Triathlon Moves to the French Riviera

2002 ITU World Cup Series - Round 10
Nice, France
21 September 2002

For immediate release - Nice, France: The triathlon mad resort of Nice, France is once again opening its arms to athletes from around the world for round 10 of the 2002 ITU World Cup series. For many years Nice has staged a number of successful Long Distance triathlon events and World Championships but on Saturday the focus turns to Olympic format racing for the first time.

Nice's proximity to the last two events (Lausanne, SUI and Hamburg, GER) has attracted the largest field of the season with many of the world's top ranked athletes set to compete. On the women's side, World number one, Siri Lindley (USA) leads the way and will be looking to get back on top of the podium for her fifth victory of the year. Lindley was out-sprinted at the line by Canadian Jill Savege at the last stop on the tour so will be seeking vindication in Nice. With Savege sitting out of this event, other top women will be assuming the role as Lindley's main challengers - Sheila Taormina (USA) is back in the running, along with last week's bronze medallist, Carla Moreno (BRA). As well, Britain's top two women, Leanda Cave, who won silver at the recent Commonwealth Games, and Michelle Dillon, who was fourth behind Savege, Lindley and Moreno in Hamburg will both be on the starting line looking for their first World Cup podiums of the season.

On the men's side it's a virtual "who's who" of the triathlon world with 10 of the top 20 ranked athletes in the world all ready to race. The real showdown will be between last round's winner, Greg Bennett (AUS) and his training mate, Olympic Champion Simon Whitfield (CAN) - the two haven't raced against each other since Whitfield out-sprinted Bennett for the win at the Edmonton World Cup back in July. Also in contention is Britain's Andrew Johns, who was 2nd to Bennett in Hamburg, along with Vladimir Polikarpenko (UKR) who has been threatening all year with a 2nd in Hungary and a 4th place at the last round in Hamburg. Filip Ospaly (CZE) won his first World Cup event this year in Lausanne and is back on the start list for Nice along with teammate, Martin Krnavek who is currently ranked 7th in the world. A strong French men's team is also set to compete with all eyes focused on rising star, Sylvain Dodet, who won the St. Anthony's World Cup earlier this year and was 4th in Hungary.

The Nice course features a 1 lap 1500metre swim, a 5 lap 40km bike and a 5 lap 10km run along the Promenade des Anglais and the Mediterranean Coastline. The women's event will hit the water at 8:30am with the men's following at 10:30am. The ITU Long Distance World Championships will take center stage on Sunday with elite and age-group competitions.

Complete start lists can be found on the ITU website at www.triathlon.org and don't forget to tune in during the races for live event coverage via the web. For further information please contact ITU Headquarters at: Email: ituhdq@triathlon.org or Tel: 1.604.926.7250.