Madrid ITU World Series Triathlon Australian Team Preview

The Australian team have been putting in some great performances this season and the future looks bright as we start the road to Rio 2016.

Missing again this weekend will be Brendan Sexton who is about to head off from Australia to join his team mates in Spain. Sexton has been recovering from an injury and will be working towards his goal race in London later this year.

Current World U23 Champion Aaron Royle will be looking to have a good hit out after puncturing in the San Diego round. He was in some serious form and was looking to have a top result. After fixing the puncture he eventually finished 35th. Royle went on to win the Fearless Pro Super Sprint triathlon the following weekend in San Diego beating Laurent Vidal and Russian Ivan Vasiliev in the process.

Ryan Bailie has had a great start to the season with two top ten finishes so far with a 10th at Yokohama and a 8th at Auckland. Both races saw Bailie run some very fast times with a 31:14 at Auckland and a 30:51 at Yokohama.The bike course at Madrid will suit Bailie and should set him up for a good finish.

This will be Charlotte McShane’s first time racing in Madrid and she is looking forward to it. “It looks like it is quite a challenging course, but we’ve been preparing well for it in Vitoria so I definitely feel like I’m ready. I’d love to improve on my races in Auckland and Yokohama, hopefully it all goes to plan on Saturday and I can do that!” Charlotte has had two top ten finishes this year at Auckland and Yokohama. At Yokohama McShane came out in the second swim pack and will be looking to make the jump back to the first pack this weekend.

After a crash in Yokohama Natalie Van Coevorden was determined after her forced recovery for her ribs to be back in action before Madrid. “With a mixed lead up, who knows what Madrid will bring but I am excited to prove to myself I can be up there with the best. One of my favourite courses, a bit of a reminder of Auckland, it is hot and hilly and you are rewarded for the hard work you do. I cant wait to be out there on Saturday racing on our second home soil.” Natalie finished 21st in Yokohama after crashing. This was a disappointment for her after finishing 10th in Auckland.

Possibly the most excited member of the Australian contingent is Grace Musgrove who will be lining up for her first ITU World Series Race. We first met Grace in Wollongong at the triathlon a couple of years ago. She was a shy ‘newbie’ who smoked the field. Grace had only recently made the move to triathlon from a running background. Her swim was amazing and the most impressive thing was that it came from someone so small. “This is a daunting thought and I know Madrid will definitely open my eyes to what it takes to be the best. I am looking forward to racing after a few months off and some solid weeks training in the amazing facilities and environment in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain!” Musgrove won the Mooloolaba ITU Elite women’s race this year and was third in the Wellington OTU ahead of Natalie who finished in fourth.

The very experienced Felicity Abram will be wanting to post a top ten result this weekend. Abrams has had two great results already this season with a win at the Wellington OTU and a third at the Auckland round of the ITU World Series Triathlon. Her 15th at San Diego saw her post a strong swim/bike with the run 3+mins off the winner Gwen Jorgensen.

Cameron Good has shown some great consistency this year with some results that are showing the potential that everyone has always known was there. Good is now training under super coach Darren Smith. I caught up with Cameron in Manly recently and it seems he has found a coach that knows how to keep him on the straight and narrow with regards to training and racing. Good has had a 10th and 11th in the ITU World Series so far this season. His 10th at Auckland included getting back up after a crash on the bike then riding and running himself back in to the race. It was gritty stuff.

Good mentioned that after being with the D Squad for a few months he is now finally letting himself trust someone totally and focusing on what he has to do to perform and get the results. Darren Smith seems to be working well with Good.

Ryan Fisher had a great win in the Ishigaki ITU Triathlon World Cup this season and will be looking to step up at Madrid and make sure he is making the right people aware of what he can do. A 5th at the Devonport OTU Sprint Championship earlier this year was a good start and now that he is back racing in the ITU World Series Triathlon he will keen to post a good result.