2014 Cozumel ITU Triathlon World Cup gets underway this weekend

Only three ITU World Cup races remain in the 2014 season, this weekend’s sprint race in Cozumel, Mexico features a star-studded line-up including Olympic gold and bronze medallists Nicola Spirig (SUI) and Erin Densham (AUS) on the women’s side, while breakout star Joao Pereira(POR) headline’s the men’s event. Canadians Paula Findlay, Amelie Kretz, Dominca Jamnicky and Alexandra Coates will have the chance to test their late season fitness under hot and humid conditions.

American Katie Hursey leads the women’s startlist but defending champ Nicola Spirig is an incredibly versatile athlete and will be hard to beat. She has been working her aerobic engine running 2:37:12 at the European Marathon Championships this past summer. While that high volume training may not lend itself to this weekend’s fast paced racing, she certainly know how to switch gears.

On the men’s side, Joao Pereira had an impressive season with two podium World Triathlon Series podiums that saw him finish fifth overall in the rankings this year. Most powerful over a sprint distance, Pereira’s run will be hard to beat. The Canadian men racing include: Alexander Hinton, Tyler Mislawchuk and Michael Lori.

The women will open the day at 9:00am local time, while the men finish off the racing at 11:00am. Tune in for live timing at triathlon.org/live and follow twitter at @triathlonlive for updates.