Hamburg is an UNMISSABLE race

First off, the field is way better than people predicted. With the race being so close to the Olympics, it was always going to be a difficult decision for athletes to choose to race or not. They could either risk the travel, the bike crashes, injury, and everything else that comes with racing at the highest echelon; or, they could bank the extra training time and play it safe before heading to Paris in a couple of week’s time.

So why then, is anyone who is considering a medal in France racing this one, you ask? Well, Hamburg is another crucial race in the WTCS Series, offering valuable points towards the end-of-year leaderboards. With Montreal and Abu Dhabi suddenly canceled, there were fewer opportunities than ever this year, and many athletes have deemed the risk to be worth gaining the upper hand in the series.

Another reason is that Hamburg is a sprint race. This means that athletes will use this as the perfect test for their speed and skills leading into the games. It will give them a chance to test everything in fast motion on the swim, bike, and run where positioning, decision-making, transitions, and tactics become even more important. This race-sharpness could be make or break when the athletes race on the biggest stage in the sport in Paris.

Finally, these athletes are racing because, well, it is Hamburg. It is the perfect and perhaps only race to follow up from Challenge Roth last week. The crowds come out in similar droves to spectate the fast and furious racing through the city center, knowing that they are always in for a show. With an extremely rich history of epic races that has seen some of the biggest names in the sports history triumph or fail within it’s streets, Hamburg has produced some of the most die-hard triathlon fans.

For similar reasons to the athletes, you absolutely have to watch this one. Series points on the line, Olympic medal contenders risking it all, and the broadcast here is perhaps the best of the entire year for the aforementioned reasons: The speed, the crowds, the course. But then you also have the added bonus of these top names to track (and make your fantasy picks for).

Cassandre Beaugrand and Beth Potter’s rivalry will continue here while the likes of Kate Waugh will look to showcase why she was the worthy British selection for the Games. On the men’s side, Morgan Pearson, Matt Hauser and Luke Willian will want to repeat their Yokohama performances while Vincent Luis will perhaps want to take out some vengeance after not being selected by the French federation despite his pedigree.

Throw in Vasco Vilaca, Maya Kingma, Pierre Le Corre, and Lisa Tertsch and this 23rd consecutive race in Germany’s short course city, and you’ll be in for an hour long rollercoaster ride for both the men’s and the women’s race from 1.50pm on Saturday 13 July on TriathlonLive.tv.