By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwi
Rested and rejuvenated after the Paris Olympic Games, it’s time for Kiwi Olympians Nicole van der Kaay and Ainsley Thorpe to get back on the proverbial World Triathlon horse.
The duo will make their first post XXXIII Olympiad starts in Saturday’s World Cup Rome sprint.
Brea Roderick, Eva Goodisson and Tayler Reid are also on the start list and will race on the back of recent, confidence boosting results in Europe. Paris reserve Roderick, up to 55 in the world rankings, was 8th at World Cup Karlovy Vary while Reid finished 15th in the men’s race in the Czech Republic. Goodisson, battling back from a neural back injury, has likewise been buoyed by run gains in her 8th and 17th placings at European Cup Istanbul and at WC Karlovy Vary respectively.
Kiwi No.1 Hayden Wilde, meanwhile, will look to strengthen his lead in the penultimate round of supertri late Sunday NZT. After two wins already, nothing less than a win in Toulouse will advance his grip on the title ahead of next month’s finale in Neom, Saudi Arabia, and the prospect of that looks good with Great British rival Alex Yee reportedly unable to race due to jury service.
Elsewhere, James Corbett and Henry McMecking will race Europe Triathlon Cup Ceuta in Spain on Sunday. It will be fascinating to see how Corbett, ranked second behind Brit Ben Dijkstra, backs up after the 22-year-old Aucklander’s Continental Cup breakthrough win at Asia Triathlon Cup Tokyo Uminomori on September 22.
Cantabrian McMecking, 20, is also using Ceuta as his final race before the U23 World Championships in Torremolinos-Andalucía and has landed in Europe fresh from an eye-catching 4th at Asia Cup Yilan in early September.
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TV/STREAMING/START TIMES
World Triathlon Cup Rome – Saturday
Men: 10:50pm NZT YouTube
Women: 8:20pm NZT YouTube
supertri Toulouse – Sunday
Men: 11pm NZT YouTube/ 11pm Sky Sport Select (Channel 050)
Europe Triathlon Cup Ceuta
Men: 00:30am Monday NZT 1
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While the performances of all the Kiwi elites will be closely scrutinised, there is extra intrigue over how van der Kaay and Thorpe scrub up post the inevitable hangover faced by almost every Olympian.
Van der Kaay, 31st at her second Olympic Games in Paris, had intended making her mid-distance debut at Challenge Samarkand in early September and even made it all the way to Uzbekistan only to fall sick and be forced to withdraw.
It was another blip in a tough 2024.
“Nothing like being at the foot of a toilet bowl all night, emptied by both ends 🤢,” van der Kaay wrote on social media with typical candour.
“Instant thoughts were, of course this is happening, another blow to the year. I will keep trying to lift my head high and believe the year can turn around.”
World No. 37 Thorpe, 44th in Paris, is the highest ranked of the four Kiwi females in Rome, starting in the No.7 bib. The Cambridge-based 26-year-old would love to emulate her World Cup best of 2024, 3rd at Wollongong in April.
Reid, is also looking for a fresh start after serving as the male reserve in Paris. The Gisborne 28-year-old is ranked second in Rome behind trans-Tasman rival Luke Willian and will be keen to rekindle his early season form which included back-to-back World Cup top 4s in Wollongong and Chengdu.
