NZ triathletes ready in Lausanne

The Triathlon World Championships course in Lausanne in Switzerland may look alluring but some of the athletes are not so sure once they get out there.

The bike leg is the challenge, with two steep hills predicted to favour the stamina of the kiwis.

High Performance Coach Mark Watson says given the hilly nature of the course it can actually be worse drafting towards the rear of the peloton.

Watson says some people towards the back are still braking while the riders at the front are up to full speed.

He says that requires an incredible amount of work to get back up to the front riders.

In the men's, Bevan Docherty, Hamish Carter, Kris Gemmell and even Terenzo Bozzone are understood to be contenders.

Docherty says the course, in particular the bike leg, has quite a gradient meaning it will be tough for the current Australian world number one.

He says Brad Kahlefeldt has proven himself time and again this year, but only on flat courses, and nothing nearly as demanding as the Lausanne course.

Meanwhile, New Zealand has Sam Warriner, Andrea Hewitt and Debbie Tanner as the main hopes in the women's.

Warriner, with a Commonwealth Games silver, a World Cup win and five out of six podium finishes this season is just hoping to beat her previous best.

She says her highest position in a world was 13th, and if she can get higher than that she will be pleased.

Debbie Tanner says the Swiss locality is a beautiful backdrop, but she faces a hard cycling course, with two big climbs to attack each lap.

She says by the time they get on the run it will have taken a lot out of people's legs.

Debbie Tanner is coming off a World Cup win in Japan this year and is also looking to avenge her fourth place at the Commonwealth Games.

The elite women's race starts at 8:45 tonight, while the men's gets underway at 11 o'clock tonight (both NZT).

New Zealand teenager Rebecca Spence has finished 12th in the women's junior race.

- NEWSTALK ZB