One week after the World Cup circuit lit up San Pedro de la Paz, Chile hosts its second World Cup in as many weekends, and this time the action moves north to Iquique. Set between the Pacific Ocean and the Atacama Desert, the city welcomes the world's best triathletes for the first time on Sunday 8 November, and the women's start list carries over the entire top five from last weekend. Then there is the name that arrived late: Taylor Knibb (USA).
After last Sunday's standard distance race, Iquique switches to the sprint format. A beach start sends the field into the Pacific for a 750m swim, followed by a flat, non-technical 20km bike and a flat 5km run. With few corners to hide in and a short run to settle things, expect a fast, aggressive race from the gun. Find out who rises to the occasion on Sunday 8 November, with the women's race live on TriathlonLive at 10:00 local time (14:00 CET).
Pintanel wears number one again
Marta Pintanel Raymundo (ESP) arrives in Iquique with the weight of a dream finally realised. Twelve months after finishing fourth in San Pedro de la Paz, she returned last Sunday as the top seed and won her first World Cup gold, producing the only sub-40-minute 10km of the day (39:29) to take victory by 22 seconds.
The question now is how quickly she can switch from 10km to 5km run. Her most recent sprint outing ended in sixth at the Rome World Cup in October, so the speed is there. She will not lack company from her own team either: Ana Carballo Gómez (ESP) completed a Spanish one-two in San Pedro for her first individual World Cup podium, and Noelia Juan (ESP), bronze medallist at the Huatulco World Cup in June, also lines up.
Knibb changes the picture
Knibb's late entry turns a strong field into a genuinely intriguing one. The two-time Olympic medallist (Paris 2024 and Tokyo 2020 Mixed Relay silver) has dipped in and out of the short course circuit this season with telling effect: second at the Tiszaujvaros World Cup in June, gold at the Edmonton World Cup in July and seventh at WTCS London a week later, all on top of opening her year with victory at the T100 Gold Coast in March. And even more recently, she was crowned the Ironman World Champion in Kona just a few weeks ago.
Iquique will be her first short course race since London, but a flat, non-technical bike course plays straight into the hands of one of the strongest cyclists in the sport. If Knibb finds herself in the front group out of the water, the rest of the field will need to be ready to work.
The breakaway threats
Márta Kropkó (HUN) led the swim from the gun in San Pedro and still finished fifth despite stomach problems the night before. Second at the Beijing and Edmonton World Cups this season, the Hungarian will want to put that right, and a short sea swim gives her every chance to shape the race early.
Carlotta Missaglia (ITA) posted the fastest bike split in San Pedro and was first out of T2 before finishing fourth, while Katie Rodda (GBR), first onto the bike last weekend, and Asian Games individual bronze medallist Manami Hayashi (JPN) are capable of forcing the pace at the front.
The business end
If the field arrives at T2 together, the list of fast finishers is long. Eva Daniels (LUX) took bronze in San Pedro for her first World Cup podium, two weeks after placing sixth in Beijing, and is clearly on the rise.
Maria Carolina Velasquez Soto (COL), sixth last weekend, won South American Games gold over the sprint distance in September, while Ana Maria Valentina Torres Gomez (MEX) won the Central American and Caribbean Games title in August and placed fifth at the Edmonton World Cup. Carina Reicht (AUT), a World Cup winner whose season has been interrupted at times by injury, ran 16:02 for 5km at the Rome World Cup and will be dangerous if she is near the front.
Then come the Americans. Annie Fuller (USA) arrived in San Pedro on a three-race Continental Cup winning streak and finished tenth on her World Cup debut after running 40:46 from the chase group; at half the distance she could go even better. Teammates Naomi Ruff (USA), fourth at the World U23 Championships in Pontevedra, and Faith Duncan (USA), winner of the Americas Cups in Magog and Lima this year, add depth to a strong US team.
Elsewhere, 20-year-old Diana Dunajska (SVK) and Rosa Elena Martinez Melchior (VEN) were eighth and ninth in San Pedro, Tjasa Vrtacic (SLO) has placed fourth and fifth at the Asuncion and Rio World Cups this season, and four-time Olympian Elizabeth Bravo (ECU) climbed to 15th last weekend despite serving a penalty on the run.
Home support
Chile will cheer on Barbara Riveros (CHI), a four-time Olympian from Beijing 2008 to Tokyo 2020, and Daniela Moya Chamorro (CHI), who both line up on home soil. After a first visit to the World Cup circuit, Iquique will be hoping its home athletes give the crowd plenty to shout about.
