ITU Yokohama Preview

It might still technically be 2011, but the 2012 Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series kicks off in Yokohama this weekend.

The Yokohama round was originally scheduled for May, but postponed after the devastating earthquake that hit the region. But thanks to the work of the ITU, local organising committee and Japan Triathlon Union (JTU), the event was rescheduled and points will now count towards the 2012 Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series rankings. Therefore, expect plenty of athletes who are keen to make a fresh start after Beijing. Yokohama was part of the first Dextro Energy Triathlon Series in 2009, with Jan Frodeno and Lisa Norden claiming their debut series wins there. The course is based around Yokohama’s beautiful harbour, with a two-lap 1.5km swim, an eight-lap 40km bike course and a four-lap 10km run.

About the race:

Yokohama is Japan’s harbour city, and is the country’s second largest behind the capital Tokyo. The course starts with a swim in the sea near Osambashi pier, with the bike and run legs starting and finishing in Yamashita park and in and around Yokohama’s waterfront.

SCHEDULE:

Elite Women – Monday 19 September – 8:05am (UTC/GMT +1)

Elite Men – Monday 19 September – 11:05am (UTC/GMT +1)

WEBSITES:

https://www.triathlon.org

https://yokohama.triathlon.org

START LISTS:

Click here for women’s start list

Click here for men’s start list

The Canadians

31 Kathy Tremblay

51 Manon Letourneau

14 Simon Whitfield

18 Kyle Jones

24 Brent McMahon

48 Andrew Russell

LIVE COVERAGE:

Live video coverage from London will be available on race day at triathlonlive.tv

Or follow @triathlonlive on Twitter for text updates on race day.

TOTAL PRIZE MONEY:

$150,000 USD (equal for men & women)

COURSE PROFILE:

Swim – Two-lap, 1.5km swim in the sea near Osambashi pier

Bike – 8-lap, 40km bike – After transitioning to the bike in Yamashita Park, athletes will begin the 8-lap bike course.  Each lap is flat with many technical turns. Run – Four-lap, 10km run – Athletes will transition in Yamashita Park and run 4 laps that circles the park and the Kanagawa Prefectural Government building. The finish line is back in Yamashita Park.

STORIES TO WATCH FOR

Hewitt vs Jenkins rematch – The newly crowned World Champion, Helen Jenkins, and the Grand Final winner, Andrea Hewitt, will enter Yokohama wearing number 1 and 2 respectively.  The overall gold and silver medallists locked horns in an epic run battle in Beijing. The pair ran together almost the entire time until Hewitt surged away in the final few hundred metres to secure the biggest victory of her career.  Jenkins and Hewitt will undoubtedly be the ones to beat in Yokohama and both will be riding a wave of confidence after finishing atop the 2011 series rankings. Click here for review of the Beijing women’s race

The Return of Vanessa Fernandes – Yokohama will be the site of a highly anticipated comeback of an ITU legend – Vanessa Fernandes.  The Portuguese superstar announced earlier this year she was taking an indefinite break from triathlon, after sparkling career that included a record 20 World Cup titles, Olympic silver and the 2007 World Championship.  But now one of the great athletes in ITU history is on the comeback trail, which begins in Yokohama on Monday.  A fit, motivated and hungry Fernandes will almost certainly shake up the top of women’s triathlon. Click here for more on Vanessa Fernandes

Wide Open Men’s Field – With the absence of the world championship medallists – Alistair Brownlee, Jonathan Brownlee, and Javier Gomez, the elite men’s field is wide open and ripe for a first-time winner.  Among the major contenders are Grand Final silver medallist Sven Riederer, Russians Alexander Bryukhankov and Dmitry Polyansky, Frenchman Laurent Vidal, double Olympic medallists Simon Whitfield (CAN) and Bevan Docherty (NZL), and Aussies Brendan Sexton and Brad Kahlefeldt.  Of those men, only Docherty and Kahlefeldt have ever tasted victory on the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series – Docherty in Sydney 2010 and Tongyeong 2009, and Kahlefeldt in Hamburg this year. Click here for full men’s start list

PAST YOKOHAMA RESULTS

2009 Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series Yokohama

WOMEN MEN

1. Lisa Norden (SWE) 1:55:55                            1. Jan Frodeno (GER) 1:44:31

2. Andrea Hewitt (NZL) 1:56:00                          2. Kris Gemmell (NZL) 1:44:49

3. Helen Jenkins (GBR) 1:56:03                         3. Javier Gomez (ESP) 1:44:51