The last World Cup of the season went off yesterday in Cancun providing a some good Canadian Results.
Kathy Tremblay finished off her year with a 4th place finish. An average result for her at best will no doubt leave the fire stoked to rekindle her early season form of this year where she had Wins in Clermont and Ishigaki coupled with a career best 8th performance at Sydney WTS. Some thought this was Kathy’s last year of competition but she has stated she looks forward to next year. Whether this is ITU racing, or something other we are not entirely sure.
The win on the womens side came from Katie Hewison, @katie_hewison . A member of British Triathlons TriGold squad, this was just her second WC event. Coming from a mountain running background of sorts she may have come in under the radar to some, but with a Win at the GE Canary Wharf event as well this summer the sprint distance seems to suit her present abilities well. An addition to the D-Squad, it will be interesting to follow her swim progression over the next while. Darren Smith has taken athletes of similar swim status, ie. Riveros and Norden, to make them front pack swimmers and in turn World Champions.
On the mens side Mexico always seems to have the trump card when racing at home. The federation takes home races very seriously, often placing a lot of funding and opportunities on these races. The athletes in turn prepare very well and peak for this events which can often seem surprising to others. When you have a race like this near the end of a season where athletes begin to tire it can be an even greater advantage to plan your season late as I am sure a number of the top Mexicans here did. Not to take away anything from their performances however. The country has shown a lot of young talent that has slowly crept up on us from two-three years ago in the junior ranks. Grajales is there new lead man with the retiring of Serrano (First Male Mexican Olympian, 2008), while Sarmiento and Perez provide depth in their mid-20’s. The U23 batch is very promising, Saracho, Mendoza and Rodriguez all have great running ability, their development as triathletes will be exciting over the next quadrenial for Rio 2016.
Our Canadian men faired well. Three of our four guys in the top 15, second to only Mexico in that regard.Kyle Jones led the way with a 7th place result. Kyle started off with a strong swim, leading the main bunch to the bikes. Although sprint distance does suit Kyle, his training is not specified to it and over the Olympic distance is where his strengths truly shine, look for a good result in a few weeks time in Auckland from him.
Andrew Yorke finished just outside the top 10 in 11th while negotiating a flat tire through the later stages of the bike. When T2 is ever so important over sprint distance, coming out at the rear made it an uphill battle for Yorke over the 5k. He simply ran out of real estate to crack the top 10, and without the flat I reckon top 8 was in the cards.
Matt Sharpe, competing in his 3rd World Cup finished in 15th. Always looking for something to take away from racing, Matt seems content with the result but motivated to improve upon aspects. Following a solid progression this season, where he has had good lower limb health, plays into his court not just for Auckland but for a strong campaign next year also. Having trained with a few of the U23 kiwi boys, Matt has a good understanding of how the race will unfold in Auckland and has undoubtedly prepared in that regard.
Andrew Bysice made his WC debut in Cancun. A result I am sure he is not pleased with, but few are in their opening show. It is more a matter of opening the eyes to the next level, then coming away happy. Seeing the change of pace in the details from Conti Cup to World Cup is what he will have gained along with an understanding of how to progress fwd for his next one. A strong stand-alone swim/run athlete, it is just a matter of time before the chain connects.
On a different note, I was a bit miffed with the timing of racing Cancun with Auckland as the focus. Two weeks between races is never easy to plan for, coupled with Mexican travel, heat, uncertainty and food, it didn’t seem like the best plan forward. Yokohama (travel in right direction) and then settling into New Zealand early seemed like an ideal plan but everyone is different.
Next update before Auckland.