Triathlon: Weekend warriors meet elite

The key New Zealand athletes are taking part in the event which features a strong international field. Photo / Triathlon.org

It has been 13 years since Auckland played host to an international triathlon event.

It is a shame then that one of the main talking points heading into this weekend's Barfoot & Thompson ITU World Cup race has been the "terrible" inconvenience motorists will face because of closed roads around the central city.

Such grumbles, which are at odds with the reputation Aucklanders earned as being generous hosts during the Rugby World Cup, have overshadowed what will be an exciting international event.

This weekend's race will also serve as a dress rehearsal for next year's world championships - a top event on the triathlon calendar.

While next year all the top-tier athletes will descend on Auckland, this weekend's World Cup event will be missing some of the big names, such as the freakishly talented Brownlee brothers - Alistair and Jonathan - and Spain's Javier Gomez.

But the organisers are fortunate to have one of the stars of the women's circuit racing in Auckland, with New Zealand's Andrea Hewitt headlining the women's field.

Dave Beeche, chief executive of the organising committee, said with this weekend's World Cup event tacked on to the end of the season, it is a tricky time of year for the athletes and those who have already secured Olympic qualification have opted to stay home.

"We are right at the end of the season, so we were always expecting that a lot of the top-tier athletes would not be here," said Beeche. "But it is good to see all the key New Zealand athletes are taking part and we have a couple of strong international athletes to keep them honest."

Given it has been three years since the New Zealand athletes have had the opportunity to compete in an international event on home soil, the Kiwi team are highly motivated to dominate on the podium this weekend.

A full-strength New Zealand team will be racing on Sunday, with the exception of Kate McIlroy, who can probably lay claim to one of the more unusual injury complaints - a split toe keeping her out of the race on her home track.

But with world number two Hewitt, Nicky Samuels, a winner of the Mooloolaba round of the World Cup circuit, and junior world champion Mikayla Neilsen all fit and raring to go, the New Zealand team will fancy their chances of a strong showing in Auckland.

After a quiet year, the motivation will be extremely high among the 11-strong New Zealand men's team this weekend. Only two-time Olympic medallist Bevan Docherty has won a World Cup race this season, and not one has made the podium on an ITU triathlon series race since.

Docherty is expected to lead the charge here, alongside fellow veteran Kris Gemmell and up-and-comers Ryan Sissons, James Elvery and Clark Ellice.

A strong performance from the New Zealand men on Sunday will be crucial to qualifying three spots for the Olympics next year.

But Triathlon New Zealand has always emphasised the sport is not just about what is happening at the elite end. They are also keen to push the stories of the "weekend warriors", the everyday Kiwis who will be taking to the water and roads of downtown Auckland this weekend in the age-group divisions to achieve their own goals.