Battle for women's winner heats up in Mexico

Battle for overall women's winner heats up in Mexico

Huatulco, Mexico (October 23, 2008) - The final stop of the 2008 BG Triathlon World Cup series makes its way to the resort city of Huatulco, Mexico this Sunday. The elite women will start at 8:00am (all times UTC/GMT -6) while the men start at 10:45am. It is a battle to the wire as New Zealand's Sam Warriner tries to knock Australia's Felicity Abram out of number one and become the first Kiwi woman to win the world cup series since 1994 when Jenny Rose achieved that honour. Click here for full preview

A seventh place finish or higher is all Warriner needs to take the 2008 BG Triathlon World Cup series title. With a smaller then usual field in Mexico, the 2008 Olympian Warriner has a very good chance. As for the race itself, there are a number of top contenders looking to add a world cup win to their resume including Sweden's Lisa Norden. Norden took top spot at the last world cup event in Lorient, France one month ago and in the process, rewriting the triathlon history books by becoming the first Swedish athlete to win a world cup.

Athletes to Watch - Elite Women:
Samantha Warriner (NZL) - 2004 & 2008 Olympian, 6 world cup wins
Lisa Norden (SWE) - 2008 Olympian, 2007 under23 world champion, 1 world cup win
Sarah Haskins (USA) - 2008 Olympian, 2008 world championships silver medallist
Andrea Hewitt (NZL) - 2008 Olympian, 1 world cup win
Andrea Whitcombe (GBR) - 3 world cup wins
Click here for women's start list

In the men's event, Matt Reed (USA), Tony Moulai (FRA) and Laurent Vidal (FRA) are all looking for a top-10 finish in order to boost themselves into the 2008 world cup series bonus pool and a piece of the US$250,000 up for grabs.

Athletes to Watch - Elite Men:
Kris Gemmell (NZL) - 2008 Olympian, 3 world cup wins
Tony Moulai (FRA) - 2008 Olympian, 2008 European championships silver medallist
Matt Reed (USA) - 2008 Olympian, USA National champion
Laurent Vidal (FRA) - 2008 Olympian
Click here for men's start list

The race will be standard Olympic distance: 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bike, 10-kilometer run. Live coverage will be available online at triathlon.org. Click here for more event information

Start Times:
Elite men - Sunday, Oct. 26th at 10:45am (UTC/GMT -6)
Elite women - Sunday, Oct. 26th at 8:00am (UTC/GMT -6)

ends

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