Hewitt bags fourth spot amid uncertain times

Uncertainty around Olympic spots and this year’s racing schedule in general has fuelled England’s Vicky Holland to what could be a crucial triathlon World Cup gold in Mooloolaba yesterday.

The 34-year-old and compatriot Georgia TaylorBrown controlled the sprint distance race throughout to go one-two, with Australia’s defending champion Ashleigh Gentle rallying for a gutsy third, with New Zealand’s Andrea Hewitt a game fourth.

Points earned will go towards

Olympic selection later this year but with coronavirus wreaking havoc on the world’s sporting fixtures Holland knew how important it was to make a statement in what could be a rare circuit appearance.

After a 750m swim in choppy seas, Gentle had to do the heavy lifting in the chasing pack on the 20km bike leg but still found herself well back on her favoured 5km run leg.

She stormed home in the final 1500m though, overtaking compatriot Emma Jeffcoat (fifth), who had led to begin the run leg. 2016 world champion Holland and Gentle on their toes.

‘‘On paper this is a World Cup, not a World Series [which carries more qualification weight], but it means a lot more than that in the current climate,’’ Holland said.

‘‘We don’t know what’s happening in this world; today might well be my only race for quite a long time.’’

Gentle said she had done her best to stay in her Brisbane bubble and admitted her plans wouldn’t change much given she wasn’t planning on racing overseas until May.

‘‘It’s going to keep changing, so I’ll stay in Australia and hang out until I’m told otherwise,’’ she said. ‘‘I’m not part of the [Olympic] team yet, but I’ve put myself in a good position these last two years.

‘‘But I’m not a selector; I’d love to go, so will just be giving it my all in anything that goes ahead.’’

Grinding out bronze will help Gentle, while Jeffcoat’s efforts will have caught selectors’ eyes.

Jaz Hedgeland was the nextbest Australian in 11th while Natalie Van Coevorden was 16th. – AAP