Montreal Super Sprint Format is a Complex Puzzle
So why is outspoken World Triathlon Championship points leader Maya Kingma sitting out the penultimate race of the series? As well as men’s leaders Alex Yee, Kristian Blummenfelt?
Of course many contenders for the World Championship will be in Montreal for this weekend’s super sprint contest – over as many as six-times over the 300 meter swim, 7.2 kilometer bike leg and 2-kilometer run format. To simplify, the World Triathlon organization is borrowing from the Super League Triathlon’s Eliminator format for Saturday’s finale. That is, the days starts with the top 30 qualifiers from Friday’s races and lops off 10 competitors each on the first and second races until the top 10 men and top 10 women square off in the finale.
So while Alex Yee and Kristian Blummenfelt are not offering reasons why they won’t race Montreal. Maya Kingma offers a thoughtful and detailed critique.
“This has nothing to do with resting, but everything to do with the new ‘supersprint/eliminator’ format. In my opinion, this is a totally different discipline within triathlon, much as OD racing is to a full distance Ironman. Therefore it has no place within our World Championship series.”
“Yes, I will race @superleaguetriathlon which is fun and a great event on its own. An exciting format where WTCS and other triathlon heroes are showcased around the world. I’ve trained for Olympic distances for 11 years. So, why is this supersprint a different discipline?
One, with up to five 1.5k run splits is not something everyone is capable of. Two, a super sprint is all out and there are no tactics. Three, more emphasis is on running and running in transitions, which adds up on what is advertised as a short event. Four, no time to make up for bad luck. Five, unfairness of the draws – imagine the difference between two heats if a strong swimmer like Jess Learmonth is in one heat and a strong runner like Beth Potter is in another. How to compare those results?
Kingma summarizes: “In short, this format should not have been forced upon us by including it in the WTCS and should be a stand-alone event or series. I am one of the few who has the choice to not race in Montreal and not totally throw away my WTCS ranking.”
The Montreal event offers a total of 1,000 points per gender, and 1,250 points are on offer at the Grand Final in Edmonton – which is a classic Olympic distance format. Right now, Kingma has accumulated 2315 points, 524 ahead of second place Flora Duffy, 782 ahead of Sophie Coldwell of Great Britain and 847 ahead of Taylor Spivey of the U.S.
While Kingma lost World Championship points due to her 11th place finish at Tokyo, the honor of the World Championship retains some significant luster to any career. Thus Kristian Blummenfelt and Alex Yee can afford to slip Montreal after their gold and silver prizes at the Olympics. So, lacking an Olympic berth, Taylor Spivey is perhaps the hungriest World Championship aspirant (1468 points).
In the men’s race for the World Championship, Marten Van Riel of Belgium (2127 points) leads the charge to catch Yee (2716 points) and Blummenfelt (2677 points).
This weekend’s super sprint two-day contest in Montreal began with Men’s and Women’s first round Qualifiers plus a repechage for each. After Friday’s rounds. 38 men were trimmed to 30 and 40 women were trimmed to 30. While there was much ado about the first rounds, there was a lot of calories spent.
When the action starts on Saturday, there was no loss of true favorites and Flora Duffy, Taylor Spivey, Sophie Coldwell, Taylor Knibb, Laura Lindemann, Alice Betto, Leonie Periault, Emma Jackson, Kirsten Kasper, Vittoria Lopes and Natalie Van Coervorden will all be on the start line. And so too will top men Marten Van Riel, Jacob Birtwhistle, Vincent Luis, Jelle Geens, Hayden Wilde, Dorian Coninx, Tayler Reid, Kevin McDowell, Leo Bergere, Joao Silva, Jonas Schomburg, and Chase McQueen.
