In 2009 the International Triathlon Union (ITU) has created the World Series, commonly known as WTS (World Triathlon Series). The world champion title was from then won by the athlete who scored the most points throughout the whole season. It wasn’t a »one day race » title anymore . Consistency is the key. In these six seasons, Javier Gomez was never excluded from the top 3 in the final rankings.
The introduction of this series was to ensure the presence of the best athletes in almost all races. In 2015, the circuit will now have 10 stages. We should not forget the Rio Test Event, the Pan American Games (Toronto) and the European Games (Baku). Knowing that some athletes will earn their Olympic at these events, is the workload for athletes really growing?
In comparison with 2009, the ITU had 8 races and they were all Olympic distance. With the addition of the lucrative ITU Hy-Vee race (1 million dollar prize purse) and the fact that the European Championships were very popular at that time. The charge was very similar to that of 2015. As a reference, Javier Gomez started the 9 OD races in 2010 and 2011 and finished 2nd at the London Olympics.
The introduction of the sprint format
It was only in 2011 that the Sprint distance made its entry into the World Series. The debut race was in Lausanne. The formula then expanded to Hamburg and Stockholm over the next season. With the London Games, a fear that athletes in preparation for London shun the event was predominant, the German event is shortened. In addition, Stockholm entered the series as a sprint format race.
In 2013, the ITU went further in this direction by changing the Kitzbuhel course. Even if the distance wasn’t the same as a sprint race (climbing a hill), it remained a full hour effort. On the circuit, it was clear that the sprint format was helping with more aggressive dynamics.
In 2014, it was finally London that moved to sprint distance. Difficult to know the real reason, but the races in the metropolis remain perilous exercise in term of logistics. Also the athletes were in Japan two weeks prior this race. Kitzbuhel then was removed from the circuit who holds now 3 sprint races. Compared with the early days of the World Series in 2009, the number of events however remains the same.
A truly busier schedule?
The announcement of the addition of two new tests in 2015 to bring the total to 10 surprised the community. Ideally with Abu Dhabi, London, Hamburg, Stockholm and Edmonton in sprint distance (half of the circuit) and better dates that spread over the year, there is hope that the load is manageable for athletes.
In terms of specificity, the race dynamics of a sprint or an olympic are very different. Over a sprint distance swim, the athletes come more closely together out of the water than they would if it was a 1500m swim which creates smaller gaps from pack to pack. It allowed Mola or Murray to win in WTS.
The current fear among the elite community is the impossibility to stay sharp throughout the whole season. Does a title can be won on the blue carpet by being intelligent enough to skip a few races to and successfully achieve peak form at the right time, broad question. Certainly, some choices will be guided by the desire to limit the traveling.
While some have criticized the ITU for its calendar, it will primarily have a regularity in its media presence. In Trimes.org, we are completely sold and had never been so excited about the world series.
Classic races?
A habit is being created. While some would hope for more challenging courses with more elevation changes, there is a wide variety on the circuit for athletes of each style to have at least 2 races highlighting their strengths. Auckland (hilly), Hamburg (technical, with a lot sprinting out the corners) and Stockholm (hilly and technical with lots of team benches) have become benchmarks through time. Cape Town was maybe the weakest link last year. But the organisation has released a new bike course and will be using a 400m track.
