Hometown race for Amelie Kretz at WTS Montreal

This weekend in Montreal, QC, hometown triathlete Amelie Kretz gets her first opportunity to race in front of her friends and family on the international stage. Competing at the highest level of triathlon, the World Triathlon Series, Kretz will be racing through the streets of Old Montreal on Saturday in the elite women’s race. She will be joined by her teammate Joanna Brown, the 2017 National Champion. The two will go up against world leader Katie Zaferes (USA), WTS Edmonton winner Vicky Holland (GBR) and winner of WTS Abu Dhabi WTS Rachel Klamer (NED).

The 2018 triathlon season for Kretz started off strong, with an eighth and ninth place finishing at the Mooloolaba and New Plymouth World Cups. “I had a strong start to the year this year. Over the offseason, I made it a goal to get some consistency in my results – I had that going early in the season,” says Kretz. In Yokohama, she had a strong race (23rd overall), her first WTS event of the season.

Following Yokohama, she’s had a tough middle portion of the season. “It’s been a tough lately. I’ve had a number of days/weeks of getting sick. These stints of illness have probably had an effect on my training, but certainly my racing,” says Kretz. In the last three WTS events, Nottingham (mixed relay), Leeds, Hamburg and Edmonton, Kretz hasn’t been herself.

On Saturday, she hopes that the fitness she has gained between Edmonton and Montreal will lift her to a big performance at home. “I’m really looking forward to this weekend. It’s my first-time racing on the international stage in Montreal and I can’t wait to show Montreal, Quebec and Canada what triathlon is all about. Plus, my family and friends will be able to watch me race,” says Kretz.

Watch Kretz and Brown Saturday at 1:30 PM ET.

A full schedule of the weekend events can be found here.