, but also I have had to hold back on the racing a bit. I tend to get a bit carried away early on in the season so it's a bit of a change.
"But am definitely looking forward to this weekend of racing again, the first race is always a surprise package really, it's where you find out where you are at and what training has worked. Mooloolaba is such a great place for a race, it is going to be a lung buster for sure, and a little bit of the unknown which is exciting!"
Also in the elite men's race are Sam Osborne (Rotorua) and Cameron Todd (Auckland) while in the elite women's race offshore based Tauranga athlete Anneke Jenkins is joined by Simone Ackermann (Whangarei) and Rebecca Spence (Auckland). Dodds and Ackermann are based with the Tri NZ HP team in Cambridge.
Triathlon New Zealand High Performance Director Graeme Maw is delighted that a number of New Zealanders have earned their places in a World Cup race.
"For some of our athletes an ITU World Cup will serve a purpose to help prepare for World Series events or major championship races later in the season, however for others racing at an ITU World Cup may well be the pinnacle. And such is the competition to get starts from athletes around the world that to do so is often no mean feat, as is the case here in Mooloolaba amongst two very strong start lists.
"These athletes have all earned their starts through racing impressively in the New Zealand summer, earning sufficient ranking points and gaining vital experience against international opposition that will stand them in good stead in Mooloolaba. It is a credit to them that they have worked hard, trained consistently and earned the points to qualify to race on Saturday, and if they continue that progression maybe one day they will go further and earn the right to be on the start line in a World Series event."
Mooloolaba signifies the start of a busy three weeks for triathletes in this part of the world, with the Quality Hotel International New Plymouth ITU Sprint World Cup on the 22nd and the Barfoot & Thompson ITU World Triathlon on the 29th. Both of the New Zealand events have attracted significant international fields with close to 40 countries represented in New Plymouth and in Auckland a week later.
ITU Mooloolaba World Cup Sprint
Saturday 14 March
- Elite Women, 2:45pm NZT
- Elite Men, 4:30pm NZT
