Tanner flies the flag in Germany this weekend

With the 2008 Olympic Games now less than 45 days away the focus of New Zealand triathletes is increasingly on Beijing in mid August but for Debbie Tanner Hamburg is top of mind this weekend.

The German city hosts the latest round of the ITU World Cup series and is renowned for turning on a well organised event with great public support.

Tanner has spent three weeks training at altitude in Colorado with recently crowned World Aquathlon champion Brent Foster.

The Aucklander is not racing in her ideal window off altitude but is looking forward to Sunday nonetheless.

“Usually I give myself a three day window during which I need to race but this time round because the trip has involved traveling from the States to Europe and different time zones I have given myself a bit more time to adapt to time zones and freshen up.

“However, I don’t look at this as a negative aspect at all, it is just something I will factor into the race. Hamburg is an amazing place to race with crowds of 60,000 plus watching the atmosphere is electric.”

Tanner enjoys racing in Hamburg and has podium finishes to her credit here in the past.

“I’ve had good results here in the past and the course has good vibes for me. It’s a great course with a superb atmosphere so is a really good buzz. My expectations are reasonably low key though; I’m just looking forward to what is the next step in my programme towards Beijing. I do get a lot out of racing though so racing this weekend and then another world cup in Austria in two weeks will be good for me.”

Tanner will be joined in Hamburg by New Zealander Andrew Curtayne who has earned a start in the elite men’s race, a rare opportunity for the young Aucklander.

The race will stream live on www.triathlon.org and results, interviews and images posted on the site and made available through the media section. For password access to the media section, contact the ITU on the numbers below.

ITU World Cup, Hamburg

Elite Men 12.50am Sunday 6th July

Including New Zealander Andrew Curtayne

Elite Women 1.30am Monday 7th July

Including New Zealander Debbie Tanner

COURSE PROFILE:

Swim – Off a pontoon, athletes will dive into the Binnenalster (meaning "inner Alster"), one of two artificial lakes within the city limits of Hamburg. There are two laps to swim. The first turn is at 350m. After the first lap there is a short landing with a 180 degree turn on land. There is a rather dark tunnel about 40 meters long, which has to be swum through three times. The average water temperature in the Alster at the beginning of July is 18.8 degrees Celsius.

Bike – Athletes will cycle eight laps of a 5-kilometer loop on a flat, technical course that includes eight sharp turns around downtown Hamburg and around the Binnenalster. Generally flat profile with no noteworthy climbs. The route is technically demanding, due to the many changes of direction and tight turns. Very good tarmac surface. Riders who are more than 6 minutes behind the leading group will have to be taken out of the race by the last lap at the latest, to avoid conflicting with the leading runners at the turning points on the running course.

Run – Off the bike, athletes will run four laps of a 2.5-kilometer loop on a flat course. There are two 180 degree turns per lap.

Elite Women – Ones to Watch:

Vanessa Fernandes (POR) – 20 world cup wins (ITU record), 2007 world champion

Ricarda Lisk (GER) – selected to 2008 German Olympic team

Felicity Abram (AUS) – 2 world cup medals in 2008

Debbie Tanner (NZL) – selected to 2008 New Zealand Olympic team

Anja Dittmer (GER) – selected to 2008 German Olympic team

Magali Di marco (SUI) – selected to 2008 Swiss Olympic team

Elite Men – Ones to Watch:

Javier Gomez (ESP) – 10 world cup wins, 2008 world champion, selected to 2008 Spanish Olympic team

Brad Kahlefeldt (AUS) – 5 world cup wins, nominated to 2008 Australian Olympic team

Daniel Unger (GER) – 2007 world champion, selected to 2008 German Olympic team

Ivan Rana (ESP) – 2002 world champion, selected to 2008 Spanish Olympic team

Jan Frodeno (GER) – selected to 2008 German Olympic team

Dmitriy Gaag (KAZ) – selected to 2008 Kazakhstan Olympic team, 2-time Olympian