- As we head into another weekend of ITU Racing
with the World Triathlon Series in Bermuda,
we thought it's probably time we get
a bit of an ITU Season preview.
- We've got attacks on the bike,
we've got sprint finishes, we've also got
blistering man sprints.
ITU Racing is fast, and it's furious.
(light music)
- Many of us have been aborsbed by long distance
non-drafting world of thriathlon.
So, give me a moment to explain what the ITU is.
It stands for then International Triathlon Union.
Which was set up in 1989, as a sports governing body
with a mission to promote the appeal of the sport worldwide.
- Yeah, the primary distance for ITU Racing is
the sprint distance, and the standard or Olympic distance.
In fact, the ITU were behind getting triathlon
included in the Olympic Games, hence, the Olympic distance.
And this race is over a 1.5 kilometre swim,
a 40 kilometre draught legal bike,
and then a 10 kilometre run.
- Well, for those of you more familiar with
the long distance pros, we've suddenly seen
previous world champions come from the
anti youth circuit, such as, Yang Fadino,
and Patrick Langer, Daniel Lareef.
- The spectacle of ITU Racing is the
World Triathlon Series, or the WTS for short.
And as their name suggests, it's this series
of events dotted around the globe throughout the year.
And attracting the best ITU athletes.
- It started in Abu Dhabi with a sprint distance,
and now this weekend we head off to Bermuda,
for the Olympic Distance Race.
- Then on to Yokohama, and then to Leeds.
- And after it's Hamburg, then followed by Edmonton.
Both of which, are sprint distance races.
- Then to Series Heads to Montreal,
and then finishes on the Gold Coast in Australia.
- And the male and female athlete with the most points
that's accumulated both from that race in the grand final,
and their five best scoring WTS Races,
gets crowned World Champion.
- Abu Dhabi, last month was a nail biting race,
we expected to see athletes tearing it around
the F1 circuit, instead, we witnessed the athletes
trying to get their rubber side down
on a very wet, and slippery course.
- Yeah, those played into the hands
of Henry Schoeman on the men's side,
and Mitchell Clammer on the women's.
- This weekend we're heading to Bermuda,
the home of 2017's female ITU World Champion,
Flora Duffy, and she's certaintly had her impact
on the course design.
It's a two lap 1500 metre swim,
and then a tough, a ten lap bike course,
taking in the steep and narrow corkscrew hill
with a couple of switchbacks and then, a four lap run.
- Well, I think the bike leg could be really
quite a decider in this race.
So if the athletes do manage to break away
on the swim, and onto the bike, they could end up
increasing that gap, lap by lap, quite easy.
That's really gonna play into the hands of those
strong swim bikers, such as Flora.
And she could well be joined by Jess Lemolds.
If those two do manage to make that break after swim,
I think they could be hard to catch.
- In the men's race, it's going to be a little
more tactile, I think, to make that break.
And to make sure that any of those chases
don't manage to bridge or prosper.
Pretty sure all eyes are gonna be on the current
series leader, Henry Schoeman.
- Yokohama is less hilly, but that does not make
it less exciting.
It's a fast and technical nine lap bike course,
which last year actually saw Jonathan Brownlee
fall off due to the rain and the wet conditions.
And then it moves on to a fast four lap run course,
which Mario Molef took the advantage and ran away
with it last year.
But, one to watch it could be the Norwegian power house
Christen Blummenfelt, who finished
third last year on that course.
- Well the swim takes place in the harbour,
which can be quite choppy, allowing the
strongest swimmers to take advantage.
Last year, it allowed Flora Duffy and Soki Cobalt
to make or break, and they maintain
that on to the run.
Now, I was on the edge of my seat watching this
last year, and I'm sure it will be the same for 2018.
- Leeds WTS event will be following just a few days
after the 18 mixed relay in Nottingham.
The WTS event starts on the outskirts of these,
now with the transition from swim to bike,
it's actually at the bottom of a hill.
And last year, we saw Alister and Johnathan Brownlee,
the home town favourites, take advance of this
and launch their attack, as they work very quickly
onto their bike, and soon out of T1.
- Well, the bike then heads into the centre of Leeds,
to complete seven smaller and technical laps
and then onto a four lap run course.
Last year we saw the women's race,
won by Flora Duffy, but given that nonstop
pretentious label, live and training leads
that know the course so well,
could this be their chance to beat her?
- WTS Hamburg is another sprint distance event,
and it's in the heart of the city.
Next up, one the best for atmosphere as spectators
line the streets to support the athletes.
And it consists of a one lap swim,
six laps on the bike that are flat,
but incredibly technical, and then it finishes off
with a two lap fast run.
- Whilst it may only be a sprint distance,
it includes a number of sharp turns and accelerations
at the corners, making it a very demanding race
for the athletes.
Last year Jacob Birtwhistle took second to Mario Mola,
but given his current form,
could this course play into his hands?
- In the women's race we saw Flora take another
win, mainly due to her expert handling skills on the bike,
but we did see Ashley Gentle putting on a little
bit of pressure when it came to the run.
So, if some of the athletes can stick with Flora
on that bike, we can end up with a really exciting run race.
And then, just one day after the individual,
they have the World Championships for the team mix relay
on the same course but, obviously just a bit shorter.
- Then we hop over to the next round of WTS
over in Edmonton, Calider, and it's another
short sharp sprint distance.
Last year it began with a beach start into
a one lap swim and then a fast, a six lap bike course
on the wide open roads with a technical section
at the far end of the course.
And then into a three lap out and back run course,
with a slight up hill on the way out.
- Well, we witnessed a pretty tight running race
between Jake Birtwhistle, Mario Mola, and Richard Mury.
And this year, I mean, it's a long way ahead to
know who's gonna be actually racing,
but if Vince Luis can stay on touch on the bike,
then he's one to watch as well.
- Well, over in the women's race, it was another
dominant performance by Flora.
The USA made up five of the top ten,
so it's clearly a course and conditions
that suits them, perhaps they'll make things exciting
this year.
And to round off the weekend, we have the mixed team
relay in the final round for 2018.
- The WTS race in Montreal is Olympic distance.
There's a two lap swim course, that's borderline
often, whether it's wetsuit or non wetsuit swim,
then onto the bike, it's a nine lap course to
underlegs that goes through some
of the city's oldest streets.
Not particularly technical, though it has some
straight sections, and then it finishes off with a run,
there's a four lap course on a similar route to the bike.
- Well, in last year's races, Javier Gomez,
took the win in the men's.
Whilst Jonathan Brownlee fade,
allowing Christian Blummenfelt and Richard Murry
to take second and third.
In fact, Blummenfelt, won it the previous year,
so he's gonna be a hot favourite going to this years race.
- While on the women's side, it was actually
the only race that Flora Duffy lost.
They came off the bike in a big pack
and it was Ashley Gentle, who managed to outrun
Flora and take the win.
In the previous year, Gentle actually finished second
when it was a World Cup to Flora.
So it's gonna be interesting to see
that battle between those two again.
- Then we have the grand final this year
on the Gold Coast in Australia.
And the race is actually gonna start from the same
location as the Cornwolf Game's Triathlon
in the south port border of Parkland's.
And although the race course hasn't been fully
confirmed yet, we know from the last year,
it was a non wetsuit swim from a pontoon start
and the chance at some choppy waters.
The bike course is fast flat, although very technical
with a number of dead turns, and sharp corners.
And the run course also, flat and fast,
but with a dead turn at either end of the course.
- While on the men's race, last year, Mario Mola
won that, but then when it came to the grand final,
it was Vince Luis who got the win in a very close finish.
On the women's side Andrea Hewitt won in the gold case.
But the grand final was one by Flora Duffy.
So, I mean, this is the final,
everyone's gonna be out there to win.
And you never know, we could even see a surprise winner.
- If you haven't already watched the World Triathlon Series
then, I fully recommend you tuning in this weekend
for the next round in Bermuda.
- Well, I'm certainly going to be,
and it's going to be fast and furious.
If you don't want to miss any of our GTN videos,
you can subscribe by just hitting the globe.
And last year, we caught up with Christian Blummenfelt,
and had a look at his bike.
The lap for that video is just here.
- And we've mentioned today a few beach stars
in the WTS series this year.
If you'd like to find out how do you own a Beach Star,
click down here.