March 25, 2007 -- The 2007 BG Triathlon World Cup series begins this Sunday in the coastal town of Mooloolaba, Australia. The 2007 Mooloolaba BG Triathlon World Cup will host over 150 of the world’s top triathletes as they battle for their share of the valuable Olympic qualifying points and US$100,000 prize money.
The opening 1,500 metre swim will take place in the open seas off Mooloolaba beach, followed by a 40 kilometre bike and 10 kilometre run along the coastal roadways. Athletes will encounter difficult conditions with a hot and humid forecast expected to test them over the gruelling course. In all, the athletes will face 24 tough climbs, 16 on the bike course and eight on the run.
Three-time world champion, Commonwealth Games gold medalist and local favourite Emma Snowsill of Australia is the woman to watch on Sunday. Snowsill faces tough competition, however, from the young Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal, who is looking for her 13th consecutive world cup victory. This 13th win would be a new triathlon record.
Joining these two on the start line will be current Olympic champion Kate Allen of Austria, who is back on the world cup circuit after taking two years of to race longer distance. The German duo of Anja Dittmer and Joelle Franzmann as well as current Under23 world champion Erin Densham of Australia will also provide stiff competition this weekend.
The 2006 Mooloolaba world cup winner Annabel Luxford of Australia will also be on the start line to try and defend her title. After a terrific start to the 2006 season, including two early world cup wins, Luxford battled with a foot injury for most of the year and is now back in form to try and return to her winning ways.
Add the Kiwi trio of Debbie Tanner, Andrea Hewitt and Samantha Warriner and it makes 23 of the top 25 women racing on Sunday.
In the men’s event, it will be reigning Mooloolaba champion Bevan Docherty of New Zealand looking to defend his title from world number one Javier Gomez of Spain and a slew of other top men.
The tricky ocean swim and hilly bike course fits right into fellow Kiwi, Kris Gemmell’s race plan as he is know to excel in tough conditions. It will be no surprise to see Gemmell break off the front with the other powerful men in the field including Andy Potts of the United States, Marko Albert of Estonia and Craig Walton of Australia.
They will face 30 degree plus temperatures however and will need to build a significant lead heading into the 10 kilometre run course in order to hold off the more slender runners in the field. Commonwealth Games gold medalist, Brad Kahlefeldt of Australia and team mates Courtney Atkinson and Simon Thompson are a few of these that will undoubtedly be boosted by the expect crowds.
Other notables include Matt Reed and Jarrod Shoemaker of the United States, Tony Moulai form France, Bruno Pais of Portugal and Sven Riederer of Switzerland.
The Mooloolaba BG Triathlon World Cup will also double as a platform for the ITU’s sport development initiative TEAM BG. Nine athletes from eight emerging triathlon nations including Croatia, Israel, Malaysia, Costa Rica, Finland, Costa Rica, Serbia and Montenegro and Korea will gain the chance to race with the top athletes in the world in the world cup. These athletes receive funding and coaching support from ITU and their global partner, BG Group, to compete in the world cup series to gain valuable international racing experience.
Click here for full event start lists:
http://www.triathlon.org/zpg/zevt-dtl-prtcpnts_v4.php?call=TVRFdw==&id=ODg2&keep=sh