The picturesque coastal setting of Wollongong, in Australia, is ready to make its debut on the World Triathlon Cup circuit this weekend, an event that will also play as a test for the upcoming World Triathlon Championship Finals in 2025. With valuable Olympic points on sight, the athletes will face a 750m swim with a beach start, followed by 20km bike on a hill climb on each of the 5 laps of the course, to finish with a hard 5km hilly run course. A hard and honest course that will test the skills of the field.
Wollongong offers a picturesque coastal setting that perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the sport. The location is just perfect for a superb triathlon race. Surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, rolling hills and lush greenery, the course offers a dynamic terrain for triathletes, combining its crystal-clear waters, scenic coastal roads for the cycling leg and challenging Light house course for the running section.
Wearing the golden number 1 will be home hero Matt Hauser. The Aussie has already set the tone for his Olympic year winning last week the Oceania Championships in Taupo, and is looking for back-to-back victories, this time on home soil. Hauser, who has already secured his spot at the Olympic Games in Paris next summer, will be leading a strong Australian squad that has quite a few athletes battling for the other spots on the Team, including Luke Willian, Brandon Copeland, Callum McClusky and Olympian Jacob Birtwhistle, who seems to be back in full form after his fourth place last weekend in Taupo, logging the fastest run of the day.
Even though the swim is not expected to be a choppy and hard one, as the athletes swim inside the harbour, the fastest swimmers on the field like Hauser, Jonas Schomburg, Jamie Riddle (RSA) or Diego Moya (CHI) will try to have an impact on the race from the early stages. And a tough, technical and hilly course like this one is just perfect for small breakaways.
Another athlete looking to secure a spot on the Olympic team will be Jonas Schomburg, fighting for the last spot on the German squad that will head to Paris this summer, and that is always one to be considered when it comes to hard and honest courses like the one in Wollongong. Other fast runners, like Richard Murray (NED), Jake Birtwhistle (AUS), Tayler Reid (NZL), Ben Dijkstra (GBR) or Matt Hauser are always a threat if it all comes to a run race.
The Team World Triathlon - the sport’s global development squad for athletes with Olympic potential from smaller National Federations - will be well represented in Wollongong, as they continue to chase Paris 2024 qualification. Racing for Bermuda will be Tyler Smith as he seeks to advance his Olympic hopes on the men’s side. Henry Räppo (EST) and Badr Siwane (MAR) are two further Olympic aspirants from Team World Triathlon to race in Wollongong. Diego Moya (CHI) is the final member of the Team to start although he is in a rather different position. Moya has essentially locked up Olympic qualification and so will use the race as a chance to increase his medal tally at the World Cup level.
You can check the full start list HERE.
Watch the Wollongong Men’s race Live and on demand on TriathlonLIVE.tv.