As the penultimate stop on the World Triathlon Series in Edmonton gets closer, athletes are prepping more than ever in the hopes of having a successful weekend right before the start of the Grand Final in Chicago. But before all the action begins, we sat down with the likes of Javier Gomez Noya (ESP), Rachel Klamer (NED), Stefan Daniel (CAN) and Vicky Holland (GBR) to talk about the upcoming race.
Javier Gomez
What expectations do you have coming into this race?
“It has been a long season, so to be honest I am focusing more on the Grand Final. I have my results, five pretty good results so I can focus on the Grand Final because the title is going to be determined there. I decided to come to Edmonton for the race obviously, but also to train here for Chicago and do a training camp for two weeks. I think it is a great city of triathlon, I feel very comfortable here and I look forward to a good race on the weekend and a good training session in preparation for Chicago.”
On his busy schedule..
“Yeah it was pretty busy. I was really fit, I had a great race in Stockholm and then unfortunately got sick the day after the race. It took me three days where I was in bed and feeling pretty bad. So I recovered from that and did the 70.3 Worlds last weekend, I wasn’t at my best level, but I gave it my best. I had a pretty decent race and I am feeling much better now, so I hope the fitness is still there of course for Chicago.”
Rachel Klamer
How does it feel to be racing here and wearing the No. 1?
“I am really happy to be back here, I raced in Edmonton last year, only one but I really love it. I think it is one of my favourite races to run around, because you can do your running and training along the river. I have to say that I think I would have loved some more sun here, but I wouldn’t be the only one. I am excited, being number one might give it a little more pressure, and I am also not so sure how long I will stay there.”
On training with your group…
“Actually I really like it, because I used to train with the national team, which was a small group. So it was kind of a shock when I came and saw all of these athletes training hard, I was definitely feeling like the slowest, but after awhile you learn yourself better. But like it doesn’t matter because you need to train to get stronger from training with them. But this year I have been training quite a lot by myself because there were some races back at home that I needed to do. So coming back to training with the squad was really nice.”
Stefan Daniel
On the feeling of being a part of the Series…
“It has definitely been a cool experience, obviously with Rio being the debut for triathlon in the Paralympics. Every race you see more faces and people coming over from swimming and running. It has been great having these events, obviously being in the same event as the elites is absolutely great for me and it has just been awesome.”
On feeling of racing in home of Canada…
“I feel good. It has been a little while since I raced here, but I feel good and I feel confident. We will see how the race goes tomorrow, hopefully the conditions aren’t too bad. There is good competition here, I have raced some of the guys here before and have had close results with so I am looking forward to it.”
Exciting working towards Rio?
“Well since I was a kid, going to the Paralympics has been my dream. And with paratriathlon being a new event for 2016, that is something I have trained for my entire life. So I am looking forward to the next season.”
Vicky Holland
How has it felt coming off of injuries to have the season that you have had?
“Cape Town was a bit of a surprise, probably to me and to a few other people as well. I had some injury issues at the end of last year, so I didn’t get to finish the season. I felt like I had a little unfinished business because I was in good shape by the time the season ended, which was highlighted by my bronze at the Commonwealth Games. Going into Cape Town I knew that it would go quite quickly for me, I had been in good shape but I didn’t expect to win it. Since then that has kind of changed my whole outlook on each race, because I have now won a race and have been on podiums in races, which is what you have to do in every race. So I turn up to every race expecting more and more of myself and to be able to back it up with good races, with a solid podium in Hamburg, a podium in Rio has really been great for me. I have never had a consistent season like this so now I want to continue that this weekend in Edmonton and more importantly in Chicago.”
On taking Edmonton easy in preparation for Chicago?…
“We always turn up hoping to race well and we have done some good preparation for both of these two races. But as everyone has said, the main focus is Chicago in two weeks, because a podium there will see me pre-qualified for the Olympics next year. So this weekend I am hoping for a good result, we are in good shape but realistically it is all about two weeks time until Chicago.”