First World Cup Title of 2010 up for Grabs in Mooloolaba this Weekend

The 2010 ITU Triathlon World Cup series kicks off this weekend on Australia's Sunshine Coast. More than 80 elite athletes from around the globe will descend on Mooloolaba, officially signaling the start of the 2010 season.

Defending champions Canadian Kirsten Sweetland and Australia's Courtney Atkinson are anything but certainties though and with Spaniard Javier Gomez already out of the race, it is anyone’s to win.

New Zealand has sent a strong contingent, albeit one minus leading men Kris Gemmell and Bevan Docherty and women Andrea Hewitt and Kate McIlroy as they prepare for the opening World Champs Series race in Sydney on April 11 while Sam Warriner is racing a half Ironman in the States.

Leading the way for New Zealand is world number Debbie Tanner (Auckland). Tanner is looking to improve further on her strong showing at the recent New Zealand and ITU Oceania Championships in Wellington where she finished second behind Hewitt.

Also on the start line is Wanaka’s Nicky Samuels and U23 competitors Teresa Adam (Auckland) and Rebecca Kingsford (Tirau). Samuels will be racing for the first time since cutting her foot when finishing third at the Contact Nationals in Wellington.

In the men’s race New Zealand has a large representation with James Elvery, Callum Millward, Tony Dodds, Ryan Sissons, Ben Pattle, Dylan McNeice, Tom Davison, Michael Poole, Harrison Dean, Cameron Goldsmid and William Prior all on the startline, many in their first ITU World Cup event.

Wellington’s Martin van Barneveld also lines up in an event that has not been kind to him in the past, a trend he hopes to change on Saturday.

”Mooloolaba has never treated me very well. But this year I feel a lot better going into the race than previous years. I have come more prepared and I feel that I have learnt a lot from my other previous visits. I have just looked through previous results and although this race may not look hard to some eyes, results show otherwise with often many people not finishing.

“I was happy with my last race in Wellington (Oceania Champs) I went into the race with a very particular race plan and I was happy with the way I raced. I made a conscious decision to start the run slower and build into it. It worked really well, but just needed to have finished it off on the last lap. However coming into this race I know how hard this run is with the hill each lap and with the heat.

“So I feel if I can race like I did in Wellington and follow my own race plans then I am sure I can get a result which I will be happy with. But my mind is definitely set on trying to finally conquer this race.”

With a shadow over defending champion Courtney Atkinson as he struggles to overcome a stomach bug, and Sweetland coming in with a solid base foundation but little speed preparation, the race is thrown wide open.

For Atkinson it would be a double blow of his title defence, with Mooloolaba doubling as the 2010 Australian Championship title.

"I am very frustrated as the defense of my title last year was a high priority for me in 2010 and my pre-season training has shown some very promising signs. I will be doing everything to try and get myself on the start line as I see it very important to get a longer race done in preparation for the coming World Championship series," said Atkinson

Spain's Javier Gomez is already a late withdrawal after scans on a troublesome hip revealed some damage, the extent of which is not known yet but Gomez is also in doubt for the season opening ITU Dextro Energy World Champs Series race in Sydney on April 11.

Meanwhile Sweetland is delighted to be back on the Sunshine Coast.

"Mooloolaba is my favourite race in the world and to win last year on this course was such a surprise and such an honour. It's nice going into this race as the defending champion, knowing I can perform on this course but I don't feel any pressure at this time in the season," said Sweetland

The elite women's field contains a number of contenders to vie for the title. Beijing Olympian Laura Bennett (US) has spent her pre season preparing here. Sweetland's team mate Kathy Tremblay; current World Duathlon Champion Vendula Frintova (Cze); veteran Liz Blatchford heads up a strong British team; Germany's Ricarda Lisk and Tanner are all capable of taking out the season opener.

Elite Women - Ones to Watch:
Kristen Sweetland (CAN) - 2006 ITU Junior World Champion, 2-time World Cup winner
Laura Bennett (USA) - 4th at 2008 Beijing Olympics, 4-time World Cup winner
Liz Blatchford (GBR) - 2-time World Cup and Continental Cup winner
Debbie Tanner (NZL) - 2nd at 2010 Oceania Championships, 2009 Oceania Cup Champion, 10th at 2008 Beijing Olympics

Elite Men - Ones to Watch:
Courtney Atkinson (AUS) - 2009 Perth Oceania Cup winner, 5-time Ishigaki World Cup winner, 2nd at 2009 Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Madrid
Javier Gomez (ESP) - 11-time World Cup winner, 2008 ITU World Champion, 2 World Cup series titles (2006, 2007)
Brad Kahlefeldt (AUS) - 2002 U23 world champ, 4-time Oceania Championships winner, 5-time World Cup winner, 2006 Commonwealth Games champion

Event & Athlete details
Prize Money : USD $50,000

2009 Mooloolaba ITU World Cup winners:
Courtney Atkinson (AUS) 1:52:05 Kristen Sweetland (CAN) 2:02:00

The race will be standard Olympic distance: 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bike, 10-kilometer run. Live text updates will be available on triathlon.org

Start Times:
Elite men start - 12:00 (UTC/GMT +10), March 27
Elite women start - 15:00 (UTC/GMT +10), March 28