Countdown to Glasgow selection starts in Devonport

Posted in Other News

Triathlon Australia, January 27, 2014: Australia’s elite triathletes will kick-start their campaign in the race for Commonwealth Games selection when they line up in Saturday’s Devonport Triathlon – this year’s Australian Olympic Distance Triathlon Championships.

Saturday will see a busy day’s racing with some of Australia’s best Elite, Under 23s and Juniors facing the starters gun from 10.30 am with the Junior Women and culminating with the Elite Men at 3.30pm (see all start times below).

The Devonport Triathlon remains one of Australia’s oldest triathlons which was first event held in 1985 and has an honour roll of legends including Emma Carney, Brad Beven, Loretta Harrop and Tasmania’s own Craig Walton as well as the likes of current days stars like Emma Jackson, Erin Densham, Brendon Sexton, Kris Gemmell and Courtney Atkinson.

Although not a Games selection trial, the likes of London Olympian Sexton, Australia’s second ranked triathlete on the 2013 ITU Rankings Ryan Bailie, Victoria pair Peter Kerr and Ryan Fisher and Australia’s Under 23 women’s world champion Charlotte McShane will all be keen to put vital runs on the board in the lead up to the all-important ITU World Cup in Mooloolaba (March 15,16) and the ITU World Triathlon Series opener in Auckland (April 5,6).

Australia’s top juniors will race in a double points race against the cream of the New Zealand athletes to determine the Oceania Junior Champions and the overall winners of the Scody Australian Junior Series, with Jaz Hedgeland (WA) and Matt Hauser (QLD) leading a closely fought points race (see full Scody Pointscore attached).

The Elites will use their Olympic Distance Australian Championships in the lead up to major selection races over the next two months with the Australian selectors will be hoping to finalise the team for Glasgow towards the end of April, after the Auckland race.

“It will be a good hit out for those coming into Devonport for their first race of the season and others who will use it as another gage for their bigger races around the corner,” said Triathlon Australia’s National Performance Director Bernard Savage.

“Things will start to hot up over the next month and they know there are only two places to fill with a lot of focus on the ITU World Cup in Mooloolaba and the first ITU race in Auckland.

“They won’t be in absolute peak condition but some of them will be ready for a good strong hit out – to blow out the cobwebs as we say.

“I’m looking forward to seeing where they are at and it will give us some indication of what to expect over the next month.”

Just two places remain on the Australian Commonwealth Games team in both the men and the women after Australia’s top ranked male from last year’s ITU World Championships, Aaron Royle, gained an early nomination for Glasgow, as did 2013 ITU Grand Final bronze medallist Emma Moffatt.

Royle, the 2012 Under 23 World Champion, will also take his place in the field and his presence is sure to add a sense of urgency from the opening 1500m swim through the Devonport surf.

His training partners Bailie and Sexton will be just as keen to stay in touch when they start the 40km bike before the 10km run.

Bailie was Australia’s second ranked Australian on the 2013 ITU Rankings who has come a long way from his days as an Age Group Champion from Bunbury in WA to being in the front group in last year’s ITU World Championship Grand Final in London.

The 2012 Devonport Triathlon winner Sexton will be keen to get some runs on the board as he sets about building valuable ITU Rankings points after a disruptive 2013, with injury and illness.

Fisher, who has recently moved from Queensland to the VIS Group under Danielle Stefano in Melbourne, is fresh from his impressive Australian Sprint Distance win over Dan Wilson and Matt Baker at Elwood.

While fellow Victorian and training partner Kerr produced a brilliant race in Devonport last year and he knows he needs another solid showing to keep in the selection mix.

The women’s race will feature reigning ITU Under 23 World Champion McShane, who steps up to the Elite Open class for the first time and she will be keen to make the most of her step up in class and without Moffatt who raced in Geelong over the 70.3 course three weeks ago. She will set her sights on the opening round of the ITU WTS season in Auckland.

McShane will be joined on the start line by her Wollongong Wizards team mate Natalie Van Coevorden (Under 23s) and race favourite, defending champion, Great Britain’s Jodie Stimpson who finished second in last year’s ITU WTS pointscore.

An interesting starter in the Elite Women’s field will be 27-year-old Deaflympics gold medallist and former City To Surf and 10,000m Zatopek winner Melinda Vernon, who has returned to triathlon, after joining Darren Smith’s stable in San Diego after a celebrated track and field career.

Two leading nominations in the Under 23 Men are last year’s Under 23 World Championship bronze medallist Declan Wilson and last week’s two-time Australian Junior Champion and 2013 Olympic Youth gold medallist Jacob Birtwhistle from Tasmania.

Wilson, like Vernon, is also based in San Diego under coach Smith while Birtwhistle has moved from Launceston to join Jamie Turner’s Wizards group in Wollongong.

Birtwhistle has almost certainly wrapped up a place in Australia’s Junior Team for this year’s ITU World Championships in Edmonton with his win in Brighton last week and has entered in his first ITU Olympic Distance draft legal race.

But a decision on whether he actually takes his place in the field won’t be made until the day of the race after he suffered a soft tissue injury on the bottom of his foot last Sunday morning at Brighton.

“I saw my physiotherapist earlier today and she was pretty confident that it was just soft tissue bruising,” said Birtwhistle, who has been back in Launceston visiting his family in the lead up to the race.

“I have another appointment with her tomorrow and have been told to continue to ice it. I will ride morning tomorrow so I can give her some feedback and then run on Friday to test it out.”

Birtwhistle will be keen to start in front of his supportive home crowd and family but coach Turner and the Triathlon Australian High Performance staff won’t be taking any risks with the 18-year-old.

Saturday’s Time Table:

10:30am: ITU Junior Women/OTU Junior Triathlon Championships/Round 3 of the Scody Australian Junior Triathlon Series
11:50am: ITU Junior Men/ OTU Junior Triathlon Championships/Round 3 of the Scody Australian Junior Triathlon Series
1:10pm: Elite & U23 Women - Australian Olympic Distance Championships
3:30pm: Elite & U23 Men - Australian Olympic Distance Championships

ssued on behalf of Triathlon Australia
Ian Hanson
Hanson Media Group

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