Team France’s expectations are always pretty high considering that each of the its members are potential WTS top 8 finishers. They are the only nation other than Spain to have two different athletes (Luis and Le Corre) place so high in a WTS event. Knowing how hard it has been to displace a long standing WTS hierarchy, things are definitely looking up heading into the Olympic Games.
What’s at stake?
Getting a bib for the upcoming Rio Test Event and the Grand Finale in Chicago is imperative for anyone with hopes of getting selected for the Games as early as the 2015 season. The way to do this is to either place on the podium in a sprint distance triathlon and a top 6 in an Olympic distance triathlon, or to place twice among the top 8 in both disciplines.
For the time being, only Vincent Luis et Pierre Le Corre have met this criteria. The next world series are that much more important to all the others aspiring to a spot on the Olympic squad.
Team France.
Pierre Le Corre (7th world ranking).
The former U23 World Champion has confirmed his potential with strong early season results (3rd place Auckland, 6th place Gold Coast). He has shown an ability to perform on various types of courses and his strong swim definitely gives him an edge.
Vincent Luis (17th world ranking).
Vincent Luis proved that he is capable of hanging with the big guns both in Hamburg (2014) and in Abu Dhabi (2nd place). He should be quite fresh heading into Cape Town since he has not participated in the last two stages of the series. We are still looking for him to bring his sprint distance prowess to the Olympic distance (his career bests being two 5th place finishes in 2013). He placed 8th in last year’s Cape Town edition.
Dorian Coninx.
The poster boy for Team France’s new generation of triathletes, Dorian is a former Junior and U23 World Champion. After a dissapointing 51st place finish in Abu Dhabi, Dorian is chomping at the bit to get back into race action this weekend.
Aurélien Raphaël.
Much like Dorian et Vincent, this will be his second WTS event this season. Known to have the strongest swim start on the circuit, the swim has the potential to make or break his race. He could very well take matters into his own hands and ensure his selection. His skill set can undoubtedly be used as an advantage by his teammates. He should be quite comfortable on this course following an 11th place finish in 2014.
Aurélien Lebrun.
Thanks to FFtri’s new policy, Aurélien Lebrun is getting the chance to start this event in replacement of Pujades (virus). He is technically not a member of Team France, but Lebrun still has a chance to compete for a bib at the Rio Test Event. He has recently placed 4th in a European Cup event.
Aurélien Lescure.
No longer in the French system, Aurélien Lescure is still of interest to us. Cape Town marks his return to WTS. He would need to stay in the top 50 world rankings to obtain his bib for the Games.
In the end, Raphael Montoya will not take part in the race due to illness.
A Common Strategy for TF? An Isolated Alistair?
In these circumstances, we should not necessarily expect a team effort. There are no designated domestiques. Part of the reason is that Alistair Brownlee will somewhat be flying solo : his only training partner taking the start will be Blummenfelt (NOR).
An Unpredictable Race?
The big question here is wether or not Alistair’s level of fitness up to snuff. Will he be able to control the outcome of the race in his first event of the season? In his most recent wins, he has prefered to take off the front with smaller groupes. He will be missing a key attribute in Richard Varga who remains his biggest weapon on the swim.
Our feeling is that we’ll see a slightly bigger group than in recent races. Perhaps 15 ahtletes or so who will try to keep weaker swimmers Mario Mola and Richard Murray at bay. On a low difficulty bike course, it’ll be key for the lead group to work as a unit and ensure the chase packs do not catch up and merge with them. If that’s the case, keep an eye on Alistair who has been known to attempt solo breakaways à la Edmonton 2014.
Last Year
In 2014, Javier Gomez took top honours in Cape Town. Dmitry Polyanskiy (RUS) was also present on the podium. Mola et Murray were never able to recover from a swim that was simply put, too slow to compete. Alistair should replace his brother in stepping on the podium.
The Importance Of T1…
For the first time this season, it will be a wetsuit swim. As per usual, any fumbling in T1 will be costly. Cape Town waters are quite frigid which could become problematic for some at the start of the bike leg.
A Divided Spanish Squad.
Spain would have a formidable team if they worked as a unit. But since the Games selection process is based on world rankings, the Spaniards are just as much in competition with one an other than with athlets from other nationalities. It is indeed a tight bunch when you consider Spain’s big 4 : Gomez (2nd), Mola (3rd), Alarza (4th) et Hernandez (8th). How will they manage the grind of this season’s gruelling schedule? Only part of the answer will come in Cape Town.
The Russians Strategy..
The circuit’s other brotherly duo, Igor et Dmitry Polyanskiy, proved last weekend that they were capable of conniving with a Brownlee. The enigmatic Alexander Bryukhankov will make his return to the circuit after a DNF in Auckland.
A Special Race For South Africans.
South Africa’s biggest hope is, of course, Richard Murray. That said, the local hero could find himself between a rock and a hard place if the swim proves too quick for him. The same cannot be said about Henri Schoeman, who relied on his strong swim in an early season 6th place finish in Auckland. The latter skipped out of Gold Coast to better prepare for this race. Former Junior World Champion Wian Sullwald will also be making a return to the circuit.
The Darkhorses.. And The Returnees
A return that we are all looking forward to seeing is that of Steffen Justus. Along with Gregor Buchholz. Along with Gregor Buchholz and Justus Nieschlag, the Germans had their fair share of bad luck during the off season. It’s only a question of time before they make their way back to the top 8.
We should so keep Sven Riederer (SUI) on our radar. Not having raced at all in the Asian Pacific events, his freshness could play to his advantage.
Joao Pereira and Joao Silva (POR) could also be factors in this race.
As for the Canadians, Matt Sharpe is making a return in WTS after a two year hiatus, his last race being San Diego in 2013. A Wollongong Wizard squad member is finally injury free and is in better form than ever.
