Ben Pattle and James Elvery will lead the New Zealand charge at the Madrid round of the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series this weekend.
Most of the Kiwi stars are choosing to sit out the Madrid round as they keep their powder dry for the remainder of the Series, with the next World Champs Series event not scheduled until mid July in Hamburg.
Aucklander Elvery though is focused on a steady performance after a difficult start to the year.
"I'm looking to put a solid race together after a difficult start to the year. After struggling through the NZ summer with injuries and then crashing out in the first World Champs Series race in Sydney I just need to play everything safe in Madrid and get some ranking points so I can get starts at the races I am targeting later in the year.
"I'm in pretty good shape and training has been going well over the last 2 weeks here at my base in Germany. I'm excited to race again and look forward to the tough course and very strong field on Sunday."
Elvery goes into Sunday's race without any ranking points due to his non finish in Sydney while Pattle is ranked 37th after a strong 23rd place finish in Sydney and 37th in Seoul. Pattle was one of the triathletes to miss out on the recent naming of the High Performance Squads and will be out to prove a point to the national coaches and selectors that he is worthy of continued consideration for the Potential Squad looking ahead to the 2016 Olympic Games.
The big story in the men's contest is the potential showdown between reigning ITU World Champion Alistair Brownlee of Great Britain and 2008 ITU World Champ Javier Gomez of Spain. It will be Brownlee's first race of 2010, after sitting out the first two races of the Series due to a femoral stress fracture. A healthy Brownlee will look to pick up on where he left off in 2009—a year in which he won five Series events, including the Grand Final.
The 22-year-old Brit won handily on this course last year, finishing 48 seconds ahead of the runner-up. However Head Coach Joel Filliol is more reserved about his hope for the young star; "Alistair's recovery and training have been based around a return to competition in Madrid and we're pleased that this has gone according to plan. He lacks race fitness, and has had a gap in his training, but we're excited about his return to competition."
If Brownlee hopes to repeat in the Spanish capital he'll have to overcome a crowd that will be heavily slanted toward local-favourite Javier Gomez, who has a solid record in Madrid with four consecutive podiums. The Spaniard sat out the Series opener in Sydney due to a hip injury before finishing 12th at round two in Seoul on very little run training. Even before racing in Seoul Gomez made his intentions for this year clear: he wants to win on his home turf.
Another to keep an eye on is Aussie Courtney Atkinson, who finished second to Germany's Jan Frodeno in a blistering sprint finish in Seoul. Atkinson appears to enjoy the Madrid course as the Aussie finished as the runner-up to Brownlee here in 2009. He'll be joined by teammate Brad Kahlefeldt, who currently sits fourth in the world rankings.
The women's race is also notable for the absence of the New Zealanders as they prepare to race in the Des Moines World Cup next week and return to the World Champs Series in Hamburg.
Despite that, it is again a class field led by current world number one Barbara Riveros Diaz from Chile. After kicking off the season with a win in Sydney and runner-up showing in Seoul, the 4-foot 11-inch Chilean has a 170-point advantage over reigning world champ Emma Moffatt in the world rankings with Kiwi Andrea Hewitt third. Moffatt and Hewitt will sit out this weekend's race in preparation for the rich Des Moines World Cup, which gives Riveros Diaz an opportunity to pad her lead in Madrid.
Making her 2010 world championship debut is Portuguese superstar Vanessa Fernandes. The 24-year old has more world cup wins than any athlete in history of ITU, but after being plagued by injury for most of last season, questions remain about how fit Fernandes will be at the start line in Madrid.
Others to keep an eye on include Switzerland's Daniela Ryf, who pulled off the sprint win in Seoul. Ryf is known for her biking prowess and the tough bike course in Madrid should suit the rising Swiss star well. Sweden's Lisa Norden, who has been solid in the first two races of this season, is a late withdrawal from the event.
Those are just a few of the names to watch out for during this weekend's races in Madrid.
Be sure to tune into Sky Television (Sky Sport 3) or www.triathlon.org/tv to follow the action as it happens. The women's race will kick off at 11:15pm NZT Saturday June 5th with the men to follow 11pm NZT on Sunday June 6th.
