"This race isn't so much about the result, it's more about a hard training day as it is the last WTS Olympic Distance race prior to Rio and there is no time for me to slow down in training to prepare for it. I like racing in Stockholm as it is a challenging course with some technical parts and cobble stones to ride and run on. After the race it will be straight back up to altitude for a further four weeks with a quick stop in the middle for the Hamburg WTS race in July."
Hewitt goes into the weekend in fourth place on the World Series rankings, on the back of a string of typically consistent results this season, including her recent 6th place finish at the Leeds WTS event, with all four of her races this season seeing her finish inside the top six and twice being on the podium.
The elite men are not racing this weekend, with Rio bound Ryan Sissons and Tony Dodds continuing their training towards Rio at the team base at altitude in France.
Elsewhere New Zealand athletes will also be in action at the Holten Premium European Cup, a race that also doubles as a Tri NZ selection event for the U23 team to the 2016 World Championships. Sam Ward, Tayler Reid, Cooper Rand, Maddie Dillon and Kiri Atkin are all in that mix, while Deb Lynch and Thys Huber are also racing (but not U23 athletes).
Tri NZ HP Coach Tim Brazier is with the team in the Netherlands for a race that again New Zealand featured prominently in last year when Ryan Sissons won silver last year.
"Holten is a fantastic, long standing event on the ITU calendar, avidly supported by the locals it has a lot of atmosphere and vibe. The course is over a split transition, a small lake swim, then on to a bike course with a small cobbled climb and descent each lap, then a twisty run on trails and road around the quaint town; plus it can be very hot, with the age group race called off last year due to the extreme conditions.
"For the younger athletes, U23 selection is on the line and we are confident that the ones competing will put their hands up for selection with the performances they are looking to deliver. For Deb I know that she will be looking to keep improving on her performances as she steps towards being competitive in World Cups."
Racing is at 10:30am (women) and 1:00pm (men) on Saturday local time, with both events over the sprint distance.
And finally in a busy time for the Tri NZ HP Programme, a group from the National Talent Squad is travelling away to Japan for an Asian Cup race in Osaka on Sunday week. This continues the partnership with the Japanese Triathlon Association and the group includes National Junior Champions Liam Ward and Katherine Badham, plus Youth Olympians Dan Hoy and Lizzie Stannard.
Ward in particular is looking to press for inclusion in that U23 team at the World Championships in Cozumel in September, on a course where Hoy and Tayler Reid both medalled in 2014 and no less than three junior men wearing the silver fern finishing in the top ten last year.
They will train at Shiba National Training Centre in Tokyo for the week. They are joined by HP and wider training group athletes Nicole van der Kaay, Fynn Thompson and Ashleigh Williams. The goal for these athletes is to achieve a top ten finish (four did so last year at this event) with a podia the ultimate, as achieved by Hoy and Reid in 2014).
