New Zealand will line up with their strongest possible team at the ITU World Mixed Relay World Championships in Hamburg this weekend, on a weekend that sees athletes also race over the sprint distance in the latest round of the ITU World Series.
Last year's youthful team due to Commonwealth Games timing has given way to an experienced team made up of Andrea Hewitt (world ranking 3), Sophie Corbidge (51), Ryan Sissons (39) and Tony Dodd (14), with High Performance Director Graeme Maw talking of a resulting change in focus.
"We have our strongest team and they are keen to do as well as they possibly can, this is an event that they enjoy, a chance to take their friendships and all the training hours they put in with and against each other into a racing environment. They will be wanting to stay near the front of the race and look to match the speed of the leading teams - watch for the young French team and the British - they amongst others will be very strong. Hungary was the surprise last year, highlighting the depth of nations at this level with many picking specialist athletes, with speed over the shorter distance the key."
Tri NZ coach Jon Brown says preparation has been good, as he too ponders a high quality weekend of racing.
"In broad terms the race will be a measure of how well the athletes have benefitted/responded from our altitude training in France so that we can better understand what we need to do for next year (Rio Olympics) in terms of timing.
"Training has gone well for everyone so we need to be seeing progress since the last WTS race. With only two weeks to go before the Rio test event we are looking for a short hard hit out in the individual race to bolster confidence leading into one of the seasons key races. For the team relay race we feel we have a team that be competitive with the top Europeans and Americans which should put us in the frame for medals in closing stages.
"The course is very fast and flat with a likely wet suit swim; our prediction is similar races scenarios to London in the individual races where the run will largely decide the outcome."
Sophie Corbidge makes her debut in the Mixed Team Relay event and is excited about the format and the chance to race with her compatriots.
"I am beyond excited to compete in the World Mixed Relay Champs this weekend. The super-sprint distance is right up my street, and the fast-paced event suits my style of racing: red-lining from the word go.
"As a group we (the Kiwis) have all been training really well in Banyoles, using the heat as a training tool to boost fitness levels. We are all confident in our ability to work together as a team, so I can't wait to see what we can do."
Sophie Corbidge blog previewing Hamburg
World number 14 Tony Dodds is one of the many athletes who love this type of racing, the team nature of it and the high adrenalin atmosphere is like a candle to a moth for the effervescent 'Doddsy'.
"Hamburg is always one of the best races, everything about this place excites me. It's always super-fast and with more people around the course than a rugby World Cup final it's a brilliant atmosphere.
"This is a great opportunity to keep my ranking high and try to get another top 8 WTS finish to underline my Olympic credentials. I am coming off a crash on the bike last week which has seen me back off my running a little but I am okay again now and I am sure it will be fine on race day.
"For Sunday and the Mixed Relay - it's so exciting. We have a new team member (Sophie) so that's going to be great as she's showing some great form at the moment and we know how good she can be at this distance. This is an opportunity for us as 'Kiwis' to show how much we can hurt, race for each other, and step up for one another! The team culture comes through strongest on these days, we will go up another notch and feed of that camaraderie."
Maw says the relay format is still gaining in popularity despite the disappointment of not appearing on the Rio 2016 programme.
"We hope to see it in Tokyo 2020, ITU President Marisol Casado has put it forward again for Tokyo, we would love to see it there. The athletes love racing it, whether in the Olympics or not, they love racing and this is a World Championship and you can never shy away from that.
"But we must not forget the individual race on Saturday is a round of the World Series, with Olympic qualifying performances on the line. If athletes go top 8 here, they are putting a result on the board for their own selection. The timing may be a little experimental in terms of our altitude work but this is what we do and the athletes just have to go out and perform at their best."
Hamburg WTS Schedule
Sunday 19 July:
Elite Women 1:45am
Elite Men 3:45am
Monday 20 July:
Mixed Team Relay 2:45am
Andrea Hewitt, Sophie Corbidge, Tony Dodds, Ryan Sissons (reserves Simone Ackermann, Sam Osborne)
