TRIATHLON - Warriner saving her powder for Madrid

After a not-so-flash start to the ITU World Championship Series in South Korea last month, Northland's Sam Warriner will line up for the second leg at Madrid this weekend, ready to test her limits.
Leading up to South Korea, Warriner was stationed in San Diego doing the hard yards under the guidance of two-time world champion and triathlon coach Siri Lindley from the United States, reaping the benefits of specific tri-training.
Despite an ideal preparation for the first event of seven at Tongyeong (South Korea), the Olympian finished eighth after a hard 40km bike section where she clipped a fellow competitor's wheel and crashed, slowing her down considerably.
"I made a lot of tactical errors in South Korea - it's a fine line between confidence and arrogance, and I think perhaps I overstepped it," she said.
"I did far too much on the bike which eventually slowed my legs on the run. Eighth was a good start to the series but I don't think it was a true reflection of my current fitness."
Following South Korea, Warriner returned to Borrego Springs in San Diego for four weeks of block training, and the competitor in her is rearing to go.
"I'm very motivated to get an honest effort out this coming Sunday. Trust me, I'll be giving it 100 per cent but I won't be making the same mistakes in South Korea - I'm amped."
A major mistake Warriner made at Tongyeong was taking the lead on the bike leg in a draft-legal race, riding into a strong headwind - which meant the Northlander did most of the work for the rest of the field, wasting too much energy she could have conserved for the 10km run.
"If all goes to plan, you won't see me on the bike leg, I'll be tucked in behind the other girls like they did to me in South Korea," she said.
"I'm saving all my powder for the run. I'll be going after it 100 per cent in on the run - I want to see just how fast I can go."
Olympic gold medallist and Number1 in South Korea Emma Snowsill, along with fellow Australian Emma Moffat who was second last month, have decided to sit this race out, concentrating instead on the third leg in Washington DC on June 20.
Also missing is Portuguese world champion Vanessa Fernandez, who was expecting to return to race her first championship race but will miss this leg out to further rehabilitate her early-season collarbone injury.
These exclusions open up the field in Spain and make room for the top Kiwi girls, including Warriner, Nicky Samuels and Andrea Hewitt, to produce some good results despite a strong European challenge on home soil.
It has not deterred Warriner, however, who said every race had the equivalent of a top-class Olympic field competing.
"It's nothing new, just the top 60 women in the world - swimming, biking, running to get their names written in the history books," she said. "That's why we do it, we all want to be the best."
Warriner will line up at Madrid on Sunday at 9.30pm NZT for the second leg of the ITU World Championship Series, established this year to bring the top triathletes around the globe together for seven races at Tongyeong, Madrid, Washington DC, Kitzbuhl (Austria), Hamburg, London - on the 2012 Olympic course - and Yokohama before ending with a grand final on September 9 at the Gold Coast.
After Madrid, Warriner will return to Simi Valley in Los Angeles until September and will be joined by fiance Stephen Bradley where preparation will be easier with him by her side, she says.
Meanwhile, men's series leader Bevan Docherty is missing Madrid and will concentrate on Washington DC - which leaves Australia's Brad Kahlefeldt heading the male field following a strong second-place performance in South Korea.
Spanish triathlete Javier Gomez will be hard tro beat on home soil while Kris Gemmell, fourth in South Korea will be New Zealand's biggest hope at this event.
The men get under way at 12.15am NZT, on Monday morning.