The Don Heads for Hamburg

The fourth round of the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series takes place in Hamburg this weekend with Britain’s Tim Don looking to capitalise on the form that saw him win the Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon Elite Cup in Des Moines last month.



In May, Don ran the best 10km run time of his life at the Great Manchester 10km (28.56). He used that speed to beat an outstandingly competitive field in Des Moines and win the $200,000 first prize. He now looks to gain valuable ranking points in Hamburg on Saturday, and put in a strong performance ahead of the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship London next weekend.



He said: “Hamburg is a great event. It's one that the athletes look forward to as it's so well supported. I know I'm in good shape and I'm happy with my form this year, so I'm looking for a solid performance in Hamburg to set me up for a great race in Hyde Park.”



The current world number one and two, Alexander Brukhankov and Dmitry Polyansky of Russia, are set to race in Hamburg. The race will also feature Australia’s Courtney Atkinson, who is currently ranked third in the world, and a strong German team including the Olympic Champion, Jan Frodeno.



Spain’s Javier Gomez, who recently lost his European title to Britain’s Alistair Brownlee, will also race. Brownlee, however, has opted not to race. He will instead race the sprint distance at the French Grand Prix in Paris on Sunday morning along with his brother, Jonathan, and focus on performing in front of the home crowd in Hyde Park.



David McNamee from Stirling is Britain’s other athlete starting the men’s race in Hamburg on Saturday.



Australia’s defending world champion, Emma Moffatt will race in the women’s event on Sunday. She will face tough competition from team mate Emma Snowsill. However, Switzerland’s Nicola Spirig has shown excellent form having won her last two major races, including the European title.



Britain’s Liz Blatchford looks to achieve another top ten finish, following good performances in Des Moines (9th) and Madrid (8th). Vanessa Raw and Vicky Holland join her on the start line, with Raw having performed well at the recent ETU Triathlon European Championships in Athlone, Ireland and winning the Nokia Windsor Triathlon last month.



The Elite men start at 1:30pm (local time) on Saturday, July 17. The women’s race gets underway at 3:30pm on Sunday, July 18. Both will be televised live on www.triathlon.org/tv. Other British athletes, including Will Clarke and Hollie Avil will race at the French Grand Prix in Paris on Sunday morning.