Posted: July 11, 2006

Triathlon: Canada's Groves #3 in the World

Lauren Groves is ranked #3 on the latest World Cup Rankings

The World Cup schedule is at the mid-way point and for Lauren Groves the first half of the season was almost perfect. Groves is ranked third on the most recent World Cup Rankings released earlier today and is only 2 points behind second overall, Andrea Whitcombe, from Great Britain.

Groves, from Vancouver, has participated in 4 World Cup events in 2006 and has finished no worse than 7th. Lauren has been a model of consistency so far on the World Cup circuit – she started the year off with a 5th in Japan, then a 6th in Mexico, followed by a 4th in South Africa and finally yesterday in Edmonton she finished 7th.

Groves says her career best ranking has not sunk in yet. “It is so exciting to be ranked third in the world. I really can’t believe it – I don’t think I’ve ever been ranked in the top 30 before this season. Yesterday was not my best effort but I’ve been consistent throughout the entire season and I have been rewarded for my 4 top-10 finishes.”

Samantha McGlone was the last Canadian to be ranked in the top-3 of the World Cup Rankings. In 2005 McGlone was ranked second very early in the season after 2 top-5 results in Honolulu and Mazatlan.

Groves has participated in 8 ITU events world wide this season and has finished in the top-8 in all eight events. Groves has won twice this year; including 8 days ago at the HSBC National Championships/Continental Cup Race and at the ITU Roatan Bay Islands Pan American Cup.

Next up for Groves will be the Corner Brook World Cup on July 23rd. Lauren will have a great opportunity to move up to #2 as Whitcombe is not on the start list. With 16 races on the World Cup Schedule, Groves will participate in 5 of the remaining 8 World Cup races including the Corner Brook World Cup in two weeks. Then it will be Hamburg and Beijing in September and Cancun and New Plymouth in November. Barring injury, Groves will race in 9 of the 16 World Cup races and will have a cushion as the final rankings take into account only your best 8 results.

Groves says a top-5 finish is a definite possibility for her World Cup year-end ranking. “The rest of the season will be tough but it is something I will shoot for. I am proving that I will be a legitimate contender at the World Championships if I keep up my current form. Everything is falling into place at the right time of the year.”

Triathlon Canada is the National Federation for the Sport of Triathlon and Duathlon in Canada.

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