TRIATHLON - Warriner in bid to be best in world

All it took was some serious alone time in the San Diego desert and suddenly Sam Warriner got her legendary enthusiasm back, just in time for a surprise bid to become the No1 women's triathlete in the world for the year.
Warriner will race the Huatulco BG Triathlon World Cup race in Mexico on Monday (NZ time), the last world cup race of the season, knowing that any finish better than seventh will win her the world No1 spot for the season.
It is a significant goal to aim for, as Warriner will become just the second New Zealand women's triathlete to achieve the top ranking - the last being Jenny Rose who ruled the rankings 14 years ago when she won the ITU championship title in 1994.
"I have thought about it [the No1 spot] because I have finished in the top three and, while it is always good to say `Oh, I'm No2 in the world or I'm No3 in the world', I have never had the chance to say `I'm No1'. It is just a ranking, but then again it is a ranking that would mean something to me and would be a great way to end the season," Warriner said.
"It is funny when I think about it, I remember getting so excited when I got my first-ever world ranking and I came in at 96 or something and it was such a big deal. Now I've got a chance of getting that No1 spot and I just feel so lucky. I feel like I want to celebrate that. I want to relax and enjoy the race, the fact that I'm racing for the No1 spot in the world is just a bonus," she said.
Her time in the San Diego desert comes thanks to her new coach Siri Lindley, who won the No1 spot on the ITU circuit for two years running in 2001 and 2002. Lindley has regular training camps for her stable of athletes at the remote outpost, and Warriner has found it a place to clear the clutter and refocus for the season-ending race.
The Beijing Olympics now seem like a distant memory, as does the pressure she felt leading up to the event in China and during the fallout afterwards. It helps, too, that the conditions in San Diego mirror what awaits Warriner when she arrives at the start line in Mexico.
"There's not much to do here except train. There's sand and roads to run and cycle on and that's about it," she said.
Two of the New Zealand Beijing Olympic team will race in Mexico, Warriner and Andrea Hewitt.
Warriner needs to finish seventh or higher to take the top spot from an absent Felicity Abram of Australia, who after a long season at the top has developed an illness and will not race.
The last Kiwi to win the season title was Olympian Hamish Carter in 1998. Warriner's team-mate, Hewitt, victoriously took the Kitzbuhel world cup title in 2007 and as a past under-23 world champion will surely be near the front.
Lisa Norden, who beat Warriner to second in the last world cup event in France, is expected to show great results in the race. A podium win can boost Norden to the prestigious third place ranking, beating out Aussie Emma Moffatt and Great Britain's Helen Tucker.
Kiwi Kris Gemmell will be determined to finish a disappointing year on a high and put behind him the issues of Beijing in the men's race in Mexico. Gemmell has not raced extensively this year and so does not feature highly in the year end rankings, but is an obvious contender.
It is the first time the coastal city of Huatulco has hosted the race. The course is mostly flat with an elevation of just 60m on a distance.