Simon Whitfield will be looking for another podium finish to add to his 2006 resume
On Sunday 13 Canadian triathletes will head to Cancun, Mexico, for the second last World Cup race of the season. The season’s grand finale will take place in New Plymouth, New Zealand, one week later.
This World Cup season has been highlighted by Kathy Tremblay’s third place finish in Mazatlan and Simon Whitfield’s second place effort in Corner Brook. The last Canadian to have 2 World Cup podiums in the same season was Jill Savege back in 2004 when she finished second in Tongyeong and Rio.
Whitfield has not competed in an Olympic distance race since he hurt his neck in Lausanne 7 weeks ago, however, according to Triathlon Canada’s High Performance Director, Tom Patrick; this has been a very good year for the 6-time National Champion.
“Simon had some excellent results in 2006. It’s always nice to finish a season well, but how he does in Cancun on November 5th will not define how well he trained and competed over the entire year. From my view, Simon has established an excellent foundation to build upon for the 2007 competitive season.”
Remarkably, Lauren Groves, who is the top ranked Canadian in the World Cup standings at #5, has not finished on the podium in a World Cup race this season, however, in 6 of her 7 World Cup races Lauren has finished in the top-7.
Groves has entered the final 2 races of the season in hopes of finishing the year in the top 5. The Vancouver native has a chance to become the highest ranked Canadian since the World Cup Rankings began (In 2003 Jill Savege finished the year ranked #5). Patrick says Groves is fully committed to finishing the year ranked in the top 3.
“It will all depend on how well she has been able to train while she was recovering from her toe injury. If she was able to retain her fitness from the summer then she will have a great race in Cancun.”
Kyle Jones, from Oakville, also had a terrific race in Corner Brook, Jones finished 7th in one of the best fields of the year and beat several former World Cup winners. Jones, the second highest ranked Canadian male, has three top-15 finishes in World Cup races in 2006.
Paul Tichelaar had his best World Cup finish ever in his hometown of Edmonton – Tichelaar’s 7th place finish was good enough to be the top Canadian.
Based on this year’s World Cup Results -Whitfield, Tremblay, Groves, Jones and Tichelaar have to be looked at as potential podium finishers. Patrick was asked if a third podium performance in ‘06 from a Canadian racer is a possibility in Cancun.
“I feel that our top Canadian women race very well in the heat so this could give them an excellent chance to potentially run their way to a top 3 result. As well, whenever Simon Whitfield is in a World Cup race he’s always a threat to win the event. He remains among the best runners in the world.”
This race in Mexico will also be the first World Cup start for 2006 World Junior Champion, Kirsten Sweetland. Sweetland, from Victoria, will be facing a strong international field as 9 of the top 15 female athletes in the most recent World Cup Rankings will compete in Cancun.
Patrick says Sweetland has earned the right to race in Cancun and this opportunity is well deserved. “This is a great chance for Kirsten to begin collecting ITU World Cup race experience. She trained and raced very well this year and is a very mature athlete, and I feel that this will be a positive experience.”
At the end of this article you can find the rest of the Canadian team heading to Cancun along with their current World Cup Ranking
The 2006 World Cup Circuit consists of 15 races in 13 countries – the only countries with multiple races in ’06 were Canada and Mexico. Earlier this year, Mazatlan played host to the 5th World Cup of the season.
The 13 Canadians competing in Cancun represents the fourth highest participation in a World Cup event in ’06 (the 2 Canadian World Cups and the Mazatlan World Cup in early May were slightly higher).
Cancun makes its return to the World Cup schedule (Cancun was not on the docket in ‘05) after a successful race in 2004 - Samantha McGlone finished 4th that year and was the top Canadian. Next year’s World Cup Series will feature only one race in Mexico – again in Cancun in early November.
Elite Men in Cancun
Simon Whitfield (World Cup Ranking #29)
Kyle Jones (World Cup Ranking #42)
Paul Tichelaar (World Cup Ranking #49)
Brent McMahon (Not Ranked)
Colin Jenkins (Not Ranked)
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Elite Women in Cancun
Lauren Groves (World Cup Ranking #5)
Kathy Tremblay (World Cup Ranking #29)
Carolyn Murray (World Cup Ranking #47)
Lisa Mensink (World Cup Ranking #82)
Ayesha Rollinson (Not Ranked)
Alicia Kaye (Not Ranked)
Natasha Filliol (Not Ranked)
Kirsten Sweetland (Not Ranked)
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Triathlon Canada is the National Federation for the Sport of Triathlon and Duathlon in Canada.
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