Pristine waters, scenic coastal routes for cycling, and a challenging lighthouse course for running. The set up is ready in the beautiful coastal town of Wollongong, Australia, for its debut on the World Triathlon Cup circuit. With a stellar line up filled with talent and Olympic dreams, the female field is ready to tackle a demanding course that will offer a 750m ocean swim with a beach start, followed by a demanding 20km hill climb on each of the five laps of the cycling course, culminating in a challenging 5km hilly run.
Wearing the one this Saturday will be Rachel Klamer (NED). The experienced Dutch woman is looking to secure her ticket for Paris 2024, which will be her fourth Olympics, and her second place last season in Karlovy Vary World Cup proved that she is always one to be considered when it comes to hard courses like the one in Wollongong.
Ainsley Thorpe, also battling for a spot on the Olympic team for New Zealand, will be toeing the start line looking to grab some valuable points that will allow her to make the team for next summer. Some strong European athletes have made it all the way to Australia to kick off their season, including Ilaria Zane (ITA) or Lisa Perterer (AUT). Both of them strong bikers and runners, they will likely try to keep the fast runners like Tilda Mansson (SWE) or Maria Carolina Velazquez Soto (COL) behind them as soon as possible.
The local squad will be led by Jaz Hedgeland, currently the second Australian athlete on the Olympic rankings, who is fighting for a spot on the team for Paris. Wearing the gold and green during the weekend will also be Charlotte McShane, Ellie Hoitink -who just won last weekend the Oceania championships-, Charlotte Derbyshire, Emma Jeffcoat, Kira Hedgeland, Tara Sosinski and Richelle Hill.
Team World Triathlon - the sport’s global development squad for athletes with Olympic potential from smaller National Federations - will be well represented in Wollongong. Fresh off top-10 World Cup finishes in both Hong Kong and Lievin, Zuzana Michalickova (SVK) will be one to watch again in Australia. The young Slovakian athlete has enjoyed a sparkling start to the season and is inching closer to a first World Cup medal and Paris qualification. She will be joined in Wollongong by compatriot Romana Gajdošová (SVK) who won her first World Cup medal in Yeongdo last season.
Erica Hawley (BER) will also be starting in Wollongong as she hunts for the precious final points that could secure her qualification for Paris. A 12th place finish at the Napier World Cup at the start of the season aided Hawley’s cause and a similar finish would be a major boon for her campaign.
You can check the Wollongong start lists HERE.
Watch the race LIVE and on demand on TriathlonLIVE.tv