The world’s best Triathletes return this week to beautiful Bermuda for the second WTS stop of the year and the field couldn’t be stronger.
Home of double World Champion Flora Duffy, the iconic island will welcome amateurs and elite athletes this weekend for four days of triathlon races for all ages and categories, and with the Elite ones going for the first Olympic Distance race of the season in MS Amlin World Triathlon Bermuda.
The tough but scenic course in Hamilton, including the ten notorious climbs of Corkscrew Hill, will indeed provide the perfect setting for the 55 men taking to the start, with all eyes most likely being set on the three young men wearing the Norwegian flag on their backs. Casper Stornes, Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden made a clean sweep of the medals here 12 months ago, and return to the island ready to show the world if they can do it again.
The women’s race will not be the same without the injured Flora Duffy, but there will be tales aplenty as the world’s best once again tackle the mighty Corkscrew Hill in the search for early-season form with the first Olympic distance race of the WTS season. And the start list is packed with names aiming for the title.
Wearing the golden swim cap with the number 1, reserved for the current leader of the Series, will be American Katie Zaferes, and she is determined to continue her winning strike that started at the beginning of the season with a powerful victory in WTS Abu Dhabi. The American, one of the most complete triathletes of the circuit, excels in the three segments of the race, something of extreme importance in the hilly streets of Hamilton.
The spectators that will likely gather around the course to cheer for the athletes will surely remember the tense battle 12 months ago between Zaferes and Vicky Holland that ended up with both of them sprinting in the last few meters, with the British claiming the Silver Medal and the American the Bronze one. This year, Zaferes is determined to improve that position. If possible, by two steps up on the podium.
