The ITU World Cup season is set to continue abroad with the 2020 Arzachena ITU Triathlon World Cup on Saturday, while Australia’s Elite, Under 23 and Junior triathletes will test their speed and technical skills at this weekend’s Gold Coast Super Sprint race.

Sydney’s Natalie Van Coevorden will pull on the green and gold again this weekend, following the World Triathlon World Cup circuit to Arzachena, Italy. 

With a solid period of racing already under her belt, including a 13th place finish at the 2020 Hamburg Wasser World Triathlon and one of her best swims to date at the 2020 Karlovy Vary ITU Triathlon World Cup, Van Coevorden is showing promising signs of what she hopes is to come.

“With no racing for a long period of time, I went into races with no pressure on myself and I proved that the consistency over the winter has put me in a good place,” Van Coevorden told Triathlon Australia.

“We have just kept everything at a steady level this year which I believe could help me this weekend with it being a strength-based course. It has a long steep climb on the bike and a hilly run so I am looking forward to the hard challenge.”

“Joining a new squad and coach this year has also helped me gain confidence in areas that I was lacking, and I hope this carries on leading into the Olympics.”

2019 World Triathlon Champion Katie Zaferes (USA), 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Flora Duffy (BER), and World Triathlon Series regulars Rachel Klamer (NED) and Claire Michel (BEL) will all headline this weekend’s sprint distance affair alongside Van Coevorden.

Back on home soil, Junior, Under 23 and Elite athletes will round out a thrilling month of professional racing across Queensland, as they go head-to-head at the Gold Coast Super Sprint at Runaway Bay over the weekend. 

Across the short and sharp super sprint distances of 400m/8km/1500m and 150m/4km/800m, athletes will take on the challenging super sprint format, featuring time trials and eliminator style finals over two days of racing.

Among the challengers for line honours at Runaway Bay will be West Australia’s Jaz Hedgeland, eyeing off her fourth consecutive podium finish.  
 
Hedgeland is shaping up to be a real threat in the Elite Women’s field, with the 25-year old already having showcased her versatility across a range of distances, recording podium finishes at sprint, standard and super sprint distances in the past month alone.

Hedgeland will face tough competition, with the Elite Women’s field stacked with experienced athletes and up and coming junior talent.  

Gillian Backhouse and Kira Hedgeland will be looking to back up from their strong performances at last month’s Queensland Tri Series, with this weekend’s Super Sprint. While Danielle De Francesco and Charlotte Derbyshire will also be ones to watch across the shorter format racing, with the pair both showcasing their racing speed and smarts at the Mixed Relay Invitational late last month.

Charlotte McShane, Kelly-Ann Perkins and Emily Jamgotchian will also take to the starting line across the weekend. 

Joining their elite and under 23 counterparts on the starting line this weekend will be a field of rising junior stars, including Queensland’s Georgie Fredericks, Eva Parish and Ella Lane, who all showcased their speed and agility at the Mixed Relay Invitational. 

In the Elite Men’s field, Matt Hauser will be searching for his second consecutive victory at Runaway Bay after a successful Mixed Relay Invitational appearance only a fortnight ago where he took home a convincing win with teammate Ashleigh Gentle. 

He’ll face a challenging Elite Men’s field, including an in-form Luke Willian, and Gold Coast squad mates Brandon Copeland, Lorcan Redmond, Kye Wylde and Matt Roberts; all worthy contenders of line honours come Sunday. 

They’ll be joined by a strong cohort of under 23 and junior athletes, including Harry King, Brad Course and Jack Chrome who all gave gutsy performances at last month’s Mixed Relay Invitational.

Catch all the action from the 2020 Arzachena ITU World Chip live on triathlonlive.tv. While Triathlon Australia will provide updates from across the weekend at the 2020 Gold Coast Super Sprint on their Instagram channel, @triaustralia. 

2020 Arzachena ITU World Cup
Start List

Elite Women 
Natalie Van Coevorden

2020 Gold Coast Super Sprint
Start List

Photo Credit: Freeway Studios