Got a lot caught up watching Ryder in his bid for some Vuelta history this morning, so I apologize for not getting this up earlier.
Very late tonight (Saturday am actually) the ITU Triathlon World Championship Series wraps up with the Finale event on Australia's Gold Coast. The 2009 season has seen some definite improvements in field quality by deciding their world champions thru a series format (as opposed to the one race winner takes all approach in the past). Unfortunately for the ITU, the domination of young Alistair Brownlee has removed much of the suspense for tonight's men's race. Brownlee has won all 4 of his starts in the WCS series this year, so even if Series #2 Javier Gomez wins tonight, Brownlee needs to only finish in the Top 6 to become the 2009 World Champion. So unless a disaster strikes Brownlee, he should be home and cooled as the victor.
The men's race will be very competitive, even with some of the drama removed. It could be among the deepest races in recent history, with over 50 males competing, including a 4 pack of Canadians (Whitfield, McMahon, Jones, and Tichelaar). The rest of the field includes names like Tim Don, Matt Reed, Jan Frodeno, Kris Gemmell, Brad Kahlefeldt, and American Jarrad Shoemaker. Look for a battle for the podium tonight.
The women's race and the race to the World Championship Series is much more competitive. The 2009 series was expected to be a battle between Vanessa Fernandes and Emma Snowsill, but a multitude of injuries have wrecked their seasons. The other Emma, Emma Moffatt, looked to have the series locked up after 3 wins and a 2nd place in the first 5 races of the 8 race WCS. A plantar fascia injury then put Moffatt on the shelf, and Sweden's Lisa Norden took advantage with a win and a 2nd place finish in the last two races. So now there are two women with a great chance to win (one scenario: If Norden wins on Sunday, Moffatt must finish 2nd to win the overall title). There are also many other women with a chance to upset the Moffatt/Norden tandem, including Daniela Ryf, Andrea Hewitt, Sarah Haskins, and a trio of Canadians including Kathy Tremblay, Lauren Groves, and racing for the first time in half a year, Kirsten Sweetland. Good luck ladies.
Team Canada often sends 4 athletes to these types of international events, but our 4th female, Edmonton's Paula Findlay, raced instead in the U23 World Championship which was held yesterday. She finished third and won a bronze medal, behind a pair of Great Britain athletes. Guess the poaching of Canadian coaches is working well for Great Britain. But congrats to Paula for winning a medal in an international world championship. The future looks bright for you and the rest of the ladies!
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