NEWS

2005 ITU Corner Brook WC

By World Triathlon Admin | 14 Jul, 2005

Triathlon World Cup action resumes this weekend in Corner Brook, Newfoundland with one of the hilliest courses on the circuit.  A steep 250m run uphill from the swim, 2 steep hills on each of the 6 laps on the bike, and an unusually challenging run course.


Full race details and start lists on the Corner Brook event page.


Fondly referred to by the locals as the Triathlon Capital of Canada, the entire week in Corner Brook is jam packed with multi-sport action including cycle races, national aquathlon championships, an ITU Duathlon World Series event, a swim relay, a road race, and one of the biggest Kids Tri events in Canada.


The local organizing committee led by Janice Ryan, Denise May and Allen Vansen are celebrating their 8th staging of the ITU World Cup and their first-ever ITU Duathlon World event.  The young, enthusiastic group that manages these events have grasped the concept of bringing economic benefits to their communities through sport.


World ranked #1, Anabel Luxford of Australia is the odds on favourite on the womens start list with 3 World Cup podiums to her credit already this season.  She will definitely be in the hunt for the top step of the podium on Sunday.  Mirinda Carfrae and Pip Taylor join forces with Luxford as other Australian contenders for the medals.


Michelle Dillon of Great Britain, World Ranked #8, may have other plans for an Aussie sweep, having just missed the podium in Mooloolaba and Ishigaki earlier this year.  Dillon won the 2004 Salford World Cup, and is always up for the challenge of a hilly bike and run.  She is joined by team-mates Andrea Whitcombe and Catriona Morrison.


Kiyomi Niwata, world ranked #6, who was 2nd in Ishigaki and 5th in Mooloolaba a few weeks ago, is someone else to watch, as is Julie Swail of the USA who showed that shes more that a great swimmer when she placed 5th at the Mazatlan World Cup earlier this year and won last weekend New York ITU Americas Cup Triathlon.


On the mens side Tim Don of Great Britain will be trying to add World Cup victory #3 to his 2005 credits with his Honolulu and the Madrid World Cup events.  Team-mate Richard Stannard, one of the best swim-cycle specialists in the sport will undoubtedly be first out of the water.


Stannard is also the ITU Athletes Representative on the ITU Executive Board and recently posted a very interesting account of the IOC Athlete Seminar that he attended on behalf of ITU in Lausanne on www.triathlon.org.

The biggest challenge for the two powerful Brits will be holding off the team-work specialist from France, Italy and the USA.  When you look down the line and see the likes of Stephane Poulat, Cedric Deanaz and Frank Bignet leading a quintet from France and Alessandro De Gasperi and Andrea DAquino from Italy, you know the thousands of spectators who line the course will witness some magical team tactics.


Defending champion Nathan Richmond of New Zealand is joined by Terenzo Bozzone who holds the record for most Junior World titles, are also on the ones to watch list, as are USA team-mates Victor Plata and Joe Umphenour (who were both on the podium last year), as well as Seth Wealing, who is always a threat for a breakaway on the bike.  Newcomer Jarrod Shoemaker, also of the USA, shocked a lot of veteran triathletes last weekend by winning the ITU Americas Cup in New York.


The hometown crowd will have lots to cheer about with a large, young Canadian team led by Brent McMahon on the mens side, who cracked the top 10 earlier this year in Mazatlan, along with Paul Tichelaar and Sean Bechtel. Lauren Groves, the top ranked Canadian woman in the field will have Gillian Kornell and Carolyn Murray on side, as they claw their way up the hills in Corner Brook, and up the ITU World Cup Rankings.


There are also lots of young new faces on the start list, testing their skill on the challenging Corner Brook course as we draw closer to the start of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Qualification Criteria in early 2006.


The ITU primes, a popular addition to this years World Cup events will be offered for: 1st out of the water, 1st through lap 2 and lap 5 of the bike.  Prime lines will be positioned directly in front of the stadium spectators to increase the intensity and interest of the event.


The weather, which is always a topic of conversation on The Rock looks good for Sunday with a high of 22C, and a mixture of sun and clouds.  The 3 lap-1500m swim in Glynmill Pond will be with wetsuits as the water temperature is 18C.  There are 6 hilly laps on the bike and 4 hilly laps on the run.


Newfoundland is one of the friendliest places on the World Cup circuit with a family-like town that welcomes triathletes with open arms.