Triathlon: Docherty and Carter ready to lock horns once more

Bevan Docherty

For the first time since that gold and silver-lined day in Athens, Hamish Carter and Bevan Docherty will start together on the start line of a World Cup triathlon today.

While Docherty raced to a blow-out-the-cobwebs 23rd at Honolulu in the opening round of the ITU, the Mooloolaba event will be Carter's first ITU race of the season.

"Deep down I'd like to beat Hamish but we don't have too much to prove and we know we're both going to be rusty after a long lay-off following the Olympics," world champion Docherty said from the Sunshine Coast.

"The real rematch will come at this year's world championships [at Gamagori, Japan, in September] and next year's Commonwealth Games when we're both going to be fit and on top of our game."

After Honolulu, Docherty believed he was at about 80 per cent of his potential. Now he's not even sure if he's that high. He's having a flat patch and can't quite put his finger on why.

"I've just been struggling and I don't know why. Whether it's the cold weather or I'm going through a hard patch, I don't know," he said. "I've had a few days that have been easy-ish and am starting to freshen up but I'm still going into the race a little bit uncertain.

"There's six more months until the world champs so I've got plenty of time to get on top of my game but there's still a few races before then I'd like to do half decent in.

"It is frustrating when you see guys that you usually beat fairly easily powering ahead."

Docherty will train in Australia for a month, flying to Japan for the Ishigaki round of the ITU season, before heading to Madrid for another race, then heading to North America to train and race.

There is urgency required at this early part of the season, said Triathlon New Zealand high performance director Stephen Farrell.

"The Olympic campaign starts very early," he said, explaining that there was a four-year lag on the ITU points list with a heavier weighting on the most recent year.

Taranaki-based Shane Reed currently finds himself on the top of that list (the top 50 qualify for the world champs with a maximum of six from any one country), with Docherty on sixth, Kris Gemmell at 24th and Carter 26th.

In the ITU World Cup standings for 2005, Reed is seventh-equal and Terrenzo Bozzone ninth.

As for the Mooloolaba course, Carter says it should suit the New Zealanders' strengths

"I love the course. It is one of the best races on the ITU circuit, especially the beach start and challenging hills on the bike and run course," Carter said. "It is a course that has the ingredients for a real triathlon race. "

Although Reed and fellow up-and-comers Bozzone and Gemmell have chosen to bypass the event, New Zealand still has a very healthy representation.

There are six New Zealand men competing today, including Clark Ellice, Luke Hoetjes, Ben Pulham and Sam Mallard along with Docherty and Carter.

The women's race will feature the return of Sydney Olympian Evelyn Williamson, who was forced to miss most of last season through injury, and Athens Olympian Sam Warriner.


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