The final Junior Cup race of the season takes place this weekend in Slovenia, with Bled set to provide the showcase finale to a spectacular season of racing.
With the Junior World Championships also taking place this week, Bled provides an opportunity for athletes who missed out on selection for Pontevedra to close out their season on a high before the winter break. A large field of both male and female athletes means there will be three semifinals for the men and two for the women, with all the racing taking place on Saturday. It promises to be a challenging day for everyone on the start line.
Junior Women
The Junior Women’s start list features 52 athletes, with two semifinals of 26 athletes battling for a place in Saturday afternoon’s final.
Ula Sijaviciute leads out semifinal one. The Lithuanian last raced in Jurmala in August, where she finished just outside the top 20. Starting with bib number one, she will hope to make an impact and secure her place in the final.
Just behind her in bib number two is home talent Lina Kreft, the reigning Slovenian Junior Sprint National Champion. Kreft also finished second in the elite race at those championships. Her most recent Junior Cup appearance came in Zagreb two weeks ago, meaning she will already be familiar with the semifinal format and will hope that experience can work in her favour this weekend.
Czechia’s Dorota Stramberska starts in bib number three, with her most recent race also coming in Jurmala.
Austria’s Luisa Rohe has made a strong start to her European racing career this season. After making her European debut in Carole, she has steadily improved, with her best result coming in Tabor where she claimed fifth place.
As in Zagreb, Hungary have a large group of athletes on the start list, led by Kira Dobrovoczky in bib number five. Her best result this season came at Izvorani, where she finished eighth. Behind her in bib number seven is fellow Hungarian Alíz Júlia Geri, who raced in Zagreb last time out and will again be familiar with the demands of the semifinal format.
Switzerland’s Grace Taylor is making just her second European start. Her first came in the City of Derry, where she finished seventh. The 2007-born athlete will be hoping to round out her season with another strong performance in Bled.
Niene Dewaelheyns is also making only her second European start, having made her debut in Holten back in July. Czechia’s Daniela Beranova is in a similar position, with Tabor her first and only race of the season so far.
Home hopes Neža Jarc and Tinkara Prelesnik will have the backing of the Bled crowd in semifinal one. Jarc starts in bib number 19, while Prelesnik will be the final athlete on the start line in the opening semifinal in bib number 26.
Serbia’s Petra Vasilić leads out semifinal two. Vasilić will be looking to claim her first podium, having finished inside the top ten at the World Triathlon Development Cup at Vlasina Lake in July. That result will provide plenty of motivation as she looks to finish her season strongly.
Klara Mahkovec is another athlete hoping to reach the final on home soil. She claimed silver at the Slovenian Junior National Championships in August and will be hoping to use her knowledge of racing in Slovenia to her advantage.
Hungary’s Miléna Kovács has come close to a first podium several times this season, finishing sixth in Zagreb and fourth in Izvorani. She will be hoping to finally break through and step onto the podium in Bled.
Fellow Hungarian Emma Urban will also be searching for her first podium. Urban has recorded some strong results in Tabor and Izvorani and will be hoping to build on those performances in the final race of the season.
Three 2011-born athletes will take to the start line in semifinal two, with two home athletes looking to gain valuable experience ahead of a long winter break. Julija Brecelj and Eva Korošec will represent Slovenia, while Lithuania’s Liepa Tamutyte completes the group of some of the youngest athletes in the field.
Junior Men
North Macedonian National Champion Mario Brezovski returns to racing for the second time in September after a hard-fought race in Zagreb. He starts semifinal one in bib number one and will be followed by more home talent in the shape of Marcel Pavlin, who starts in bib number two.
After a DNF in his last international race at Vlasina Lake, Pavlin will be looking to return to a strong performance in Bled and finish the European calendar on a positive note.
Zagreb bronze medallist Dániel Németh will be looking to add another medal to his collection. The Hungarian has also claimed bronze in Carole earlier this season and will be hoping to go one step further and take his first international victory.
William Pridden has not raced extensively this season, but when he has taken to the start line he has consistently delivered podium finishes. The Briton claimed bronze in Izvorani before taking silver in Zagreb, and will be looking to complete that progression with gold in Bled.
Valentin Aber has also had a relatively quiet international season. His most recent race came in Wels, where he finished 18th, while he also competed in Carole. That experience of the super-sprint format, with semifinals leading into a final, could prove valuable this weekend.
Four Austrians feature in semifinal one, with Alexander Urschitz and Victor Mauersperger starting in bibs seven and eight. Both will be searching for their first international podium, although they will have to battle through a strong field to make Saturday afternoon’s final.
David Winner and Lukas Widlroither complete the Austrian contingent in semifinal one, starting in bibs 19 and 20.
Czechia’s Simon Ihn makes his debut on the Europe Triathlon Junior Cup circuit. The 2010-born athlete will be hoping to make a strong first impression on the European stage. Fellow Czech Filip Stadnik will also make his Junior Cup debut.
Semifinal two features several athletes with podium experience this season.
Silver medallist from the weather-affected Moletai race, Kristupas Jančius, starts in bib number 31. The Lithuanian has that medal as his only podium of the season so far and will hope the super-sprint format in Bled can play to his strengths.
Bulgaria’s Krasimir Georgiev starts immediately behind him in bib number 32. He is competing in his third international race of the season, having last raced in Zagreb two weeks ago, where he narrowly missed out on a place in the final.
Levente Szabó has recorded seventh-place finishes in each of his last two races. While those results may have been disappointing after his silver medal in Tabor, his consistency will give the Hungarian confidence heading into Bled. He starts in bib number 35.
Arthur Ballard will make his first appearance since claiming silver in Holten. The British athlete will be hoping to finish his season on a high, although the time away from racing could make the challenge in Bled more difficult.
Seppe Vanoverbeke claimed gold in the U23 Cross Triathlon Championships in Banyoles in July and will hope that experience in off-road racing can benefit him this weekend as he looks to close out the Junior Cup season strongly.
France’s Ben Fressier will also return to racing for the first time since May, when he competed in Carole. With the format in Bled matching that of Carole, including semifinals and a final, it provides the Frenchman with another opportunity to test himself in the super-sprint format.
Italy’s Carlo Ferraris is in a similar position, having not raced since Carole.
More home hopes come in the shape of Erik Hudovornik, who has competed several times this season, most recently in Zagreb. He will be joined by fellow Slovenians Jakob Klemen, Nace Mlakar and Gaber Lučovnik.
Semifinal three features three Belgian and three Austrian athletes. Rube Claus leads out the Belgian contingent, with his best result of the season coming right at the start of the year in Quarteira, where he narrowly missed out on the podium.
Claus will be joined by Jari Stappaerts and Thibeau Fransen. Stappaerts last raced in Holten, while Fransen will make his Junior Cup debut in Bled.
Raphael Schweiger leads the Austrian athletes, with his best result of the season coming in Tabor where he finished inside the top ten.
Tobias Leirer starts just behind him in bib number 67. The Austrian claimed bronze at the Aquathlon National Championships in August and could be one to watch in the swim.
Paul Donauer rounds out the Austrian contingent. Donauer raced in Bled last year, finishing outside the top 50, but comes into this year’s race having competed in Zagreb recently, meaning he should be more accustomed to the demands of the super-sprint format.
With a large field, three men’s semifinals, two women’s semifinals and the final Junior Cup race of the season all packed into one day, Bled promises to be a fitting finale to the European Junior Cup calendar.
You can view the full start lists here.
