Triathlon: French rugby club magnifique in support

By EUGENE BINGHAM

A French rugby club has given New Zealand triathletes their best chance of Olympic success.

World champion Bevan Docherty, veteran Hamish Carter and rookie Nathan Richmond, and women's entrant Sam Warriner, have been staying in the clubrooms of the town of Sauvagnon in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains to prepare for the Games.

They will fly to Athens tomorrow night, ready for their races next week. The women's is on Wednesday night (NZT) and the men's the next night.

High-performance manager Mark Elliott said the rugby clubrooms and the surrounds had been a perfect atmosphere for the past few weeks.

There have even been two mayoral receptions, one in Sauvagnon and one in the nearby community of Serres-Castet where the team have done some of their training.

"Usually the French are a little bit standoff-ish but once you make an effort and try to speak a little bit of French, they've warmed to us," Elliott said. "They've thought it's pretty good having Olympians around."

Docherty, Richmond, Warriner and Elliott made a quick reconnaissance mission to Athens for the opening ceremony and to go through the accreditation formalities.

"Hamish has experienced the Olympics before [in Sydney] but for the others it was good to go over," said Elliott.

While in Athens, the triathletes took the chance to ride the 40km bike course. Docherty was fitted with a GPS satellite positioning monitor to track the course's profile - another vital piece of information for the team as they consider how best to attack their races.

In the men's race, the New Zealanders go in as one of the strongest teams. Docherty's world championship win in Madeira this year has made him a focus of attention, a factor which Elliott says is not affecting him.

"If you know Bevan, you know he's the kind of guy who doesn't put extra pressure on himself."

Carter, who was one of the favourites ahead of the first Olympic triathlon four years ago, was relaxed this time around, Elliott said.

"Hamish is well aware of what the Olympics are all about. I don't think really anyone was quite aware of the enormity of the Olympics in our sport last time. This time around everyone has prepared differently."

For the New Zealanders, part of the different approach has been staying at the rugby club and training away from distractions.

"It's been great - there's a pool down the road and the Pyrenees are half an hour away.

"I've been involved in eight build-ups like world championships and this has gone the smoothest. We have not had any breaks from training and the little niggles that tend to happen have not occurred."