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Training partners to rivals at Hamburg triathlon

 

Training partners to rivals at Hamburg triathlon

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AOC
Training partners to rivals at Hamburg triathlon

Saturday’s World Triathlon Series men’s race in Hamburg will see former training partners, Rio Olympians Aaron Royle and Ryan Bailie and rising star Jake Birtwhistle resume rivalries from different corners of the globe.

TRIATHLON: Saturday’s World Triathlon Series men’s race in Hamburg will see former training partners, Rio Olympians Aaron Royle and Ryan Bailie and rising star Jake Birtwhistle resume rivalries from different corners of the globe.

In the lead up to the 2016 Olympics it was Royle who nabbed the first automatic selection in the Rio Test Event with Bailie taking the second spot on the Gold Coast. Birtwhistle was the unfortunate odd man out with the final spot going to Brisbane boy Ryan Fisher.

Now Royle is based out of Leeds with the Brownlee boys Alistair and Jonathan; Birtwhistle has joined Joel Filliol Triathlon (an international training group based in Banyoles in Spain) while Bailie remains with Turner’s group.

And for the moment the shoe is on the other foot with Birtwhistle already snatching the early nomination for next year’s Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast before his move to Filliol, with his top ten finish on the Gold Coast.

It leaves Royle and Bailie and Australian-based youngsters Luke Willian (under Brisbane coach Warwick Dalziel) and Matt Hauser (under Triathlon Australia’s Gold Coast-based High Performance Coach Dan Atkins) in the hunt for the second automatic nomination for the first Australian in the top ten over the Hamburg sprint course.

Royle returned to racing for the first time in the WTS round in Leeds last month after being sidelined with plantar fasciitis and has progressed well since his first up 12th.

“Things since my first WTS for the year in Leeds have gone well. I went to the south of Spain for a two-week training camp and now back in Leeds for the final preparation,” said Royle.

“Obviously Hamburg doubles as a selection race, but as with selection races I've done in the past I will be focusing on myself and what I need to do to put a good race together.”

Bailie did not race in Leeds and has been bunkered down in his European home-away-from home in Vitoria-Gasteiz, chalking up the miles.

“Training has been very consistent and missing Leeds gave me the best opportunity to get the necessary work done since Yokohama getting the body in the best possible shape for Hamburg,” said Bailie.

“Obviously there is a lot on the line in Hamburg though at the end of the day you still have to swim bike and run and whoever does that the best will be first across the line.

“It won't change the way I attack the race or how I approach the race; it's all process driven all the way to the finish.”

The men’s start list is stacked. All of the top names are lining up this Saturday. Wearing the number one will be Spain’s Fernando Alarza. Alarza was the bronze medallist in Hamburg last year and already has three WTS podiums this season. He does not however have a win, so the sprint course could be his opportunity. It was defending world champion Mario Mola though that did win in Hamburg last year. He is a powerhouse at the sprint distance.

And of course, there is the question of the legendary Javier Gomez - the man that is always the one to beat on the WTS course. He won in Abu Dhabi, but then skipped out in Leeds so he returns to get back to get the Hamburg gold, a feat he has not done since 2010. But his focus in 2017 is long course racing.

While in the women's race starting a couple of hours before the men, emerging Australian triathlete Emma Jeffcoat will line up in Hamburg this weekend with a prized possession already tucked away in her resume.

The 22-year-old from Sydney’s Northern Beaches completed her Bachelor of Nursing degree last month before heading over to Vitoria Gasteiz in Spain to prepare for the next World Triathlon Series (WTS) round which doubles as the second automatic nomination race for the Australian Games team.

Already Ashleigh Gentle has secured the first nomination to Commonwealth Games Australia.

Jeffcoat, who has blossomed under coach Mick Delamott since transferring from Surf Life Saving, will be one of four Australian women racing in Hamburg with Gentle, Charlotte McShane and Natalie Van Coevorden all on the start line chasing that second spot.

If Jeffcoat and either of her new Vitoria Gasteiz training partners McShane or Van Coevorden are the first Australian in the top 10 across the line they will join Gentle on the nomination list to the CGA.

For Jeffcoat, Vitoria Gasteiz will be her base for the next three months in the lead up to the ITU World Championships in Rotterdam in September where she will race in the Under 23 division.

“My preparation for Hamburg has been smooth, keeping it simple and sticking to what I know works for me," Jeffcoat siad.

“I've been really pleased with how consistent my training has been the past six months in the lead up to Hamburg where my plan is to keep it simple, think process and nail the little things right and to race hard... does it get much simpler?

“And not to get caught up on the hype of it all but of course enjoy the experience, after all it's going to be a pretty awesome two days of racing.”

Van Coevorden has been back training in Vitoria Gasteiz post her 12th place finish in the WTS in Leeds doing “pretty specific (work) for Hamburg” over the past four weeks.

“It has built up great consistency in my training. We have been very process and skilled based which has led to improvements all round,” Van Coevorden said.

“I have only raced once since Leeds at San Sebastián Olympic Distance Triathlon which is a local but hard race for us and I placed third behind Charlotte McShane and Ashleigh Gentle. I have no specific plan for Hamburg but I know I need to get myself in a good position from the start of the race.

McShane is also coming to the end of a month-long training block in Vitoria-Gasteiz preparing for Hamburg.

“It’s been a tough few weeks so I’m very excited to start tapering and getting ready to race,” McShane said.

“This year we’ve been investing a lot in changes to my swim and run technique which should hopefully make me faster in the long run. It’s still very much a work in progress but there have been small changes in both which has been rewarding."

“Hamburg is one of my key races for this season so the plan is to do everything I can to qualify.

Saturday’s field will feature eight of the top 10 placed women after the first four races of the season led by US pair Kirsten Kasper and Katie Zaferes and including defending WTS world champion from Bermuda Flora Duff, who streeted the field in Leeds.

Australia will also line up in Sunday’s ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships – the latest addition to the 2020 Olympic program in Tokyo that will again feature in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games

The women will get the 2017 ITU World Triathlon Hamburg underway at 14:10 on Saturday, July 15, while the men will follow right after at 16:00 local time.

Triathlon Australia/olympics.com.au

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