A tough and demanding course awaits the field and has the New Zealanders licking their lips in anticipation of an ‘honest’ race at this weekend’s round of the ITU Dextro Energy World Champs Series in Madrid.
Kris Gemmell, Ryan Sissons, Tony Dodds, James Elvery and Clark Ellice will line up wearing the silver fern, each with the goal of gaining vital personal ranking points but also with a view to promoting New Zealand up the Olympic ranking order, with the top 8 nations set to gain 3 positions at the London 2012 Games.
Best placed of the Kiwis currently is young Aucklander Ryan Sissons at 11th. The 22 year old has been in France preparing.
"I am once again looking forward to a strong showing in Madrid this weekend. I have been in France for the past three weeks preparing for the race and things seem to be nicely on track. I know it is going to be a hard race with a difficult bike course and potentially hot conditions which should suit me. I'm hoping to once again have a strong presence in the race, looking at building from the confidence boost I got in Sydney. I know training has been going really well, so let's hope I can put it all together on race day."
Tony Dodds (Wanaka) is on the return from injury that forced him to miss the season opener in Sydney, he too is looking forward to the potentially tough conditions.
"This is my first World Champs Series this year after missing Sydney due to injury, so I'm really looking forward to it. It's a hard course and won't be for the faint hearted, if you're feeling a little bit off your game it will spit you right out, but this course suits my style of racing.
"I have a few goals for my racing this season, including being relaxed but focused when it comes to the start line because that's when I race at my best. So the key is to enjoy it all - the racing, the media, the hype, the pressure, I love it all."
James Elvery (Auckland) is also in France training and like many athletes on the circuit has the calculator out to make sure he is on the start line in the crucial London Olympic qualifying race in August.
"I've enjoyed 3-4 weeks here in Sete at the Tri NZ camp. We've had a great group that has gelled together well and everyone here is looking pretty primed for good things his weekend. I'm looking forward to getting back to Madrid, I really enjoy the testing course with the flat 2 lap lake swim and the solid hill every lap on the bike.
"I'm think I'm starting to come into some good shape with some solid training all going to plan the last weeks. I need a couple more good results to secure my start in the London WCS later in the year, and have Madrid this week then a points race in Italy next week to get them."
New Plymouth's Clark Ellice has been focused on the swim, something that will be vital in Madrid if athletes are to avoid missing the lead bike group.
"The swim has been a real focus the first few months here in France, I've been swimming with Mulhouse Olympic Nation (MON) and it has been superb swimming on a daily basis with European 1500m and 800m champ Sebestian Roult. So it has been a great five weeks getting smacked around in the pool and I hope this transfers well in the soupy lake of Madrid for the weekend. Make the pack and then make it a race will be the catch cry on Saturday."
Kris Gemmell (Palmerston North) makes up the Kiwi contingent on Saturday night with the 31 year old needing a strong showing to improve on his current ranking of 40 in the world. His recent form suggests he is ready to do just that, with a string of strong results racing in America where has been training before heading to Europe.
