Spain’s Mario Mola, Great Britain’s Jodie Stimpson, and the USA’s Sarah Groff joined New Zealand’s Andrea Hewitt and Ryan Sissons in talking to the press ahead of the second World Cup event of the 2014 season in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

Mario Mola (ESP)
On racing in New Plymouth:
“I’m really looking forward to racing here on Sunday, there is a great feel to it and a lot of amazing athletes here so it’s going to be another really tough race. It’s good for us that like Javi is racing here, that always gives a name to the race and makes it more challenging but at the same time it’s always better.”

On his 13:55 run split in Mooloolaba and favouritism ahead of this weekend’s race:
“For me, I am proud that this happened but I don’t feel that the pressure is on me… I am happy to be here and happy to have had a good performance in Mooloolaba and I will just try and do something like I did there. With Javi in the race it changes it and he is the one to beat, with Javi’s career and how he’s done the last few years, when he races he will be on the top and fighting for first position. I think it’s good that he’s here and it’s always good to race with him.”

Jodie Stimpson (GBR)
On her offseason:
“Things have gone really well to be honest, I’ve had the most consistent winter of training so that’s good. I’ve actually just come from Wanaka where I’ve been training at the snow farm and that’s an absolutely stunning location to be in New Zealand. It was my first time there. But New Plymouth is another stunning place in New Zealand so I’m looking forward to the race on this weekend.”

On what she expects for her first race of 2014:
“That’s one thing about training with Darren (Smith) is that we never kind of look at results, we look at what we can do in the race. To have a good race, you have a checklist… if you do everything on the checklist you have a good race, if that means winning, if that means come top three, top 10 or top 15, you are there to do a good job. The first race of the year, it’s nerve-wracking because you don’t exactly know where you are, you know you have had a consistent block of training but everybody else could have had a consistent block and done a better job. So it’s kind of good to know where you are at and then know what you need to improve on for the next one.”

On the race form in the opening World Cup of the season in Mooloolaba:
“Looking at those Mooloolaba results, that’s fast running so I’m not expecting a slow race on the weekend even though Gwen isn’t here. Gwen’s training group is here and there is going to be some fast girls so there is no way it’s going to be a slow race on the weekend.”

Andrea Hewitt (NZL)
On racing at home:
“Because of the home support it’s easier to race at home, I guess I’ve got more of the crowd behind me and you don’t have to travel as far.”

On the two consecutive races in New Zealand:
“Most athletes that are here racing will be racing in Auckland are racing here too. It doesn’t have the hills and it’s a sprint race so it will be a different race this weekend.”

Ryan Sissons (NZL)
On racing at home:
“It’s always good to open the season off at home in New Zealand and great to have the New Plymouth race back in action. It’s been a few years since it was here and we are privileged to have it back and you know, another amazing field which is going to make it even better.”

On his expectations for the race:
“First big race for me, I’m looking for a decent result. I’ve been training pretty well and I think if I put myself in a good situation right from the start then I have a really good chance of being in the top five and possibly on the podium.”

On the quick run splits in Mooloolaba:
“Mola ran sub 14 minutes for 5km so it’s certainly going to be pretty quick this weekend. So it should be a good exciting race for spectators as well.”

Sarah Groff (USA)
On her expectations for the race:
“It’s so early in the season most athletes here are just trying to get a good tune-up race for Auckland and just see where we are. Obviously everyone is gunning for a podium, gunning for a good result, but it’s a really good gauge of fitness to go through the race process for the next race.”

On the good streak of form by American athletes:
“Triathlon is an American sport and we had such a strong start in the past few years. It’s weaned a bit and I like to think we are seeing a resurgence in the last few years for our high performance program. We have some great girls but also our guys we have to mention… Kaleb Vanort was a bit of a surprise last week, not for his training partners or coach or anyone that has followed him but coming out and coming fifth that was a big result. We have some really talented juniors and U23s on both sides and it’s exciting seeing these kids develop and seeing new athletes like Katie (Hursey), or who are pretty new to the sport, just taking it on and really doing well.”

The 2014 New Plymouth World Cup is on Sunday March, 23. The Elite women’s race starts at 12:00 noon local time, followed by the men’s at 2pm.