Preview: Atmosphere Nepean Triathlon 2016

Trizone previews the upcoming 2016 Nepean Triathlon, nominating some likely candidates to do well at the high-profile event.

2015 champions Aaron Royle and Emma Moffatt will not be racing at Nepean in 2016, which opens the event up. Fellow Rio Olympian Ryan Bailie has to be the no.1 ranked athlete this weekend. But hot on his heels will be last year’s 2nd place finisher Jacob Birtwhistle – tipped to have the most potential to challenge the Brownlees, Gomez, Mola and co. Birtwhistle posted the equal fastest run time last year to finish only seconds behind Royle.

We won’t be seeing Ryan Fisher or Brendan Sexton this year, both of whom posted two of the faster run times at Nepean in 2015. Western Sydney 70.3 2015 champ David Mainwaring, however, will be racing and with his sub 32min run last year and a faster swim leg will be looking to get amongst the money. A close mate of Mainwaring, Royle and Matthew Pellow, James Davy could surprise a few this year. An ex-ITU junior, Davy has been focused on completing his second university degree (physiotherapy) and has been off his game over the last 2-3 years. Davy is an excellent swimmer and a 32 minute 10km runner. Last weekend, he finished 2nd overall at the Forster half distance, and depending on how he has pulled up could be a dark horse this weekend.

Matthew Pellow will also be a threat if he can pull out one of his solid swims and back it up with a display of the powerhouse ride that he is capable of. Pellow doesn’t have the sub 32-min run that some of the other whippets have, but he could potentially get some time to the field on the bike and set himself up.

In the women’s field, meanwhile, Charlotte McShane and Ashleigh Gentle are the two favourites, and along with Nicky Samuels, Natalie Van Coevorden, Tamsyn Moana-Veale and Sarah Crowley we should see some really close racing tomorrow.

Charlotte McShane is fresh from her 3rd place finish at the ITU World Championship in Cozumel, Mexico where she showed her potential after everything came together in one of the biggest races of the year.

Ashleigh Gentle won in 2014 and was runner up last year. She will be wanting to have a big race this weekend to bank some prize money.

Kiwi Nicky Samuels is a formidable opponent for the Aussies. The 2013 Xterra World Champ and New Zealand National Road Cycling champ knows what it is like to win big races and this is certainly one that will suit her. The bigger draft zones will benefit Samuels, and if she has a good day she could do some serious damage.

Prize Pool

• 1st Male and Female – $7000
• 2nd Male and Female – $5000
• 3rd Male and Female  -$2500
• 4th Male and Female – $1500
• 5th Male and Female – $1000
• 6th Male and Female – $500
• 7th Male and Female – $250
• Handicap Bonus – $2000

Start List