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Olympic medalist Georgia Taylor-Brown will take on reigning World Champion Beth Potter next month in her first race back from injury.
The 2020 World Champion, who suffered a calf muscle tear in the summer, will be racing at the first major event of the year at the first edition of the World Triathlon Cup Napier.
Alongside GTB and Potter are a strong field of Olympic hopefuls looking to kick their season off next month, including Americans Gina Sereno and Erika Ackerlund.
Brits lead the charge in Napier
Despite a whole host of great athletes, all eyes will be on Potter and Taylor-Brown on February 24 as the pair prepare for the last leg of the Olympic campaign.
[Photo Credit – World Triathlon]
For Potter, who has already qualified for Paris, the race will be a great chance to test herself after a winter of work, whilst for GTB, the event will serve as a great starting point as she aims to qualify for a second Olympic team.
When the pair went head-to-head last season, Taylor-Brown came out on top at WTCS Cagliari whilst Potter got the wins in Abu Dhabi and Montreal. In Napier, the Scot will serve as the gold standard for her English compatriot to compare her current form to.
Alongside the pair, fellow Brits Olivia Mathias and Sophie Alden will make the trip to New Zealand, as a strong British contingent on both the men and women’s side head to the North Island.
Thorpe leads home hopes
In the absence of top ranked New Zealander Nicole Van Der Kaay, World #40 Ainsley Thorpe will lead the hopes of the home team in Napier along with Brea Roderick.
From Australia, Nicole Van Coevorden will join the Kiwi pair as podium threats, as the highest ranked Oceania athlete on the start line. Her fellow countrywoman, Sophie Linn, will also hope to feature.
World Triathlon Cup medalist Sereno will aim to start this season as she finished last year’s after taking second at the World Triathlon Cup Vina del Mar.
[Photo credit: World Triathlon / Wagner Araujo]
Ackerlund, who finished 2023 with a string of World Triathlon Cup Top 10 finishes, is another athlete worth watching out for and will be chasing her first podium since 2019.
Written by
Tomos Land
Tomos Land is a triathlon & running journalist whose expertise lies in the professional world of short course & long distance triathlon, though he also boasts an extensive knowledge of ultra-running.
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