The last stop of the World Triathlon Cup circuit this year will take athletes to Vina del Mar, Chile, for a Sprint distance race that will see Olympic medalists, World Champions, and some rising stars of the sport chasing the last Olympic qualification points of the year.
47 Women including Erica Hawley, and 56 Men including Tyler Smith are ready for a tough battle on a Sprint course that will see an impressive roster of athletes.
It will be three American women leading the start list for this Sunday’s final World Triathlon Cup of the season, with Katie Zaferes wearing the one, followed by Gwen Jorgensen and Gina Sereno.
On the Men’s side athletes from Olympic Medallists like Henri Schoeman to the new Pan American golden boy Miguel Hidalgo, and local hero Diego Moya.
Quite a few athletes lining up this Sunday will have the experience of having raced in the same course just a week ago, for the Pan American Games, and will be trying to use that experience in their favor. Hawley was 4th at the PanAm, her best-ever result is ready for the second round, this time shorter, and also looking for a better performance in Chile would be Emy Legault, Djenyfer Arnold, or Luisa Baptista.
It is the case of Seth Rider and Chase McQueen, both of them continuing the chase of points, trying to secure three American men in the top 30 of the Olympic Qualification rankings, which will give Team USA three spots at the Olympic Games in Paris.
With a wetsuit swim almost guaranteed -last week the water temperature was around 15ºC-, it will be a great opportunity for the likes of Brock Hoel, Martin Sobey, or Smith to try to get in the lead pack out of the first transition, but also expect the strong bikers like Seth Rider, Panagiotis Bitados or Paul Georgenthum to make an impact on the race during the bike, especially on the technical downhill of each lap.
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