Hewitt looks to break up American podium
Andrea Hewitt is looking forward to the grand final in Chicago on the triathlon world series calendar and believes that she has a chance at standing on year end podium for the fifth time.
Hewitt hopes that her form will allow her to break up the American dominance of the season rankings, with Gwen Jorgensen unbeaten since April last year.
Jorgensen is the triathlete to beat in the women’s competition, and Hewitt believes there are still chances to exploit weaknesses in the American’s swim and bike sections.
‘‘The other girls, we have to look and focus on that and not let her get away, and keep up so she’s there for the run.’’
Jorgensen’s team-mates, Katie Zaferes and Sarah True, are second and third for the series overall. Hewitt will need to beat them on her own turf and emulate her second place finish in the 2014 grand final to make the podium.
‘‘Definitely I want a good result, so I’m going to be looking at all the top girls. It’s the last race of the season so everyone wants a good result there, and it’ll be the hardest race this year and everyone is there, there’s no one missing.’’
The 33-year-old came third in the world series event in Stockholm a month ago, and said it was a nice way to set up her final race of the season as she sits just 191 points behind True in the rankings.
‘‘At the start of the year my swimming wasn’t so great, so I had to work on the bike because of the broken collarbone at the end of last year.
‘‘So my results at the start of the year, my races were really different because I had to chase on the bike. So in Stockholm I had a really good swim and I was right up the front so it set me up for a good race, so hopefully in Chicago it’ll be the same.’’
Hewitt believed 2015 had been a success, but missed racing alongside Nicky Samuels and Kate McIlroy who have both been injured. She’s joined by team mates Simone Ackermann, Rebecca Clarke and Rebecca Spence as she aims for a top result on Saturday morning.
Hoping to make the most of a technical bike course that winds around the streets of downtown Chicago, Hewitt’s chances centre around what her position is after the swim.
‘‘I’ve heard the roads are really wide and flat in the centre of town, and the weather forecast is around 30deg C and humid with the possibility of rain so that can be a factor.
‘‘On the bike course, it’s still technical with lots of turning, so that can help me as well. It just depends on whether we’re a big group out of the water or if we’re a small group on the bike, that can make it a lot harder too.’’
The women’s race begins at 10am (NZT) on Saturday with the men racing at 10am on Sunday.