Triathlon: Athens 'our kind of course' say Kiwi triathletes

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Hamish Carter and Bevan Docherty insist the Olympic triathlon course in Athens is "our kind of course".

Speaking from their hotel in Athens after the four-strong New Zealand contingent had checked out the course yesterday, Carter said: "It looks great. It is by the seaside and is really, really tough.

"It is a brutal course - a lot tougher than I had expected. You will need to train specifically for it. The hill on the bike course will slow the race down for sure."

Carter joined Docherty, Nathan Richmond, Sam Warriner (New Zealand's sole hope in the women's race) and Triathlon New Zealand high-performance manager Mark Elliott in checking out the course.

"It's a bit of an eye-opener," Docherty said.

Still on a high following his world championship victory in Madeira last weekend, Docherty spoke of "the really nasty hill" on the cycle leg.

"If the field stays together on the cycle leg, there will be a lot of guys hurting on the run. The descent is not too technical but it is the kind of climb that should split the field."

The 1500m swim course will be over two laps followed by the six-lap, 40km cycle leg.

The race will finish with a testing 10km run over three laps.

"The bottom part of the cycle course along the coast is quite exposed," Docherty said.

"The other thing in our favour here will be the small field. There were 90 in Madeira, but only 50 will compete at the Olympics. That should mean the swim will be less of a fight."

Carter is returning to New Zealand to continue his build-up, but Docherty has headed to Canada, where, after a few days off, he will resume his preparation.